Ever get the feeling something has changed on your bike for no obvious reason...?
Now maybe I'm being paranoid but something's wrong with this picture....
(http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b556/alibx11/Kawasaki%20GTR/valve_zpsa623a7ad.jpg) (http://s1291.photobucket.com/user/alibx11/media/Kawasaki%20GTR/valve_zpsa623a7ad.jpg.html)
Was getting the low battery warning for my front TPS for ages but decided to leave it until the weather changed to sort it out, ordered a new battery and went to change it today and noticed a rubber valve on front tyre. Don't look like a TPS to me.
Now there was always a reading for the front pressure on the dash, so where'd my TPS go?
I noticed in Sept that my TAX disc holder was missing off the bike which was bolted to the front mudguard, didn't do anything about it cause of the new tax disc laws, and assumed the bolt had come loose and the thing had fallen off, however unlikely that would seem.
Looked at the tyre today and thought " my tyre wasn't that low".... but it's the same Bridgstone BT21 tyre.
(http://i1291.photobucket.com/albums/b556/alibx11/Kawasaki%20GTR/tyre_zpsdbe68422.jpg) (http://s1291.photobucket.com/user/alibx11/media/Kawasaki%20GTR/tyre_zpsdbe68422.jpg.html)
I just went through MOT last week too. Tyre looks Fooked to me so gonna be a new tyre as well.
Too many things adding up to a dirty rotten thieving F**kin Ba*&ard of a c*&t swapping my front wheel out, but dammed if I know when or when this could have happened. Bike is locked up in Shed all the time, never left out anywhere somebody could get at it and my Biketrac would let me know if somebody was moving the bike without the ignition on.
Bloody mystery to me...
Maybe you're just getting old like the rest of us Ali. :mfr_lol:
Very strange! :wacko:
thieves just steal, they certainly don't replace as well. have you still got a TPS reading? that valve does not look like a tps, its just a random car valve
has your bike been into the dealer for any work?
No mate no reading, no low battery warning anymore as battery must be really dead, just the dashes "----" for the front, still shows the rear psi ok when riding. but it used to show both pressures...
Ain't been to the dealer for anything as I do all my own work on the bike.
Friggin mystery.
dashes means NO tps, did you have the low battery warning on the way back from the MOT, if so then someone has had your wheel after that moment , what thief would replace a wheel, Id say its someone that does not want you to know , so it would be someone known to you
was your bike parked somewhere? say on ride out where another GTR owner swapped the wheel out .
what mileage has your front tyre done
Low battery warning started last winter but as the temperature warmed up the warning would go and the ft pressure would show ok.
Problem is I can't even remember when it went out totally as I haven't been on the bike much this year due to my mother passing away in Jan and the subsequent work I've had to do re getting her house cleared out for selling and legal matters etc, just haven't had the time to get out this year.
Seemed to disappear altogether over the summer so I assumed the battery had died enough that the TPS was failing to register with the ECU and showing the dashes, same as if the tps wasn't there.
On thinking back the only time the bike has ever been left unattended was when I went over to England in June on the overnight Liverpool ferry with the GPS tracker turned off for obvious reasons. Even when I got to Somerset the bike was locked in my fathers garage so wasn't even sitting out there.
I know the Tax disk was on the bike just before I went because I had just serviced the bike and replaced all the wheel bearings and steering bearings and remember bolting the disk back on. And I don't remember a black tyre valve when I checked the tyre pressures before I came over.
Any time I go out on a bike run we're always still around the bikes and haven't even seen anybody else with a GTR in our company.
So only time I can see is the Ferry, but how unlikely is that?
I would let the tyre down, break the seal and look to see if the TPS is there.. If not then it's been swapped.
mmmm, your account is beginning to wander slightly , you said at first that you have always had a tps reading now you say its not been there all summer, first you were convinced the tyre was better at MOT ,
I think maybe the tyre wear has just caught up on you, as debs said check out that TPS, tampering on the ferry is highly unlikely as the decks are locked up during transit unless the crew did it!
