FOBO TPMS saved my a**

[mikerider]

What's the proper way to install the T-valves? I ordered a set but haven't received them.

Thanks.

mike-

If it leaks, it was installed wrong. I will say that installing the T Valves is an interesting quest for information. Their are no specific torque specs to be found in any documentation. It only says, "tight"

I've seen a few bikes with T Valves that could be turned by hand.

Maybe the fobo stuff isn't leaking and the Valves are not installed tightly enough.

I can personally say that since installing my setup, I have been very impressed with the lack of any leaks whatsoever.

Engineers usually do a pretty good job and I tend to trust them.

Weekend garage warriors are usually suspect in my eyes.

 

[Fred W]

It seemed to be covered pretty well in the downloadable instructions on their web site.

I'm sure the printed directions that come with the unit will cover it also.

 

[mikerider]

I saw some explanation here on FOBO's site:

https://my-fobo.com/Page/45

Fobo has a setting for gauge setting or not. they recommend using not.

I have recently ordered a set of these for the FJR but haven't received them yet. What do you mean by the above?

 

[Birdman2010]

Thank you all for your inputs. I just ordered a set of FOBO and T-stems to see how I like it. If not, I can always get Cyclops.
I like the FOBO for:

- instant reading without moving the bike. However, to monitor the tire pressure while riding, I will have to mount my phone and have it on all the time in front of me, as I don't use Sena or any audio inputs inside my helmet and I wear earplugs so I doubt I could hear the alert from the phone.

The Cyclops has its own display wired to the bike's power. However, the bike has to move something like 300' before a reading is shown.

Mike, since you do not have a Sena (or other bluetooth communicator) and since you wear earplugs, you may be better served by the Cyclops TPMS. I googled it and it looks really good. It basically looks the same as the FOBO, but the Cyclops also provides a display that you can mount to your handlebars.

You could also install a smartphone mount and then just run the FOBO software while you ride. If you get a smartphone mount, you can also use your smartphone as a GPS. https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/172072-custom-cell-mount-with-wireless-charging/

 

[mikerider]

Thanks Birdman, I already ordered the FOBO + T-valves. Ordered it on 6/26, was shipped on 6/28 from Malaysia and scheduled to be delivered on 7/3.

I already have a phone mount (Ram Mount X-grip) but currently I'm using it with an old smartphone as dashcam.

I don't like the Cyclops having to move 300' before a reading. That defeats the purpose of checking tire pressure before flight

Thank you all for your inputs. I just ordered a set of FOBO and T-stems to see how I like it. If not, I can always get Cyclops.
I like the FOBO for:

- instant reading without moving the bike. However, to monitor the tire pressure while riding, I will have to mount my phone and have it on all the time in front of me, as I don't use Sena or any audio inputs inside my helmet and I wear earplugs so I doubt I could hear the alert from the phone.

The Cyclops has its own display wired to the bike's power. However, the bike has to move something like 300' before a reading is shown.

Mike, since you do not have a Sena (or other bluetooth communicator) and since you wear earplugs, you may be better served by the Cyclops TPMS. I googled it and it looks really good. It basically looks the same as the FOBO, but the Cyclops also provides a display that you can mount to your handlebars.

You could also install a smartphone mount and then just run the FOBO software while you ride. If you get a smartphone mount, you can also use your smartphone as a GPS. https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/172072-custom-cell-mount-with-wireless-charging/

 

[Birdman2010]

Thanks Birdman, I already ordered the FOBO + T-valves. Ordered it on 6/26, was shipped on 6/28 from Malaysia and scheduled to be delivered on 7/3.

I already have a phone mount (Ram Mount X-grip) but currently I'm using it with an old smartphone as dashcam.

I don't like the Cyclops having to move 300' before a reading. That defeats the purpose of checking tire pressure before flight

Thank you all for your inputs. I just ordered a set of FOBO and T-stems to see how I like it. If not, I can always get Cyclops.
I like the FOBO for:

- instant reading without moving the bike. However, to monitor the tire pressure while riding, I will have to mount my phone and have it on all the time in front of me, as I don't use Sena or any audio inputs inside my helmet and I wear earplugs so I doubt I could hear the alert from the phone.

The Cyclops has its own display wired to the bike's power. However, the bike has to move something like 300' before a reading is shown.

