Experiments in E-ZPass on a motorcycle

Paying tolls on a motorcycle used to be a huge pain. Stop at the toll booth, taking care not to lock up the front tire on the grease and oil congealed in the middle of the lane. Pull off a glove. Fish money out of a pocket. (With luck, I remembered to stash the right amount of cash in an easily accessible jacket pocket.) Deal with change. Glove back on, and finally I’m on my way. If it’s raining, my hand gets wet, and there goes the waterproofness I paid for.

Electronic tolling changed all that but I arrived late to the E-ZPass game. Because I live where freeways are free, I didn’t deal with tolls often enough to do something about it until I started making regular trips to Philadelphia for my work in 2014. That’s when I finally installed an E-ZPass transponder on my motorcycle, so I can zip through toll gates on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, New York toll bridges, Maine Turnpike, toll roads around Chicago and other places I visit regularly or once in a while.

I first spent some time researching how to get the best deal on an E-ZPass and then I spent even more time experimenting with different ways to mount an E-ZPass on my motorcycle. If you’re just now getting an E-ZPass for your motorcycle (or you’re looking for a better way to carry the one you have), these tips should be helpful.

Tip: Shop around for your E-ZPass

You don’t have to buy your E-ZPass from the state you live in. It’s worth your time to shop around, because some charge a monthly fee and others charge an annual fee, all of different amounts. The amounts are small, but paying per month usually adds up to more expense for the same E-ZPass transponder. I initially got mine from the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I had to call, instead of ordering online, because I was getting the motorcycle version, which is purported to be waterproof.

After a few years with the Pennsylvania E-ZPass, I thought I had lost it. I reported it lost and did some more research and the second time around I bought one from the Maine Turnpike, which was even cheaper and is a smaller unit.

You may have to do some math to figure out the best deal. For example, I get a discount on tolls in Maine. I’m in Maine maybe once a year, at most, so I’m not getting those discounts. If you do most of your travel in one state and that state gives you discounts, it may pay to get your E-ZPass from them, even if it costs a little more initially.

I ended up spending a lot more time finding the best way to carry my E-ZPass on a motorcycle.

Mounting an E-ZPass on a motorcycle, standard method

The first unit I got from Pennsylvania was about the size of the palm of my hand. I initially mounted it on the windscreen of my Kawasaki Versys, the bike I mainly used to travel to Philadelphia, using the stick-on 3M Dual Lock strips that come already attached to it. This is how everyone mounts an E-ZPass on the inside of their car windshields. One side of the Dual Lock strip sticks to the windshield, one side to the E-ZPass, and the mushroom-shaped plastic nubs on both sides go together with an audible “snap” to let you know they’re securely attached. Then you can remove the transponder in a second.

I only deviated from the E-ZPass instructions in one detail. The directional arrows on the transponder show which way you’re supposed to mount it. But because of the curvature of the windscreen, mounting the transponder horizontally would have created a less secure fit for the Dual Lock strips, so I decided to mount it vertically, as seen in the photo at right. That shouldn’t make a difference, right? After all, it works by radio frequencies. It can’t be that directional, right?

I’d trolled online forums for how others had mounted an E-ZPass on a motorcycle and found a wide range of experiences. Some put it in  a tank bag, some in a jacket pocket, with a wide range of results. Some had even mounted it to the underside of a saddlebag lid, to solve security problems, and had not had issues with the transponder being detected. So surely mounted sideways on the windscreen, front and center, would be no problem.

On my first trip to Philadelphia, it appeared that none of the toll booths recognized the transponder with it turned sideways. After my trip, I called the Pennsylvania Turnpike E-ZPass line and the not-very-helpful person on the other end couldn’t tell me much except:

1. “We don’t guarantee it will work 100 percent of the time.” (Me, thinking: So far, it seems to be 0 percent.)
2. It shouldn’t matter if it is mounted sideways.
3. If it doesn’t read, the camera will snap my license plate number, the system will see I have an E-ZPass and will just charge the toll to my account and not fine me. In other words, don’t worry about it.

Number three was the same thing I found in all my internet trolling. That’s why many riders don’t worry about how or where they mount it. They just ride through and get charged based on the camera snapping their license plates. (The glitch with this is that a few toll gates have actual gates that won’t open until the E-ZPass reads.)