Strange story.
But there has to be a good reason to swap a wheel rather than just nicking it, and surely not just for the tyre pressure sensor.
Check the wheel for damage. If the rim is dented or it's buckled then maybe someone might take advantage of yours and make a swap, leaving you the dented one, but working out when and where, it seems impossible if it's always locked up.
Really strange.
Keep us posted on what you come up with.
I think it was Professor Plum, on the Driveway, with the Spanner!
I think the TPS is an integral part of the valve.... I would say it's certainly been swapped.... But where and how would be the thing..... Ok, so it doesn't take a lot, but it's not the easiest thing to do at the roadside, because the front fender would be in the way.....
If it had been in a shop, perhaps they just put the wrong wheel on the wrong bike, I know some people don't like TPS.
It does all sound very strange. But obviously it's been been swapped at some point... Other thing to note is, some bikes have silver wheels and some have black depending on base colour....
Neil
Quote from: Foody on November 02, 2014, 06:27:41 PM
I think it was Professor Plum, on the Driveway, with the Spanner!
:-)....
Quote from: SirToU on November 02, 2014, 06:30:48 PM
I think the TPS is an integral part of the valve.... I would say it's certainly been swapped.... But where and how would be the thing..... Ok, so it doesn't take a lot, but it's not the easiest thing to do at the roadside, because the front fender would be in the way.....
If it had been in a shop, perhaps they just put the wrong wheel on the wrong bike, I know some people don't like TPS.
It does all sound very strange. But obviously it's been been swapped at some point... Other thing to note is, some bikes have silver wheels and some have black depending on base colour....
Neil
the TPS is separate to the valve, it is clamped into place. When my tyre guy broke my tps valve he was able to use a rubber car type and botch a fix and it was help into place, I suspect that the last time he had his tyre changed that is what happened to him, he just never noticed, maybe the tyre guy never refitted the tps and that's why he had a dash instead on a reading.
most unlikely that a theif would cover their tracks by fitting a replacement wheel, not unless they know you
I bought the bike in Oct 12 and the TPS readings for both ft and rr have been fine up till this problem, as I said I was getting a low battery warning last winter but as the temperature warmed up it went away and the ft pressure was indicative again.
As I said, I haven't been able to get out much this year but when I came over to England in June the Ft pressure reading was just showing "----" so assumed that since the last time I had been out on it the battery had finally given up the ghost.
I have never put tyres on the bike, it had 11259 miles on it when I got it.... I mot'd it on 24.10.14 and it had 13125 miles on it so I've only done 2000 miles in 2 years.
Both tyres were like new when I bought the bike so if it's my ft tyre it seems to have worn a lot quicker than expected. Back is still fine.
I never stated that the tyre was better at MOT, I said "it went through MOT a week ago" I never even looked at the tyres before MOT because I knew how good they should have been, as I had only just serviced it in June before I went to England, only noticed the wear when I took the wheel off today to do the TPS.
Will have to see if I can get a new tyre and get this one off but can't imagine a TPS attached to this valve.
Here's a silly question....
In the picture, you have a balancing weight.... Generally, tyre garages use the same supplier for that type of weight......
Presuming the tyres were replaced at the same garage and both tyres are the same make - are the weights appear to be the same manufacturer?
Neil
well its one of two senarios ,
if you actually have a TPS inside the tyre , then the last time the tyre got changed they fucked up and had to put in a rubber valve, 14k miles is about right for the limit of wear on the bikes 2nd tyre ( my front original did just over 7k) and I guess with such a close fit fender you never noticed the wear
if no TPS then yes some sly fucker has had it away with your entire wheel , what a story ,!
Yes Neill, just checked, the weights look to be the same make, so indicates fitted at same time, which was before I bought it.
Unless as Viper says it's possible there is a tps attached to this valve, my tax disk really did just drop off and there is some reason my front tyre has worn so quick, then it could be my wheel ok.
