Tire Pressure Monitor..

[deilenberger]

I've been wanting one for a long time. If the dealership had a new R12R with TPM and ASC I'd probably trade my '07 in - but apparently there are none like this in the US. Sooo....

I had looked into adding BMW's TPM to my '07 since I was promised when I bought the bike that it would be possible (and some of the spec sheets I saw also said that..) - and it can't be done for a rather dumb reason. You can install all the hardware, and the software (which is built into the alarm module) - but - BMW won't sell you the activation code. Just won't. Decision from Germany. Must mess up their database or something. It has to come on the bike. 'duh. dumb. stubborn. German.

Anyway - I looked for alternative. There are a number of moto specific units out there - but the commonly available ones each have some drawback IMHO. One Paul Glaves likes is actually out of production, so spare parts may become a problem. Kisan makes one that a friend tried and never got to work right (RF power from the pressure sensors was so low there were antennas that had to be mounted next to the wheel.. which created all sorts of problems in the install.) There are the Doran ones - which have a nice receiver unit - but use a pressure sensor/transmitter that goes on the valve stem, replacing the cap. Problems with this are the things like to leak, they are heavy and BIG, and to manually check pressure or adjust pressure, you have to remove the sensors, which isn't a trivial exercise.

So - what to use? LOTS of web searching lead me to a system from Italy. It's approved by TUV. It uses sensors that mount internally in the wheel - almost identical to the ones BMW uses. No big straps needed to hold them in place (which the ones Paul G likes use.) They clip into a bracket. On the rear wheel the bracket is held in place by a replacement metal valve stem. On the front wheel - one of the hollow spokes of the wheel is supposed to be drilled and tapped (and is used by BMW for this same use) - the bracket is held by a hollow bolt that threads into the drilled/tapped hole. The actual transmitters are about 2.75" long x 0.75" wide x 0.375" thick. They are a lower profile than any others I've seen - which can be a big advantage when mounting tires.

It's called a ZADI-RTM (real-time-monitor).

Looks like a neat device. Ducati sells it as an accessory, with a red faceplate - for $300. Lockhart-Philips had been selling them for $225 - they recently dropped the price to $179.00, which got my attention.

So I had a friend who is a Lockhart-Philips dealer order one for me (and he ordered one for himself.) It arrived today, and I started looking at it. The receiver/display is very neat - completely wireless, about 2" in diameter by 1.5" thick, with a display that alternates between tire pressures and tire temperatures. It is battery operated, so no need to run wires to it. It comes with several mounting options, I used the handle-bar option, and it looks good on the bike. The display screen is about 1.75" square, has nice large readable numbers and is backlit in orange.

The transmitters turn themselves on/off with wheel rotation. The receiver I believe you have to manually turn on.

So - I have the receiver mounted (I'll take pics later and post them) - and Monday night I'll get the transmitters mounted in the wheels.

Meanwhile - some URLS:



Good 360 degree pic of the receiver: https://www.euromotoaz.com/store/cart.p ... ail&p=1143 - and this place lists parts for it. EVERYTHING needed for our bikes was included in the 11.3mm kit (which refers to the valve stem size..) but they still have the old pricing of $224.00



Here is the installation guide (which shows the front wheel
mounting):

http://www.zadirts.com/file/RTS%20Bike/ ... _Start.pdf

And the home page for ZADI-RTS:

http://www.zadirts.com/en/rts_moto_prodotto.php

The BMW specific directions:

http://www.zadirts.com/pdf/Sensor_assembly_BMW.pdf

More info as I find it.. and photos to come..

[deilenberger]

I promised more pics. This thread is also posted on BMWSportTouring forum as there was some interest in the ZADI there..

As promised - a few photos of the finished product.

The first mounting I tried was the handlebar mount that came with the ZADI kit. Cleverly designed, I wasn't immediately enamored of it since it ends up (1) too close to me (2) in a spot that requires a seperate eye movement away from the road to view (3) possibly blocked by the tank bag.



So... I thought about it overnight, and Sunday AM decided to see where else it could be mounted. I have a habit of hanging stuff off the factory BMW "Touring Shield" mount - stuff like my GPS. Seemed like it might be possible to hang the ZADI display off it too..

Yup - very doable with a simple C-cable clamp..

Rear view:


Front view:


That worked out - so tonight (Monday) I visited my friend Mike's shop to install the wheel sensors. Since these go internal to the tire - it would probably be easiest to install them when getting new tires, but being me - I had to have them installed NOW..

Front first. The front mount on the R12R uses a pre-threaded hole inside the hollow spoke the tire valve is screwed into. I believe the RT uses the same rim and design. The kit comes complete with a hollow bolt to use for this mounting.

Here are the front mounting parts:

And here is the mount fastened into the hollow spoke:

And finally - the sensor clipped into the mount:


Very neat installation, and it wasn't difficult getting the tire back on and avoiding the sensor. The kit comes with stickers to put on the rims to warn tire installers that there are modules and where they are.

Next was the back rim..

[deilenberger]

The back rim was even more straightforward.. since it uses a normal (slightly offset to one side) rubber valve stem.

That stem is removed and replaced with a high-quality metal stem, that also has a hollow threaded stud that protrudes into the rim inside so the clip for the sensing module can be fastened there.



Here is the inside view of the valve stem mounted in the rim:


(I'll have to take a pic of the outside view.. didn't think of it as I was doing the job..)

And here is the clip mounted to the valve-stem stud:

And finally the module mounted in the clip. ZADI provided some small self-sticky spacers to put under the ends of the clip to provide a bit more clearance from the stud for the module - in this case - these were needed and used, you can just about see them in this photo:

Again - no problem mounting the rear tire. The module mounted inside the rim is only about 1/2" high - and is easy to avoid.