My trolling also uncovered one person who mounted his E-ZPass sideways and it never read, so he turned it 90 degrees and it has worked ever since, so I decided that was likely my issue. The other issue I had was that using the 3M Dual Lock strips meant I couldn’t easily switch the transponder to another motorcycle (even though I had all three of my bikes listed on my account). So I went looking for another method to mount the E-ZPass that would be convenient for me and visible to the toll booths.

Mounting an E-ZPass on a motorcycle, magnet method

There are several mounts you can buy that attach to your handlebar to hold the E-ZPass, but I didn’t want to pay $30 and have hardware bolted to my bike that I only really needed a few days per month. I considered buying a small magnetic tank bag and putting the transponder in the pocket made for a smartphone. But then I thought, “Why do I need the tank bag? All I really need are the magnets.”

At the local big box store, $2.39 bought a package of two magnets that were plenty strong enough to hold the light, plastic E-ZPass in place.

As shown in the photo above, I used super glue to attach the two magnets to the back of the transponder, leaving the motorcycle tag visible. Then, to protect the tank from scratches from the magnets, I glued pieces of soft rubber foam cut from an old bath tub mat that was being discarded. Another good option is the shelf liner material my wife uses in the kitchen cabinets that hold our glassware, but I didn’t have any extra of that. I’ve seen other riders who use tank bags place a sheet of shelf liner between the tank and tank bag for extra protection against scratches. The photo below shows the soft material glued to the magnets.

The end result is an inexpensive, very convenient way to mount an E-ZPass on a motorcycle. When I stop, I can instantly remove the E-ZPass and tuck it in my locking saddlebag or a jacket pocket so I don’t have to worry about it being stolen. I don’t have an unneeded mounting system in place when I’m not using it.

I know some people are so careful about protecting the paint on their motorcycles that they will choose not to go this route. That’s why a lot of people just put the E-ZPass in a jacket pocket. I think toll booths can read it more easily when it’s positioned like this, however, and that matters if you’re at a gated toll booth.

The magnet approach worked but it turned out it would not be my final experiment.

Mounting an E-ZPass on a motorcycle, tank bag method

I thought I lost my Pennsylvania E-ZPass transponder, but after I’d already canceled it and gotten a replacement from Maine, I found it. So that was a waste of time. In any case, the Maine transponder is less than half the size of the Pennsylvania one, about 3.5 inches by two inches by one inch. To mount it with magnets would mean using much smaller magnets and I wasn’t sure it would be secure.

I reverted to a previous plan, using a Cortech Micro Tank Bag I got on a Dunlop press intro. The Maine E-ZPass transponder easily fits in the pocket meant for a cell phone and keeps the transponder in the perfect position to be read at the toll booths. The little tank bag is also handy for carrying a sandwich or a snack or my tire repair kit. I also keep in it a set of spare ear plugs, the USB adapter that attaches to my Battery Tender lead and a short cable, so I can charge my phone as I ride, if needed.

There are two other advantages. While the Cortech bag attaches with magnets, it also comes with straps, so I was able to use it when I took my old Speed Triple with its plastic tank on one of my trips to Philadelphia, in addition to using it on my other bikes with steel tanks.

Your best bet for mounting an E-ZPass on a motorcycle

You may decide to just stick your E-ZPass in your pocket and not worry about it. Even if it doesn’t read at the toll booth, you’ll just be charged based on your license plate. It’s worth checking your account online periodically to make sure you’re being charged accurately.

If you only ride one motorcycle and it has a windshield that allows the E-ZPass to be mounted using the Dual Lock strips like the Pennsylvania one, that’s a viable option. Or, if you only ride one motorcycle and you don’t mind having a RAM mount on the handlebar and paying for a holder, there are brackets made specifically for the purpose of holding your transponder.

But if you’re like me, use multiple motorcycles, want to be able to remove the transponder quickly and easily (whether at a rest stop on the Turnpike or because you may go months without needing it), I’d recommend either mounting it with magnets or with a small tank bag. Both methods have worked well for me, my transponder is read almost 100 percent of the time and I haven’t had any incorrect charges. The magnet approach is close to free — just a few dollars in supplies. The Cortech tank bag, at $50 or more, is pricey for its size, but works perfectly and is handy for multiple uses. If I hadn’t gotten one as a free sample, I’d likely still be using plain magnets. Either way, these are simple and secure methods to mount an E-ZPass transponder on your motorcycle.