Ten months ago, I bought a brand-new 2013 BMW R1200R 90th Anniversary Model. It came with a lot of bells and whistles, such as Traction Control, a trip computer, and a Tire Pressure Monitoring System.
Now, I am a very careful and responsible motorcyclist. (I've been riding for 43 years, have never had a ticket on a bike, and had one accident, back in 1979.) I check my bike visually every time I ride, and I pay careful attention to things like tire pressures...so I thought the TPMS was basically useless for me. If a tire was low, I would spot it or feel it while riding, I figured...I don't need some sensor to tell me something is wrong.
Guess again. I came out from work Tuesday evening, put on my helmet and jacket and gloves, started the Beemer and walked around it, confirming that everything was okay. But before I had ridden 50 yards, the TPMS came on, and the red warning light flashed on the instrument cluster, telling me that the rear tire had only 22 pounds instead of the 42 it should have.
I stopped, got off the bike, looked at and squeezed the tire, and it felt fine. I rode around the parking lot at work and the bike felt fine...but the warning light was still flashing. I stopped and got off again, and this time I saw the drywall screw in the center of the rear tire! The tire -- a low-profile radial -- looked and felt fine, but was dangerously underinflated.
I live 34 miles from work, and much of my ride home is on I-95. Absent that TPMS, I would -- at best -- have been disabled on the shoulder of a dark Interstate highway, instead of in the secure parking lot of my workplace.
Guess who's a new believer in the value of TPMS?
Now, I am a very careful and responsible motorcyclist. (I've been riding for 43 years, have never had a ticket on a bike, and had one accident, back in 1979.) I check my bike visually every time I ride, and I pay careful attention to things like tire pressures...so I thought the TPMS was basically useless for me. If a tire was low, I would spot it or feel it while riding, I figured...I don't need some sensor to tell me something is wrong.
Guess again. I came out from work Tuesday evening, put on my helmet and jacket and gloves, started the Beemer and walked around it, confirming that everything was okay. But before I had ridden 50 yards, the TPMS came on, and the red warning light flashed on the instrument cluster, telling me that the rear tire had only 22 pounds instead of the 42 it should have.
I stopped, got off the bike, looked at and squeezed the tire, and it felt fine. I rode around the parking lot at work and the bike felt fine...but the warning light was still flashing. I stopped and got off again, and this time I saw the drywall screw in the center of the rear tire! The tire -- a low-profile radial -- looked and felt fine, but was dangerously underinflated.
I live 34 miles from work, and much of my ride home is on I-95. Absent that TPMS, I would -- at best -- have been disabled on the shoulder of a dark Interstate highway, instead of in the secure parking lot of my workplace.
Guess who's a new believer in the value of TPMS?
