| January 26, 2021
Monimoto GPS Tracker is a device you attach to your motorcycle that, while parked and you’re away, alerts you the moment your bike moves.
The Monimoto GPS notifies you via your smartphone if someone’s messing with your motorcycle while you are away.
By Keith Dowdle
Thousands of motorcycles are stolen every year, and most are never recovered. In less than a minute or two a couple of dudes in a pickup truck, or pulling a trailer, can have your bike loaded and gone. The police know that finding a motorcycle once it’s stolen is nearly impossible because they can be hidden in small spaces and transported very easily. Because of this, motorcycle anti-theft devices run the gamut from seriously large chains with immense padlocks to disc-brake locks to U-locks to electronic monitoring systems and on and on. As a motorcyclist, it’s really up to you to make sure that your bike doesn’t become lost to thieves, but if it does, Monimoto’s GPS transponder is designed to let you know about it.
The primary tracking is by GPS signal, but if the bike is stolen and placed in an area where no GPS signal is available, the unit can be located by tracking the nearest cell-phone tower. The device is powered by its own internal battery so you don’t have to worry about it draining your motorcycle battery, and it’s so small that it can be fitted to the bike just about anywhere. There’s also a key fob that communicates with the tracker, and as long as it’s in your pocket near the bike, the transponder “sleeps” and lets your carry on with your ride. However, if the transponder moves and the key fob is not detected nearby, the system calls you to let you know that your bike is moving and tracks its location in real time. There’s a handy app included that tells you if the system is working, what the battery level is, and lets you put the unit to sleep manually if you happen to ride away and forget the key fob. The retail price for the Monimoto system is $199, and it comes with a SIM card that’s active for two months, after which it’s $3.50 per month or $42 per year to keep the card active. It sounds like a sweet deal, so let’s see how it works.
Monimoto GPS Tracker Lowdown:
Stand-Out Feature: No hassle super small GPS tracker
MSRP: $199 plus annual SIM card fee of $42
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Effortless to install |
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Doesn’t rely on your motorcycle’s battery |
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Works as advertised |
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Some might think that $42 per year is too much |
Monimoto GPS Tracker Rider Analysis:
You can stash the Monimoto GPS under your motorcycle’s seat like we did. The system works beautifully.
The Monimoto arrives in nice packaging, and it’s super easy to install with a couple of supplied zip ties—there are no wires to attach. I put it under the passenger seat on a BMW 1250 GSA, but the unit is so small that it wouldn’t be hard to find a place for it on whatever you ride. Prior to installing it, you do need to pull the tube-like unit apart to remove the battery saver. It’s kind of hard to get apart, and I was afraid that I was doing something wrong, but the Monimoto website offers a setup video that shows you exactly what to do.
Once the battery-saver tab was removed and the unit pushed back together, I downloaded the app on my cell phone and confirmed that the key fob and the unit were paired and that my phone was communicating with the system. This is only necessary on initial setup, so there’s no need to leave the Bluetooth connection active. The key fob is rather large, and I found it to be too big and bulky to be left on a key chain, so I put it in a zippered pocket of my primary riding jacket. According to the manufacturer, your riding gear is the best place for the key fob, so it’s protected and not banging against hard objects on a key chain.
We stored the Monimoto GPS key fob in our jacket.
At this point, you’re done in terms of maintenance or monitoring of the system. There’s nothing to remember to turn on or off, and as long as the key fob is near the bike or the bike is stationary, the transponder “sleeps” and therefore should have a long battery life. But of course, my job is to see if the thing actually works, so for that, I left the key fob at home and went for a ride. Well, I say that I went for a ride, but my cell phone was ringing before I got to the end of my driveway. Case closed! It works. Some people will surely scoff at paying $42 a year to keep the SIM card active, but when you think about it, it’s less than 15 cents a day to make sure that if your bike is stolen, you at least have a really good chance of getting it back—quickly. All in all, the Monimoto seems to be a great little hassle-free device that you install and forget, and hopefully never hear from again.
For more information, visit monimoto.com
