GPS Tracker

[Grumpy Old Git]

Anyone use these?

 

Thoughts on best value?

 

Thanks in advance

[Pie man]

6 hours ago, Grumpy Old Git said:

Anyone use these?

 

Thoughts on best value?

 

Thanks in advance

I have the the Monimoto tracker.

Pro's. I don't have to hard wire it to the bike, I can transfer it from bike to bike.

Con's, you have to subscribe to their or a sim, £36 per year, theirs covers all Europe. You have a little fob to attach to your person/keys.

 

I get a message every day to say it is working and the app has the battery signal/life etc. It uses lithium batteries, replace every two years.

It will ring and/ or send a text message if the bike is knocked or moved, I can start active tracking if it has been stolen along with the tracker key fob, it pings regular locations. (I had it on the 1290 when I had an accident - I had to laugh, I tracked the recovery driver and he was amused when I quizzed, him why he took the route he did when returning the bike along with the speed he was travelling). 

As you are aware, there are many available, but I managed to get a promo code and it was less than £150 at the time. Had it for a couple of years now.   

[Gerontious]

No... not interested. They are standard on the latest bikes and are causing all kinds of problems, mostly with the lithium battery, They make connecting an optimiser full time a MUST.

So, if you get one that is going to be connected to the bikes battery and there are going to be periods where the bike is not going to be used AND your bike has a lithium battery as standard then its almost a requirement that the bike be connected to an optimiser. If any of these circumstances do not apply then that might be less of an issue. Though it might still be in your best interests to have one handy 'just in case'.

Im mostly not interested because it seems to me that professional thieves - who are most likely to target my bike are well aware of these things and will have countermeasures ready to roll.

I'll continue my usual strategy. no security. aside from 'secrecy'.

 

Fitting a tracker might make me 'feel better' - but it doesn't seem to stop bikes from vanishing without trace. And Im seeing such reports all the time. The 1100 Africa Twin is a very desirable bike for professionals.

Edited September 25, 2023 by Gerontious

[Stu]

1 hour ago, Pie man said:

I have the the Monimoto tracker.

Pro's. I don't have to hard wire it to the bike, I can transfer it from bike to bike.

Con's, you have to subscribe to their or a sim, £36 per year, theirs covers all Europe. You have a little fob to attach to your person/keys.

 

I get a message every day to say it is working and the app has the battery signal/life etc. It uses lithium batteries, replace every two years.

It will ring and/ or send a text message if the bike is knocked or moved, I can start active tracking if it has been stolen along with the tracker key fob, it pings regular locations. (I had it on the 1290 when I had an accident - I had to laugh, I tracked the recovery driver and he was amused when I quizzed, him why he took the route he did when returning the bike along with the speed he was travelling). 

As you are aware, there are many available, but I managed to get a promo code and it was less than £150 at the time. Had it for a couple of years now.   

 

 

Although mine sends me a message every 15 days not every day! its user selectable 

 

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/574971/#/27907,3203,1186

[Fish]

I had a DataTool on my first bike and had no issues with it or the battery on the bike. A couple of times the bike even sat for a few weeks without touching it and no issues with starting.

 

I think a lot depends on the product regarding how much it eats the battery.

[Shepherd]

+1 for Monimoto.

I got an extra fob and keep one each in summer / winter jacket.

Very quick to ring the mobile if I move the bike without the jacket on.

[Grumpy Old Git]

Thanks guys.

[manxie49]

Currently using Datatool on my bike with no issues, I'll go further to say that their customer service is also excellent.  I've also used Monimoto and although not monitored, I found it to be reliable, and locationally accurate.  Once you figure out where to hide it I'd say that it's money well spent.

[Joe85]

+ 1 for data tool. Mine stopped working. After a quick call to their helpline they posted me a new one and sent a guy round to fit it as part of the yearly subscription.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

Just a word about the Monimoto - make sure that where you live you have mobile signal. I went to buy one but they told me that living in an area with no mobile signal meant it wouldn't work.

[Stu]

12 hours ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

Just a word about the Monimoto - make sure that where you live you have mobile signal. I went to buy one but they told me that living in an area with no mobile signal meant it wouldn't work.

 

It will wait till you have a signal plus it will work off the weakest of 2g signals

 

Pretty sure they all work off the GPRS network otherwise how would you be able to track it? 

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

11 hours ago, Stu said:

 

It will wait till you have a signal plus it will work off the weakest of 2g signals

 

Pretty sure they all work off the GPRS network otherwise how would you be able to track it? 

You would have thought so - but when I asked them about it and told them we lived in an area with zero mobile signal they said it wouldn't work. I'd get a notification once it hit mobile signal, but that's a good two miles down the road. So I didn't hit the buy button.

[RideWithStyles]

trackers in most cases are useful tools but do still come with drawbacks, not as bad as  alarms and immobilisation mind you.
 

All work off gp signals but only the more premium ones also have other means to help.

All depends on the setup you have or willing to make.

As Gero says, if you have a small ah lithium bike battery and another on the tracker they wont last long if they have to work alot without a charger especially if its only a summer/Sunday toy, so a data tool has that pitfall. If the bikes battery is weak and the tracker is drained its not that much use which xase the insurance will ask why didn't you charge it?  try to wiggle out of it.

 

if you can't charge it then the monimoto is a good way to go but insurance companies wont discount on that unit but its very cost effective and reasonable for what it offers not to be considered which to me insurance should atleast reconsider them slightly.

 

Most trackers dont gain much in return of a discount off the insurance to offset the price and subscription from experience.
With more bikes being pcp for some people its not their bike anyway, only with a few years of their responsibility so less incentive unless its a really rewarding bike for the five finger discount crew.

 

if it was already on the bike without aftermarket purchase then it maybe worth having as a used buy but not to pay a premium on compared to one that didnt.

 

Joy riders will do what they do, their unescorted ride might be shorter but you'll be lucky if you still get it back in the same condition you left it.

Cos breakers/stripping scum are wise to these things what they do is move it, dump it in semi plain sight, return a while after to see if its collected by the owner/recovery/flopps. If not then it's reasonably safe from a tracker and move it to a slightly better place to look for a tracker (just incase it's been watched) and do their flithy deeds to it.