Mike, since you do not have a Sena (or other bluetooth communicator) and since you wear earplugs, you may be better served by the Cyclops TPMS. I googled it and it looks really good. It basically looks the same as the FOBO, but the Cyclops also provides a display that you can mount to your handlebars.

You could also install a smartphone mount and then just run the FOBO software while you ride. If you get a smartphone mount, you can also use your smartphone as a GPS. https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/172072-custom-cell-mount-with-wireless-charging/

That is a good point. I like checking the air before I ride out. I have an a/c pump that I can use in my garage. I agree that 300' is too far for that initial reading.

 

[mikerider]

I received the FOBO today! I'm impressed. It was shipped on 6/28 from Malaysia and it arrived California today 6/30!

In the package, it even included 2 straight metal valves, but I didn't know and ordered the T-valves. Everything worked as expected.

I use it on my phone and tablet.

Out of curiosity, I weighted the valves on a digital scale. The following weight is EACH:

- Rubber valves: 9g

- Kurvey Girl's straight metal valves (I ordered them and never installed): 23g

- FOBO straight metal valves: 20g

- FOBO T-valve: 27g

- FOBO TPMS: 10g

 

[Fred W]

Received my fobo BIKE kit and a set of black T-stems last week, and installed them on the FJR today. Installation was pretty much straight forward. I didn't see any torque spec for tightening the stems, so I figured just get them tight enough to compress the rubber grommets. Also put a drop of blue loctite on the 2nd locking nut for added security.

I'm still not clear how the app is going to alert me when riding down the road. Maybe I'll be able to feel my phone vibrating in my pocket, unless I have it charging inside the tank bag. It will be really nice to check the pressure before heading out without even having to get out a gauge.

 

[El Toro]

**********

I'm still not clear how the app is going to alert me when riding down the road. Maybe I'll be able to feel my phone vibrating in my pocket, unless I have it charging inside the tank bag. It will be really nice to check the pressure before heading out without even having to get out a gauge.

***********

On the Triumph and BMW OEM TPM systems I've owned, they advise against using the system to avoid a pre-ride check. It is tempting though. I tend to use a gauge to check maybe once a week, and I use the display, which won't read until you're rolling, against the factory advice the rest of the time.

I've only had one instance where TPM saved me, but once was enough. I hopped on I-40 one day on my K1600GTL (purchased from Fred's friendly neighborhood BMW dealer, MAX). As I was nestling in among the trucks at 85 mph, I noticed the flashing on the display, hit the right lane, and eased off at the next exit (on at exit 286 and off at exit 287, about 1.5 miles apart).

By the time I was at the bottom of the ramp, the front was heavy. I turned left to go to the Sam's Club parking lot, and by the time I was stopped, the front was dead flat.

Had I not had the warning, I would have most likely been sandwiched among 5 trucks and in the left lane, negotiating a sweeper when the front was low enough to notice "the hard way." I'm a firm believer in tire pressure monitoring. Yamaha should add it to the FJR. Then we could have another poll to find out if it would constitute Gen 4.1.

 

[Fred W]

fobo has similar warnings in the user manual, which is only downloadable from their web site (the way of the future is here). I will do as you do and check the sensors against a gauge every now and then, but the whole point of having TPMS is the peace of mind of knowing what the pressure is quickly and conveniently. I'm sure that the disclaimers are just a means to limit liability on their part.

I have TPMS on my new to me 2014 F150. Unfortunately it only performs the alarm function and there is no real time display like there is on my Toyota Camry company car. I like the ability to display the pressures even more than I like the alarm function, though that did save my bacon in a 4 wheeler one day.

 

[El Toro]

I've had TPMS in my Tundras (6 of them since 2008 MY) and they are like you're F150.

I like TPMS. It was a major factor in buying the leftover Tiger Explorer last December.

That Explorer may turn out to be the last bike in my stable now that the 2002 100th Anniversary Bonnie is at its new home in South Korea. It's light and loaded. Zippy enough. Looks good bags on or off.

 

[mikerider]

For those who use Fobo, do you use the default "absolute pressure" or the calculated "gauge pressure"? There is a difference when switching between the 2, depending on altitude, so I assume it's only as accurate as the GPS tells it what the altitude is.