Can't say I remember the black valve though... LOL
FFS I'm getting annoyed now....
Won't know till I get the wheel of to see.
Thanks for the replies guys...
id be outside right now popping that bead , the curiosity is killing me, who needs tv!
just one other thought, you say the tyres were changed just before you bought it, well 11k miles is an unusual milestone for front tyre change, im my opinion, as I said my batlax did 7k and that seems to be the benchmark.
The new TPS sensors are sealed units and part of the valve, hence why I was looking for and older sort when mine when tits up..long story.
Id say its been knacked and replaced with either a car one or a new sort but not programmed in.
If you change them you can't put angled valves on anymore.
LOL... I've already tried and can't get the bead broken, will have to go to a tyre shop, so will ring round a few tomorrow.
Don't know if I'll get much sleep tonight wondering about it.
Bridgestone BT021s are shite and you are lucky to get 7k out of it. Please trust us all and fit PR3 or 4. They so much better for the bike.
Boomer via Tapatalk
I'm sure you will find the original TPS in there. As the battery runs down you get the "low battery" warning and when it eventually goes completely you end up with just dashes on the readout. If it is the older sort, you can replace the batteru with a bit of soldering.
ive used the 2 g clamp method in the past to break the bead
(http://www.advrider.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=84379)
12-14k for a front tyre is possible......
Not if you ride it like it was stolen.. :wink:
Quote from: virginiajim on November 02, 2014, 09:28:52 PM
Not if you ride it like it was stolen.. :wink:
Nor if you ride on Bridgestone's or Pirelli's! But each to their own! :-p
Well it was annoying me, so kept working at it and just got the bead broke, guess what, no TPS.
That's a mystery, cause there definately was a silver TPS in wheel and I was getting a reading in the dash so go figure.
Now I know what happened to my tax disk as well then.
Some thieving scumbag. :2guns: It's the oddest theft I know of.
Only place I can think of is the Ferry, they would have had plenty of time to do whatever they wanted, the biketrak was disarmed, they wouldn't want the theft discovered so replaced a dodgy part, ie a wheel with a shit tyre and no TPS.
Still defies belief though....
Well, I'm amazed :undecided: Stupid thing is that the old TPS won't work in any other bike without the ECU being told to accept it through the dealer's KDS3 kit , and that will cost
As the TPS is unique to a particular bike's ECU, is it possible to establish through a Kawasaki dealer, from their database which is presumably linked to the database of Kawasaki UK (for warranty purposes etc) whether a person has had a TPS with your bikes ECU code reprogrammed?
Possibly not, but I was just thinking out loud, it would be awesome if you could identify, who, where and when and get your wheel back!
If your wheel was swapped on the ferry then presumably it would have had to be done by someone owning a suitable donor bike, which would be another Kawasaki. Its a task that wouldn't actually take too long to complete if you have the right tools.
Maybe an earlier model GTR (with no TPS) has been used...I would be inclined to check with the ferry company to see if any other bike riding passenger requested access to the car deck to fix a possible problem with his/her bike. I was once allowed onto the car deck to blow up the rear tyre on my then ZX9 which had a puncture, but as far as I'm aware restrictions regarding access to the car deck are now quite stringent.
It may well be that the ferry company has some kind of insurance in place for vehicles in transit :yes:
Could be someone in the ferry company had a spare wheel on board and was simply waiting for a GTR to appear, then whoosh a swop was done.
Alan
That was my thoughts Alan, the overnight ferry gives them a good 8 hour window to do any changing and I wouldn't even expect to look at the bike before I took off.
Still trying to believe it happened, so before I went to work this morning I popped the dust seal off the wheel bearings to check if they were the new bearings I replaced in June, well the grease was black and the bearings had blue grease seals, the ones I put in were black seals, so looks like a complete wheel swap.
What are the odds though? Same brand of tyre and all BT21's.
