Thinking of alarm/remote start

I've had a remote start on my cars for the past couple of years and really enjoyed it so I started to think of installing one on my SW. Anybody already has such configuration? Care to share your experience?

Thank you so much.
Cheers,
Mad

Remote start on a silverwing is complicated.  You need to buypass the brake lever switch and side stand, and be absolutely sure your bike is on the centerstand.  CVT transmission is effectively always engaged. If you rev your bike by remote or it requires high rev to start, your bike will go without you.

The problem with most alarms out there, is that they are car alarms adapted for bikes.
Why is this a problem?   Amp draw.  Most car alarms draw 20ma at base, plus 50-70ma per led.
ma actually refers to milliamps per hour.
A car alarm with a single led is drawing 90ma per hour or about 1 amp every (a little more than) 11 hours.
The Silverwing typically won't start below 9 amps.  
So battery life with a car alarm and with/without 1 led is about
Yuasa 12 amp stock battery: 34 hours/150 hours
Yuasa 14 amp battery:56 hours/250 hours
Yuasa 14.2 amp battery: 58 hours/260 hours
Shorai 18 amp battery: 99 hours/450 hours

You need an alarm designed for a motorcycle, that uses no LED and has a low power mode for when the battery is getting low.

It will not remote start, but the Alarm I recommend (the top of the line in Motorcycle alarms) is
http://ridescorpio.com/  
They have alarms, and a complete ride platform which allows for remote tracking, Text notification if your bike  alarm is triggered, geofencing, and as an accessory they have screw on Tire pressure sensors that integrate and show up on your mobile phone app.
Draw is 2-6ma depending on mode.

Great company.  I've had their product on both my Silverwing, and now my Honda NM4. Love it.

Dan

I have the Scorpio SR-I900. I selected the basic tilt and vibration sensor. Later I added the ignition kill function. The alarm will sound if someone tries to hot wire it, or use a spare key. Because it is RFID, the remote key-fob needs to be within 1-4 feet of the control box. It comes with a battery bakup. Great product. My 2¢.

Thank you so much, gents. I really appreciate all your input. I did order the Beret 5000 alarm/remote with shock sensor. I plan also to get a small solar charger to help maintain the level of charge. I cant shall out another 400 bucks now after spending almost a grand on all the upgrades for my week old Wing

Thanks so much.
Cheers,
Mad

john grinsel wrote:

Pure garbage!!

I have to agree with you on this comment for the simple reason that nobody would ever dream of stealing a maxi scooter in Australia. 99.9 % of all motorbike riders wouldn't want to be seen dead on a scooter. I think it would be safe with the key in it parked out on the road, if it wasn't for the odd drunk who might grab it to ride home. And that just suits me fine

Piaggio X9 500 Evo maxis came with electric centre-stand and remote seat-opener.

The stands were sometimes useful, especially for putting down supercilious BMW motorcycle riders, but were heavy on the battery so were best used only once at a time. I should add that the stand worked only to lift the bike - it didn't retract electrically.

The remote seat-openers were useful in that one didn't have to fiddle getting keys in locks, although that's not really difficult. They had more impact opening the seat at a distance when attending rallies or visiting Bikers' cafes.

I live quite happily without either.

My UK Silverwing was fitted with the Honda HISS system which seems good and reliable.  I had to remove a Metalarm from my ST 1100 as it kept immobilising me when I was touring in France.  I have just had to replace the Datatool alarm on my Grinnall trike as it developed a mind of it's own, it carried on beeping for a couple of hours after it was removed !  Unfortunately I have had to replace it (£260) as our compulsory insurance companies all seem to require them, if it was left to me I wouldn't bother !

That's very interesting; people found that adding aftermarket alarms to the X9 buggered up the electronics.

john grinsel wrote:

Pure garbage!!

I am sorry to hear, John. What problems have you experienced with the system? Please let me know. I have 30 days to return the unit.

Thank you so much
Cheers,
Mad

Mad,
Have you read the reviews on Amazon? Most of the reviews indicated that the installation instructions were bad. If you have to get it installed by a professional, the cost would be very close to the Scorpio I900. My 2¢.

Easyrider wrote:

Mad,
Have you read the reviews on Amazon? Most of the reviews indicated that the installation instructions were bad. If you have to get it installed by a professional, the cost would be very close to the Scorpio I900. My 2¢.

Thank you, sir. I did read the reviews and you are write. Some are bad, others good. I have installed a couple of Prestige systems on my family vehicles in the past few months so my memory is fresh on it and I am ready to tackle the issue. I do have 30 days I can return the item so I will give it a try. I will report either way.

Thank you again.
Cheers,
Mad

So I installed the alarm on my Singer. The instructions that came with the unit are not the best, but with all the help on the Net, it is a very easy install if you are not planning to use the engine-kill or the remote-start function. Actually I take my words back. The remote start was easy too. So the arm/disarm works fine and the remote start - I am loving it. It is very loud. I like it. I found some good instructions on the Internet on how to make the engine-kill part work too, so I have to order a specific relay, open up the unit and do a little tinkering. It is new to me, but I think I have a good skill set for this type of soldering job. The funny part was that the seller did a p*ss poor job on packaging the unit and it was delivered to my door with the box lid half-open. Because of that the wiring harness was lost, but nothing else. I reported this to the seller and they refunded me, telling that I do not have to send the unit back. I spend about $10 on the new 9-prong female and mail connectors and made my own harness. So there

Once I rewire the unit for the shut-off option I will post an update.

Cheers,
Mad

Did you run a battery drain test with and without the alarm to determine its draw?

dspevack wrote:

Did you run a battery drain test with and without the alarm to determine its draw?

Nope. From reading the manual and some of the Internet sources, the draw is about 4 to 6 mA. I guess I can test it too.

Thank you.
Cheers,
Mad

Remote start ---ever thought that there is no neutral---even on center stand, parking brake on---the still is possibility of machine moving forward---cold start, idle speed is raised.

Alarm....nobody is going to steal SilverWing---cannot be given away new, little used value.

Let your words always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should answer each person (Colossians 4:6)

Cheers,
Mad