Annoying Ezpass Issue - Help!

[ebster1085]

Ezpass issue turns to hilarity

*Edit* Looks like posts were combined..

So this morning as I am approaching the toll for the RFK bridge, I see two cops walk out from either side and start waving their arms in the air to flag me down. I pull up, and the one guy approaches me:

cop: "so youre the @sshole who has been going around the toll every morning..give me your ezpass tag"
me: (pull the tag out of my pocket which is where it now lives because its clearly a defective piece of sh1t) "here you go"
cop: "well no wonder it doenst work smart @ss, its in your back pocket..gimme your license"

I explain to him why its there and discuss the entire situation which he clearly could care less about, and he tells me that what I have been doing is illegal and I am basically stealing from the state, bla bla bla. He tells me he now has my info, and if he sees me do it again he will be mailing me a summons. He then tries to scan the tag, which naturally doesnt work, and has to manually enter the tag number into his little handheld device before letting me go through.

Already called ezpass and let them have it. Two faulty tags in 2 weeks is a joke if you ask me. They are sending me a new one which will take "7-10 days" and I guess in the meantime I will have to stop every morning for the cop, give him my damn tag, and have him manually enter it. Great way to start my day!!

 

[boars]

Re: Ezpass issue turns to hilarity

I was expecting this to have a funny twist at then end...

Man, that sucks... what a pain in the bum. The only toll ways around my area are all tunnels... which SFA people use as they don't help get anywhere usefull in most peoples daily commute.

 

[ebster1085]

Re: Ezpass issue turns to hilarity

I was expecting this to have a funny twist at then end...

Man, that sucks... what a pain in the bum. The only toll ways around my area are all tunnels... which SFA people use as they don't help get anywhere usefull in most peoples daily commute.

Haha..yea, "hilarity" was used more in a sarcastic way. It really does suck and I am p1ssed. Not that I dont love riding, but I already have a 70 mile RT commute for work and now you throw in this toll aggravation..grrrrr

 

[metallicat]

Re: Ezpass issue turns to hilarity

I have one of those tag holders that mount on the handlebars. Before that, NOTHING worked pocket, backpack, windshield (failed few times). I think most NY toll booths can't scan bikes' plates, so if you blow through, they lose - and I've seen guys do this.

Because of them though - there are cops (at least @ tunnels I've gone through) that give every biker the look of death (and g-d forbid your legal ez-pass doesn't register) - they'll grill you.


Mount for EZ Pass M-Tag IPASS and Smart-Tag: Everything Else

 

[ebster1085]

Re: Ezpass issue turns to hilarity

I have one of those tag holders that mount on the handlebars. Before that, NOTHING worked pocket, backpack, windshield (failed few times). I think most NY toll booths can't scan bikes' plates, so if you blow through, they lose - and I've seen guys do this.

Because of them though - there are cops (at least @ tunnels I've gone through) that give every biker the look of death (and g-d forbid your legal ez-pass doesn't register) - they'll grill you.

Amazon.com: Motorcycle / Bike Handlebar Mount for EZ Pass M-Tag IPASS and Smart-Tag: Everything Else

Yea man, you are 100% correct. I am pretty sure the cameras and scanners they have at tolls dont work for bikes because I have now gone throughj quite a few tolls in the past two weeks without paying and never got any violations or charges. Hopefully it stays that way

I used to have the pass on the windshield of my old 650R, and after that on the windshield of my FZ, and never once had an issue. The issues only started when I went naked and mounted the pass directly to the center bar stay. I highly doubt that mounting location could cause two tags to go bad, but who knows. I have seen stranger things.

Either way, the new tag is coming and I am just going to bite the bullet and try to mount it to the underside of my little flyscreen, if that still doenst work, I will consider a differnt option like the bar mount above. Thanks man.

 

[scottyblumps]

Re: Ezpass issue turns to hilarity

I have the same issue. I live in Astoria and when I take RFK this happens to me. I used to have to wait for the guy to manually enter it which is really annoying. I started putting it in the top pocket on in my backpack and now it works every time.

 

[rsw81]

Is there some way you could attach magnets to it? that way you wont have to leave the sticky velcro on your tank. Just gotta make sure you put something on the part of the magnet that comes in contact with the tank so it doesn't leave scratches.

Great idea in theory, but the magnets would likely create a small magnetic field around the transponder and inhibit signal transmission... I'd be curious how well this would work though!

 

[Erci]

Re: Ezpass issue turns to hilarity

UGH... nothing hilarious about that.. that's annoying as hell!! HATE when cops have zero understanding or compassion for motorcycle riders

 

[ebster1085]

Re: Ezpass issue turns to hilarity

I have the same issue. I live in Astoria and when I take RFK this happens to me. I used to have to wait for the guy to manually enter it which is really annoying. I started putting it in the top pocket on in my backpack and now it works every time.

I too ride with my backpack every day and there is a little zip up pocket on top. Do you just slip it in there, or make sure it is lying flat with the correct side facing up. I would be really curious to see if this works for me too...

 

[FB400]

I have my EZP tag mounted on the inner fairing plastic in horizontal position. Not sure if the 2008 has as much real estate there to offer.

Even still, sometimes the $@!@$!# gate doesn't open. And I get pissed every time.

What we started doing, which seems to consistently work, is to pull to the far right of the lane before approaching the booth. It seems the reader is located more to the right than the center or left of lane. so far it has worked every time. I would say 5 for 5 since doing it this way.