Backside of the sensing module:

The pressure sensor is the black square bit with the white circle - which I'm guessing is the diaphragm of a manometer with a sealed reference chamber behind it.

Finally - after putting the bike back together - ready to try it out.

[deilenberger]

It worked immediately. It took a few minutes to figure out how to get the readout out of it's "Try Me" mode (the instructions weren't exactly correct..) but enough pushing of the buttons on the display finally achieved this.

I took a quick ride around Mike's driveway - and pulled back in to see:



And without a flash (but somewhat blurry due to hand-held exposure):



The unit doesn't normally use the backlight. You can activate the backlight by pressing either button for a second - it then stays on for about 30 seconds.

Setting the reference air pressure was easy - ie "normal" tire pressure - (15% below this triggers the first warning, 30% triggers a second warning - and both turn the backlighting on and turn on a bright red LED at the top of the display.)

The display stays on as long as the unit senses motion, and for 5 minutes after motion stops. If you ride the bike within 24 hours of the last use - the unit automatically powers up again. If you go beyond 24 hours between uses - it will take a 2 second press of either button to turn the display back on.

It seems to work just fine. I was able to watch my tire temps go from about 64 degrees to 86 degrees (about a 5 mile ride home), and monitor my tire pressure (which started out at 31 PSI front, 35 PSI rear - and ended up as shown in the photo above.)

Nice unit, good instructions, everything fit and the price was reasonable. If anyone is interested in getting one, my friend Mike who runs an independent shop will order them for you - and sell them at the price of $180 + shipping (less than most other places charge - Ducati is $300, another place is $224.) He can be reached at [email protected] - mention ZADI and he'll know what you're interested in.

[TT RDHS]

Great report!
You've made me want one.
Thanks

[websterize]

I like the 32F 36R sticker on the bars. It really is silly BMW doesn't sell a retrofit kit for TPM.

[deilenberger]

I like the 32F 36R sticker on the bars.

That's a sign of age and lazyness.. I kept forgetting what pressure I liked, and got tired of taking the seat off to find it. Joe Katz had used a dymo-marker label on my last bike for the same thing. SWMBO has a "PTouch" - so..

It really is silly BMW doesn't sell a retrofit kit for TPM.

Agree entirely.. although I'm willing to bet it would cost multiples of the Zadi system. On another forum - one of the tech moderators mentioned he has the factory system on his RT - and a single sensor/module replacement is > $100 (and the battery on it isn't replaceable.) Given BMW prices..

Looking on REALOEM:
Rear "Sensor with Valve" - $172.94
Front "Sensor" - $155.65
The alarm module seems to be $385-400..

If it had been available for $400 I would have gone for it.

[celticus]

Don, I'm sure we've discussed this before but 32 front and 36 rear is lower than I usually use. Can you tell me the pros and cons of a slightly higher and lower tire pressures. I have not done a scientific study on tire pressures and don't plan to and could be easily swayed from the values I use. I just want maximum safety and tire wear. I usually go 35 front and 37or 38 rear. Quite often I have a full camping kit with or without a wife also on the bike.

Mark

[deilenberger]

Don, I'm sure we've discussed this before but 32 front and 36 rear is lower than I usually use. Can you tell me the pros and cons of a slightly higher and lower tire pressures. I have not done a scientific study on tire pressures and don't plan to and could be easily swayed from the values I use. I just want maximum safety and tire wear. I usually go 35 front and 37or 38 rear. Quite often I have a full camping kit with or without a wife also on the bike.

Mark

Mark,

My scientific study of tire pressure consisted of looking at the label under the seat.. and BMW suggests 32/36PSI for a single rider under normal conditions. I've tried higher pressures and didn't like the harsh ride, and found the grip seemed compromised. Certainly for extended rides with more weight on the bike - higher pressures are justified (BMW has that right under the seat also.. same sticker..)

Upside of 32/36:
- Comfort - more cushioning in the tire
- Grip - feels more sticky on corners (could be my imagination.. but I like the feel)
Downside of 32/36
- Probably wears faster (dunno for sure.)
- Provides less protection for the rim in the case of hitting a sharp edged object (pothole.)

Upside of higher pressures
- Perhaps better wear
- Higher load capacity (according to the sticker under the seat)
- Common wisdom is it's better (but I always question "common wisdom" looking for data.. )
Downside of higher pressures
- Comfort - feels harsher
- May lessen traction (feels like it to me.. but what'da I know? I'm a 5/10ths sorta rider..)

With the new tire pressure monitor I can watch my tire pressure and temps as I'm riding. Haven't done a long extended high-speed ride yet, but will be doing one on Friday. What I've seen so far - the pressure in the tires seems to increase by about 1-2 PSI (it becomes 33/37, 34/38) and tire temps go up about 25F or so - then it seems to level off. The old rule of thumb was your tire pressure was correct when you saw a 10% increase in pressure between a cold and warmed up tire. I'm seeing a bit less than 10%, which I think is OK. If I saw a 20-30% increase I would guess the tire is underinflated and is getting hot and bumping the pressure up. The TPM is supposed to have some temperature compensation built into it, so I really have to also check with a manual gauge reading to see if it does..

Dunno for sure since I haven't taken the extended high-speed ride yet. Will let'cha know on Monday when I return.. (if I remember.)

[Graf]

great report.....i have been using SmarTire unit for more then a year now and it is very simular to the one you are describing. it has saved my butt 2 times already....once while riding 2up....this was the best safety purchase i have made for the bike....i think these systems are a must for any bike rider