C**t has probably been just waiting for a suitable bike to come aboard for the opportunity.
Is the ZZR14 the same front wheel? if so would mean it could be a zzr wheel I've now got ,in which case my TPS was no use to them but they did a swap for the tyre.
If it hadn't happened to me I would have trouble believing this at all.....
Next dilemma is... goin to put the PR4 Gt's on at £250 for the pair, but since I now have have no TPS at all on the front do I remove it completely from the back and just put a car valve on it too? at least then I can use "slime" or the likes to prevent punctures, even though I know that not having the TPS's will impact on the future value of the bike.
I could have done without spending this money at the moment but thieving bas**rds never think of the repercussions on others.
Quote from: alibx11 on November 03, 2014, 04:03:37 PM
Is the ZZR14 the same front wheel? if so would mean it could be a zzr wheel I've now got ,in which case my TPS was no use to them but they did a swap for the tyre.
Quote from: O.C. on November 03, 2014, 02:14:43 PM
Maybe an earlier model GTR (with no TPS) has been used...
The ZZR14/ZX-14 front wheel assembly is the same and, in North America at least, all model years of 1400GTR/Concours 14 have come with TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System to differentiate it from TPS Throttle Position Sensor).
Was the ferry manned by scousers? They will nick anything :whistling:
I would get on to the ferry company and make a complaint.
We'll have to start chaining the wheels on a crossing so they don't get nicked. :rolleyes:
No Debs it was manned by bloody Poles or the like, couldn't understand what they were saying at all.
I'll certainly be cabling my bike up next time on the boat.
Unfortunately this was in June so bit late now to make a complaint to Stena, and hell who'd believe me anyway?
I'm still finding it hard to believe.
well that is an unbelievable and I think the ferry is the most likely place, im surprised tho that the mot guy never mentioned your tyre as its border line.
you absolutely have to report the incident to the ferry company , im sure they have had other complaints , I bet the deck crew have been having tyres off cars and all sorts of other stuff for a period of time, I bet you were not the first , even if it stops others from having this loss.
I will certainly be telling other bikers this story and watching my own bike in future,
what was the ferry company and crossing?
It was the overnight ferry Belfast to Liverpool, don't think I'll be taking that route again if I can help it and if I do I will be cabling everything up.
Problem is I can't prove anything but the ferry was the only place it could have happened.
It was the only place the bike was unattended and the Tracker was disarmed, I mean to say like Biketrac have even phoned me one time before because the bike was registering movement when I was working on it in the shed and forgot to disarm it for a few hours, so cant see any other time it was done, or when any one would have the opportunity.
Hard to believe the lengths some go to but when you think about it its a gift for anybody of that sort who needs anything off a car, or bike as it turns out.
I got a call from biketrac as we were coming in to Dover with DFDS. It registered a movement and they rang me.. Thankfully all was ok :yes:
Quote from: Boomer on November 02, 2014, 08:09:17 PM
Bridgestone BT021s are shite and you are lucky to get 7k out of it. Please trust us all and fit PR3 or 4. They so much better for the bike.
Boomer via Tapatalk
:agree: Only 9,300km on the original BT021 on my 2012 bike, Front was worse than the rear. Shitstone had lost the plot. Get rid of them - Michelin PR3 went up to 15K km, Pirelli Angel GT for 18K km, and Michelin reckon the PR4 is about 15% better on braking and wear than the PR3. Too early to tell, but I tell you what, the PR4 are great (make sure you get the GT compound though - especially if two-up). About 7K km down and on track. Our roads here in Oz are pretty harsh as well.... I've heard that only Germany is it a requirement to stick with the manufacturer's fit (probably the reason they always seem to have Metzeler on).
Put a PR4gt on front but as I like my tyres matching will mean I have to spend another £150 getting the back too as well, but Heh Ho it's only money... just as soon as I can spare some. Bike is now bagged for the winter so time to save up again.