Bike Alarms

Looking on ebay and there's quite a few alarm systems out there. I think the Cheetah one stands out the most but wondering what everyones experiences with bike alarms is like out there. Good, bad, pointless, saved my bike?

Got a Rhino (australian brand) car alarm for my ZZR1200. Cost $70 from BigW of all places. I haven't seen them there since, but I think Tandy carry them, albeit a bit more expensively.
Great alarm with two remotes. Has immobiliser built in as well as a thingo to flash all your indicators when you arm/disarm the alarm. (looks kewl on a bike I reckon....small things I guess) It senses motion and electrical voltage drop to set off the alarm.
Only problems with it are that the remotes work a little intermittently- often have to give them a flick of the finger to get them to work. Also I suspect the alarm has caused a little electrical fault in my ZZR- when you hit redline, the headlights turn themselves off- I don't ride along at redline at night very often so haven't worried about it. I wired the alarm into the tail-light harness so that the alarm turns the indicators on when arming- I think this interferes with the headlight circuit, but haven't worried or investigated it.

use to have mongoose one on vtr and zx6r..they were great i thought...remote, sensitivity adjustment, made an awful scream wen sum1 touched it...drains batt a lil tho i hear??

Also I suspect the alarm has caused a little electrical fault in my ZZR- when you hit redline, the headlights turn themselves off- I don't ride along at redline at night very often so haven't worried about it. I wired the alarm into the tail-light harness so that the alarm turns the indicators on when arming- I think this interferes with the headlight circuit, but haven't worried or investigated it.

Neil showed me the vid of your lights going out @ redline! That is weird!

Yeah I might have to fix that one day, Richard......only had the bike nearly two years....

Yeah I might have to fix that one day, Richard......only had the bike nearly two years....

cant rush these things...

bike alarm seems like a goer then, cheap enough, a few security features, a few bling features. i like! everyone install themselves?

Also I suspect the alarm has caused a little electrical fault in my ZZR- when you hit redline, the headlights turn themselves off- I don't ride along at redline at night very often so haven't worried about it. I wired the alarm into the tail-light harness so that the alarm turns the indicators on when arming- I think this interferes with the headlight circuit, but haven't worried or investigated it.

Neil showed me the vid of your lights going out @ redline! That is weird!

Lights, like indicators, will give you a false ground (or negative). That is, it will for all purposes look negative until you use the circuit and suddenly the ground is live. So if you have wired anything in like that you might get some unexpected results.

Sounds like you have hooked a positive up to the indicators (correct) and grounded something through a tailight or even the indicator (incorrect).

However, this does not explain the headlights going out at redline. In fact, that makes no sense at all. Unless you have a shift light that is wired up wrong (see above) and comes on at redline???

Over at Netrider we organised a group buy of alarms from jcar (be ended up getting about 15 or so) we paid $50 each. I installed mine myself on to my ZX6-r and so far it has worked a treat. It's an alarm made by steelmate

Lights, like indicators, will give you a false ground (or negative). That is, it will for all purposes look negative until you use the circuit and suddenly the ground is live. So if you have wired anything in like that you might get some unexpected results.

Sounds like you have hooked a positive up to the indicators (correct) and grounded something through a tailight or even the indicator (incorrect).

However, this does not explain the headlights going out at redline. In fact, that makes no sense at all. Unless you have a shift light that is wired up wrong (see above) and comes on at redline???

Yep positive at indicators (through a diode to each side- thus the indicator when in use won't light the other-reverse biased diode), but alarm negative is direct to frame. Maybe the fault with the headlights is totally unrelated- supposed to cut fuel pumps, solenoids in carbies (to protect cat converters) and maybe ignition- maybe the headlights got roped in there some how?

...but alarm negative is direct to frame.

Even on an alloy frame?

Earth is Earth mate.

Gday,
Well i paid a little more for my bike alarm as my mind frame was that with my insurance it was going to cost me at least $1100 in excess if someone stole it.... so i spent $800 on a bike alarm. Yes its probably alot of money but it has saved my bike numerous times so it is worth every cent of the money.
Well your probably wondering what you get for $800
The alarm itself, sensor units, aerial, pager, 2 key pads.
The bike alarm has two settings, one if you knock it, sit on it, try to lift it... the other if someone comes close to it (can adjust). It gives them three warnings and then screams its tits off. It also has the alarm on voltage drop of the input power.
Now when it goes off a second later your pager goes off (especially great in shopping malls.) and you run out (as quickly as you can in leathers and boots) and smack the fook out of the person who touched/breathed/looked/ or thought about any of the above. The pager is good for 1km as it is using cb. With this unit if for instance you have 6 bikes, you can link all of the alarms together to the same pager etc.

