EZ Pass tag mounting

Looking for input on EZ Pass tag mounting . In the past I have simply kept it in the chest pocket of my jacket and raised it (still in pocket) with my left hand when passing through tolls. A friend recently used my ST 1300 and kept the tag in the clear top map pocket of my tank bag but reading was spotty. It can be mounted on the Velcro tapes under the hood over the instrument panel but I think the reading will be spotty there as well. I really don't want a permanent handle bar mount . Any thoughts / suggestions would be welcome.

Rdt1953 said:

It can be mounted on the Velcro tapes under the hood over the instrument panel but I think the reading will be spotty there as well.

Click to expand...

That's actually the single best place on the bike for it. Mine's been there for years and hasn't missed once.

Some stuff I wrote a decade ago that might be useful and will explain why the tank bag isn't a great spot: CLICKY

--Mark

I have mine mounted to the windshield low on the left side with the windshield in the lowest position you can't remove it.

I think that part of the problem is not only individual EZ pass transponders, but transponders from different states. I have a Mass EZ pass. It worked for a while in my Aerostitch breast pocket, then stopped. (Maybe because of positioning? Wrong side forward?) I've tried it in the left glove box - it worked once or twice but I thought the pocket was too hot for long term use. I've tried holding it up in my hand as I pass through the Toll booth - sometimes it works, sometimes not. I wonder if getting it up high early enough is the problem - the sensors are sometimes not over the collection booth but out in front.

The instructions say there should be no metal near the transponder, and Blrfl said in another post that orientation of the transponder (and therefore the antenna inside) is important. So, I've given up and mounted it where I did not want to put it. It is now attached to the top left corner of my windshield - and it works perfectly every time. But, I have to take it off and put it in my pocket whenever I leave the bike. Btw, this transponder never failed me when placed on the dashboard of my car - right up front near the VIN.

Blrfl said:

That's actually the single best place on the bike for it. Mine's been there for years and hasn't missed once.

Some stuff I wrote a decade ago that might be useful and will explain why the tank bag isn't a great spot: CLICKY

--Mark

Click to expand...

Thanks to all for the quick responses - I think I'll try under the instrument hood without doing the disassembly bit . Richard

The Harris County (TX) Toll Road Authority issues EZ tags enclosed in hard plastic boxes for use on motorcycles (see photo). I have mine wrapped in an old sock and stuck in one corner of my GIVI top box. The only times I can recall it ever failing me was the rare occasions where the signal from the transponder was used to raise a gate across the EZ Tag lane. There were a few of those times that the gates controller "saw" my EZ Tag after I stopped behind it, another time or two when I realized that I had enough room to go around the gate and go on my way. If you have a top box on your ST, you may want to try that before dismantling part of the bike to install on the back side of the dash. The HCTRA "box" has two adhesive strips on the back, so I might have been able to mount it on the underside of the trunks lid if I'd needed to, but it works well as is.

I'd like to draw a distinction between a toll "tag" and a transponder.

Here in Louisville, three bridges are currently tolled after the Bridges Project, which entailed two all-new bridges over the Ohio River, and a tolled, rebuilt third bridge.

The tolling authority offers two automatic payment options;
A conventional active transponder and,
A passive "tag".

The transponder is, indeed active, responding to a query by the tolling transmitter mounted on the bridge superstructure with an answer identifying itself as being associated with a particular account. This transponder can be moved among up to four vehicles that have been pre-registered as belonging to that transponder.

The passive tag is simply that; a paper-thin plastic tag with a bar code printed on it that is to be mounted on the windshield, and read by the (supposedly) high-res cameras mounted on the same superstructure as the transmitters. The tag is good for only one vehicle, and so cannot be moved between vehicles. I've been unable to ascertain if there is a RFID component to this tag.

I do believe OP is using a transponder instead of a tag, as a tag would not work if it's strictly an optical device.

This (and the CLICKY) does answer a question for me though. It seems that a transponder will most likely work if it's contained in a jacket pocket or other thin-walled enclosure, as long as orientation is optimal.

Good Ridin'
slmjim

Rdt1953 said:

Looking for input on EZ Pass tag mounting

Click to expand...

I have an EZPass transponder. My first mounting point was behind the windshield, low on the center of the panel over the dashboard. I didn't like the reflections in the windshield, though. (I used the plastic strips that come with the device to mount it, so the transponder was only visible when I wanted it and tucked into the left fairing pocket the rest of the time.)

I have since taken to mounting it on the left fairing pocket lid, again only when I expect to need it. A bit of hot glue (or maybe quick-setting cyanoacrylate) keeps the mounting strips securely attached when the transponder is being removed.

I had one minor kerfuffle with it in that spot, but only the once and it may have been because of my lane position as much as anything else.

Good luck-

If you look at the picture I loaded just behind the IBA sticker is my EZ Pas transponder

Bike is in shop - tires , hydraulic fluids and coolant flush/ replacement - hope to get it back tomorrow. I'll post a pic of where I would like to hang it so the quorum here can salute it or shoot it down before I commit to Velcro . Thanks gents

I don't use an EZ a lot around here, but on my NE trip last year I just stuck it in the clear pouch on the tank bag. I didn't worry if a toll didn't pick it up as my plate is tied to my EZ pass account and it would just get charged like it was read by the EZ pass.

I had mine in the left fairing pocket for a year but then moved it after discovering it worked fine from inside the Givi E55 trunk on my wife's bike. You know that little red document flap on the underside of the lid? It fits inside there perfect and hasn't failed to be read on either of our bikes in the last year of travel into NY, Canada and locally around the Washington DC area.

Here is where I think I want it gents - (less duct tape - I only use that on the front tire )
i can still read the speedo up to 90 without ducking - whaddya think ?
Sorry about the orientation- don't know how to fix that

I don't have an EZ Pass anymore (I'm in Texas now) but I put my Texas Toll Tag (one of those flexible stick-ons) in sandwich bag inside my glove compartment. Seems to work just fine in there.

I put my Texas Toll Tag (one of those flexible stick-ons) in sandwich bag inside my glove compartment. Seems to work just fine in there.[/QUOTE]

By glove compartment are you referring to one of the fairing pockets?

Don B said:

By glove compartment are you referring to one of the fairing pockets?

Click to expand...

Yes, should have said fairing pocket.

Rdt1953 said:

Here is where I think I want it gents

Click to expand...

That's right behind where mine is. I should have clarified this before: mine is mounted inside the instrument cluster housing, Velcroed to the side that faces the windshield.

--Mark

Anyone know if it will read from Corbin Smuggler trunk ? ( sorry to beat this thing to death guys )

Rdt1953 said:

Anyone know if it will read from Corbin Smuggler trunk ? ( sorry to beat this thing to death guys )

Click to expand...

May have discovered the answer to my own question by re reading Blrfl's posted link - resonant frequency of water and bodies etc. - looks like my a_s may screw up the signal

Is there something wrong with installing it inside the dash?

Don't know how New Jersey handles it, but in Virginia they waive the deposit on the transponders if you're registered to have your account topped up automatically when it gets low.

--Mark