I assume the owner's manual's recommended tire pressure is gauge pressure (psig)?

 

[El Toro]

The other systems are gauge Pressure. How would you decide what correction to apply? Atmospheric pressure for the site where the nominal value is established is not given.

This isn't rocket science. It's pizza .... oh, wait. It's not pizza it's tires. A common NEPRT subject.

If you're within 5%, it's within the range of arguments and the level of accuracy of most gauges.

 

[Fred W]

From my reading of the fobo manual, the sensors have a small vacuum reference chamber with (nearly) zero pressure, so they always measure the tire pressure in reference to zero, which is the absolute pressure. Since none of us think of tire pressure in absolute pressure terms fobo gives you two display options, neither of which is the absolute pressure:

The default is to display the absolute pressure minus 14.7 psi, which is the nominal atmospheric pressure at sea level, no matter what altitude you are actually at. That way your pressure reading will not vary with altitude. Since all other tire pressure gauges reference the local ambient pressure, the sea level fobo reading will differ from what your tire gauge shows you anywhere above sea level.

To make the fobo read more like a normal gauge you'd select "Gauge Pressure" in the app. The app will determine your altitude via the GPS in your phone and subtract an approximate altitude offset from the absolute pressure that it measures. I find that is more intuitive and allows me to check the fobo readings against my regular gauge without doing a lot of extra ciphering.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I have had my FOBO for years. Before that I got down on a knee and checked tire pressures every day. Never again. I check pressures manually spring and fall, but that's just out of habit. FOBO does a great job of telling me accurate pressures before I ever leave the house. But to be honest, I usually check pressures with FOBO when I first get on the bike, while I'm waiting for it to change from L0 to a temp number.

 

[rogdeb]

Really like the FOBO I've had on the Spyder for a while now

It's also a great "alarm clock" at high altitudes, at 4:00 am, to alert you of low pressures

 

[El Toro]

Fobo sounds like the result of a senior design project.

Seriously though, it does sound like a nice accessory for the FJR. It's cool that you've been able to add it to your bikes.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I was suspicious of it, and wouldn't buy it for a while. Particularly because it was from Malaysia. Having had it a while now, it's probably the most reliable and well thought out piece of tech on the bike (and these guys respond to questions damn near 24/7). That said, I still am not smart enough to understand gauge versus non gauge. I just know it's close to what my regular dial gauge shows and stays that way consistently. I know I should understand more about what Fred is saying, but I am dealing with a beer and my dog and a chair right now, so I'm officially requesting more time.

 

[rogdeb]

I was suspicious of it, and wouldn't buy it for a while. Particularly because it was from Malaysia. Having had it a while now, it's probably the most reliable and well thought out piece of tech on the bike (and these guys respond to questions damn near 24/7). That said, I still am not smart enough to understand gauge versus non gauge. I just know it's close to what my regular dial gauge shows and stays that way consistently. I know I should understand more about what Fred is saying, but I am dealing with a beer and my dog and a chair right now, so I'm officially requesting more time.

I'm with you Bill. I'm only smart enough to know my two tire gauges and FOBO are only 1 psi different - consistently.

And being able to check pressures in the morning with a coffee in my hand is wonderful, especially when the rear valve on the Spyder is a "lie on the floor" job

 

[BanjoBoy]

I was suspicious of it, and wouldn't buy it for a while. Particularly because it was from Malaysia. Having had it a while now, it's probably the most reliable and well thought out piece of tech on the bike (and these guys respond to questions damn near 24/7). That said, I still am not smart enough to understand gauge versus non gauge. I just know it's close to what my regular dial gauge shows and stays that way consistently. I know I should understand more about what Fred is saying, but I am dealing with a beer and my dog and a chair right now, so I'm officially requesting more time.

I'm with you Bill. I'm only smart enough to know my two tire gauges and FOBO are only 1 psi different - consistently.

And being able to check pressures in the morning with a coffee in my hand is wonderful, especially when the rear valve on the Spyder is a "lie on the floor" job

As usual, Fred dun state's it so eloquently in post 33; makes sense to me.

Y'all got me convinced 'n I ordered a pair. I can always feel when mah tires are low, butt I'm with you guys; this is great to know pressures without have to crawl 'round on the garage floor with my digital gauge.