 

[ebster1085]

I have my EZP tag mounted on the inner fairing plastic in horizontal position. Not sure if the 2008 has as much real estate there to offer.

Even still, sometimes the $@!@$!# gate doesn't open. And I get pissed every time.

What we started doing, which seems to consistently work, is to pull to the far right of the lane before approaching the booth. It seems the reader is located more to the right than the center or left of lane. so far it has worked every time. I would say 5 for 5 since doing it this way.

Good to know. No longer have fairings, so that is not an option, but when I get the new tag I am going to do my best to mount it to the top wide part of my little fly screen. Since I have already had no luck with mounting two tags on the center handlebar stay, I might as well try a new spot.

If it would work every time in the breast pocket of my jacket that would be ideal, but I havent had luck with this method in the past..

 

[Dave in Houston]

I slipped mine inside an extra eyeglass case which I then punched holes in and tied to the bar risers using cable ties. It's not elegant, but it's functional. In this position it's oriented almost exactly parallel to what the installation diagram calls for, and it has worked fine for me for 6 months.

(Please forgive the dirty windscreen. I rode to work 3 times this week, 100 miles round trip.)

 

[scottyblumps]

Re: Ezpass issue turns to hilarity

I have a north face back pack with a little pocket on the top. I just put it in the pocket with the label facing out and it has been working seamlessly all over NY, NJ. Hope that works for you.

 

[ebster1085]

Re: Ezpass issue turns to hilarity

I slipped mine inside an extra eyeglass case which I then punched holes in and tied to the bar risers using cable ties. It's not elegant, but it's functional. In this position it's oriented almost exactly parallel to what the installation diagram calls for, and it has worked fine for me for 6 months.

(Please forgive the dirty windscreen. I rode to work 3 times this week, 100 miles round trip.)

That is a good idea and may be something I will try. It is however, very close to where I had the last tag mounted (on top of the center bar stay) and that didnt seem to work to well for whatever reason.

I have a north face back pack with a little pocket on the top. I just put it in the pocket with the label facing out and it has been working seamlessly all over NY, NJ. Hope that works for you.

I really like this idea, I just cant believe it works! With my entire body in front of the top backpack flap, I cant see how the scanner can get it, but I may give it a shot. Also may try the breast pocket approach again. If the backpack works, I gotta believe the pocket would regardless of a lack of success in the past.

 

[AngelFZ]

View attachment 41501View attachment 41502

I have only used this mount a couple of times with the "EZPass" and it has worked ok.
We do have here road sensors, as previously mentioned, and many times the bikes do not activate them.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dave in Houston]

Re: Ezpass issue turns to hilarity

That is a good idea and may be something I will try. It is however, very close to where I had the last tag mounted (on top of the center bar stay) and that didnt seem to work to well for whatever reason.

The first time I mounted mine, I had it in the same place you describe, oriented so that the long side was going up and down, and it wouldn't read properly.

When I put it in the glasses case with the long side going from side to side, it works fine. It didn't move six inches, but the difference was night and day.

 

[ebster1085]

*UPDATE*

So I got my new pass this weekend and found some interesting information. This time ezpass sent me a little installation guide specifically for motorcycles. It of course says the optimal place to mount is on the windscreen, but if this is not available, the breast pocket of your jacket should be suitable.

It also explicitly says DO NOT mount directly onto metal and keep at least 1.5" away from any metal. So, I guess the handlebars are not a great mounting location after all. My assumption now is that the metal in the bars somehow keeps the pass "activated" at all times and drains the batteries within a few days. This is exactly what happened to me twice.

Oh, so this morning I put it in my little breast pocket thinking it would be perfect..what a shocker, didnt work. I give up!

 

[2006_FZ6]

What a pain. I've been watching this thread as I'll need to mount my Ipass on the bike, but only for a few commutes.

Good luck, I assume if you tell the powers that be in writing that their solution is not working, they'll waive any penalty fees? At least in Illinois, they have been fairly lenient AS LONG AS you have an active account. If you just blow through the tolls and not pay, I've heard horror stories of severe fines ($500 and up).

 

[ebster1085]

What a pain. I've been watching this thread as I'll need to mount my Ipass on the bike, but only for a few commutes.

Good luck, I assume if you tell the powers that be in writing that their solution is not working, they'll waive any penalty fees? At least in Illinois, they have been fairly lenient AS LONG AS you have an active account. If you just blow through the tolls and not pay, I've heard horror stories of severe fines ($500 and up).

I have yet to be hit with any fines or penalties and hope that continues. Apparantly NY expass tolls dont have the proper tech to effectively catch a bike plate on camera..

I am going to try to mount my tag to the top widest part of my fly screen tonight an see how that works. If I still run into an issue, I feel as if I am nearly out of options.

 

[ebster1085]

Mounted it to the little VS-02 windscreen last night. It does fit, but if you go this route, ensure you have a few extra velcro tabs available as you will have to move them around. The factory locations at each far side of the tag dont cater well to the small size and limited surface area of the fly screen.

I also used a rubber band as a leash of sorts so that if the tag pops off during my ride, I wont lose it. The good news is, it worked! Went through both tolls this morning without issue and the tag never popped off. The bad news is, there is some metal in that general area (screen mount bracket) and I am concerned that I may run into the same issue I did last time with the battery dying prematurely.

We will just have to see I guess..