Now this alarm usually last just over 2 weeks without turning the bike on till the battery is low enough not to beable to crank the bike, bu the alarm is still working.
So to combat this i have put jumper pins into the rear of my under tray where i can hook the battery charger straight to it if need be without having to remove my seat etc to get to the battery.

That price also included the guy coming out to where ever you are to fit the alarm. It is the recommended alarm from kawasaki (well thats what they told me). It doesnt get you any discount on your insurance through nrma as they want satellite tracking on the bike to enable the discout to start.
Well the name of the alarm is Armed Gaurd GFORCE or http://www.armedguard.com

Here is just a quick paste from the site on how it works.
The remote has two buttons on it. If the first button is pushed, the system and perimeter sensor becomes armed or if the second button is pushed, the system is armed, but the perimeter sensor is not armed. Pushing either button again disarms the system. A single loud CLICK is emitted when the system is armed and the turn signals flash once. A double loud CLICK is emitted when the system is disarmed and the turn signals flash twice.

The alarm module monitors the bike voltage for any sudden drops that would indicate an attempt to hot wire the bike. It also interrupts the starter circuit with a latching relay so that the starter will not function, even if the power lead to the alarm is severed by the thief. An internal, adjustable, sensor is built into the body of the alarm to detect tilt, motion, or a sudden shock to the bike. The remote controller uses code-hoping technology that prevents someone from receiving and retransmitting the codes to disable the system. An auxiliary sense wire and circuit is also provided to monitor other inputs, like when the saddlebags and/or trunk are opened. Additional inputs can be added to this auxiliary sense wire as well.

The microwave radar perimeter sensor has an adjustable range/sensitivity and it also has a warn-away function that gives the offending party two warnings within 8 seconds to back away before the systems alarms. If no more perimeter invasions are sensed within 5 seconds, the counter resets. After the third trigger of the perimeter sensor within 8 seconds, the system goes into full alarm. The warn-away audio warning consists of three clicks and flashes of the turn signals on the first event. The second event within 5 seconds triggers five rapid clicks and flashing of the turn signals. The clicks are loud enough to startle the offender, but are not so loud as to annoy anyone nearby. Maximum range of the perimeter sensor is about 10 ft, depending on where you install it.

The pager can be set to vibrate or beep when activated. Advertised range of the pager is up to ½ of a mile and the transmitter unit operates on the 27 Mhz frequency band with a transmitting power of 4 watts.

The unit draws 4milliamps of current when in the armed mode. The flashing LED draws another 1milliamps and the perimeter sensor adds another 12milliamps when activated. According to the folks at Armed Guard, they did extensive studies with Yuasa and Kawasaki in 2003 and have determined that the system can be safely left armed for 1-2 weeks with the perimeter sensor activated, and as much as 6 weeks without perimeter sensor activated, and the battery will remain within normal operating range. A battery tender device is recommended for any extended storage.

Anyway.. i definately think its the best bit of equipment i have put on the bike, definately makes it easier to walk away from her and know that you can come out swinging if someone wants it more than you.
My 2c

Gday,
Well i paid a little more for my bike alarm as my mind frame was that with my insurance it was going to cost me at least $1100 in excess if someone stole it.... so i spent $800 on a bike alarm. Yes its probably alot of money but it has saved my bike numerous times so it is worth every cent of the money.
Well your probably wondering what you get for $800

I have a very similar spec alarm. Called a Scorpio SR-500i available from the US and a damn sight cheaper than $800 aussie ($300 USD). http://www.scorpioalarms.com

The perimiter sensor is adjustable from stupid sensitive down to reasonable (and you can turn it off). The tilt sensor is excellent. I reckon the alram is great and well worth the investment.

yea the mongoose does most of that too, plus u can start ur bike with the alarm key pad thingy...lol..(unless u have HISS sytem on a honda)...
mine was abt $500 installed i reckon-3 yrs ago...