EZ Pass on a bike?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
  #1  
Old 03-22-2013 | 02:31 AM
MaximusPrime's Avatar
Thread Starter
|
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 1,264
From: WMNF, NH, USA
1st Gear Member
Default EZ Pass on a bike?

Anyone use one?
Lots of tolls to be paid from here to South Carolina, would prefer sailing through without the hassle of taking off the gloves, finding the cash, not dropping it, paying, stuffing change back in, and putting the gloves back on, etc. Seems like a great idea....
I know it works on a magnetic field...but with an almost all aluminum bike, there's not much to trigger the field...kind of like sitting at a light until a car shows up to make it change.
I realize I can register the ez pass to my bike's plate and it will take a picture and bill accordingly...but I'd rather have the green light.
Do they work for bikes reliably? I can't seem to get a straight answer from the interwebs.
Bueller?
 
  #2  
Old 03-22-2013 | 03:34 PM
rlj's Avatar
rlj
Member
1st Gear Member
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 81
From: Atlanta
Default

I have the Peach Pass in Atlanta and with motorcycles they said I didn't need to have it on my Versys, when I go thru the camera it's suppose to scan my license plate and the computer system reads the plate and lets everyone know it's fine.......haven't had a ticket mailed to me yet.

You may want to check with your local people and see if their system is similar.
 
  #3  
Old 03-22-2013 | 04:59 PM
ranger01's Avatar
Member
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 36
1st Gear Member
Default

I use one all the time on my VFR, it will work in a tank bag on top or someplace on the handlebar unobstructed. I've even used it on my coat sleeve.
 
  #4  
Old 03-22-2013 | 11:26 PM
dan888's Avatar
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 3,406
From: N. Illinois
1st Gear Member
Default

I might be wrong, but I never thought the overhead readers detected anything but the chip in the ez-pass itself. I would have just assumed that it would work.
On a related note, Do the different ez-pass transponders work on different tollways? In IL ours is called an I-pass, will that work with another states toll system??
Dan
 
  #5  
Old 03-22-2013 | 11:50 PM
MaximusPrime's Avatar
Thread Starter
|
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 1,264
From: WMNF, NH, USA
1st Gear Member
Default

Thanks for the input.
@Dan888 - Yes yours will work all over the East coast, from Maine to Virginia and out to Illinois. I think it's 14 states in all. That's why I'm thinking about getting one. If it were just my state of NH, it wouldn't be worth it because there's only one toll. But from here to there, it's more like 10-20 tolls, depending on my route.
 
  #6  
Old 03-23-2013 | 01:50 AM
dan888's Avatar
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 3,406
From: N. Illinois
1st Gear Member
Default

Thanks MP Another thing to consider is that, here in IL at least, the tolls are twice as much if you do not have the ez-pass. So if it is the same policy in the states you plan to travel through, the savings could add up. Many of the main tolls here are $1.50 with an IPASS or $3 cash.
Dan
 
  #7  
Old 03-23-2013 | 03:27 AM
Highbeam's Avatar
Senior Member
1st Gear Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 740
From: South Puget Sound, WA
Default

Originally Posted by MaximusPrime
I know it works on a magnetic field...but with an almost all aluminum bike, there's not much to trigger the field...?
How did you get an aluminum bike? The only non magnetic thing on our bikes is the engine. Iron tank, iron frame, iron handlebars. Stainless steel all over. Also, and a big one, is the magnetic field generated from the flow of 10,000 volt electricity to your spark plug.

But yes, the passes out here work by reading the chip.
 
  #8  
Old 03-23-2013 | 04:48 AM
MaximusPrime's Avatar
Thread Starter
|
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 1,264
From: WMNF, NH, USA
1st Gear Member
Default

OK, point taken, it has a bunch of steel, but it's largest mass is aluminum...but as I understand how it works, the toll booth is the field which you pass through altering the field, which generates electricity in the transmitter and fires off the RFID to be read. So in comparison to a car(with a lot more steel), bikes barely register, maybe because like traffic lights, the sensitivity of the of the reader is set too low.
I blow red lights all the time, after sitting there and waiting and waiting for it to change. Funny how the light changes as soon as a car pulls up behind me.
And I tried using an ever increasing amount of hard drive magnets (got up to 6) and the lights never changed. I got to thinking 11" of ground clearance was too much, so I put them on my kickstand, pull up to a light, put the kickstand down on the strip, and still nothing.

Glad to hear it works. A buddy said his misses a bunch. I'll just make sure to register my plate to the transponder. I guess I'll see how many green "toll paid" lights versus how many yellow "contact EZ Pass" lights I get. And I guess that depends on where I put it?.
 
  #9  
Old 03-23-2013 | 05:22 AM
RimBender's Avatar
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 618
From: WA state
1st Gear Member
Default

here we can get a rfid decal or removable device, I opted for the device after being double or tripled tooled hauling bikes in trailer or truck.

signals and magnets? naw I've laid huge subwoofer magnets right on the pavement sensors and it didn't work. The problem is the bikes are vertical, if laid over they would work. Saw this demonstrated with a garbage can lid.
 
  #10  
Old 03-24-2013 | 06:01 PM
Lotrat's Avatar
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 653
From: Vista, CA
1st Gear Member
Default

Last time I drove on the tollway in Chicago it was only $0.40. Quarter-nickle-dime every few miles. Out in Cali, we have Fas-Trak. Here's what they say:



I drive a motorcycle; do I have to pay a toll? Can I use FasTrak?

Motorcycles pay the same toll as a two-axle vehicle when using The Toll Roads. Motorcyclists can use FasTrak to pay. Be sure to keep the transponder in a secure location, such as on the vehicle or in a pocket or bag.
 



All times are GMT. The time now is 04:25 PM.