Customer Reviews

Skylink MT-18 Motorcycle Garage Door Remote

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just received the Skylink MT-18 motorcycle garage door remote as a gift and have just finished installing it on my BMW F800ST motorcycle.

I really like the simplicity in the electrical design of this remote. Rather than trying to deal with all of the different brands of garage door openers on the market, match frequencies, match digital codes, etc., they just made it as simple as a the button that you probably have by your front door to ring the bell. All the receiver for this little remote does is simply provide a switch closure just like the doorbell button. So you just connect the two wires from the receiver either to your doorbell (if you mount the receiver near your doorbell) or to the garage door opener itself, which is where I mounted my receiver.

It works great, and I know I am going to love using it each time I go for a ride instead of trying to lean over far enough to punch in the secret code in the keypad outside of my garage.

The installation of the receiver was a snap. Basically you just plug in the little single pair wire to the receiver, and fasten each of the two conductors on the other end of the wire to either the 2 screw terminals in your garage door opener doorbell button or two the two terminals on your garage door opener that the doorbell button is wired into.

I will say that this 2 conductor wire has a plug on one end that plugs into the receiver, but the plug is very flimsy and I think it was chosen because it is dirt cheap and not because it was a good plug for the job. If you have ever seen some of those little fragile type plugs that plug small components onto the motherboard of the typical PC, then you've got a good idea of what the plug is like. The plug felt loose after plugged in. Since I was mounting the receiver close to my garage door opener I knew there would be vibration so I took some black electricians tape and taped it down real good so it would not come out. So that is the first bad hardware design.

The transmitter hardware is also nice and simple. The pushbutton is paired with a little red LED so that you can see when it is transmitting. This also lets you see when the battery is running low as the red LED stops lighting up. The button and the red LED is in a small little metal box that mounts to your handlebar. A short wire (I estimate 12 inches in length) connects it to the actual transmitter box. They recommend mounting this so it is out of the weather and I had no problem doing so on my BMW. I just removed the panel that covers the faux fuel tank and stuck the transmitter there.

This product really falls on its face when you try to install the button/LED to your handle bars. It is a horrible, horrible design. The metal strap that goes around your handlebar is as close to non-adjustable as you could build it and still claim that it can be adjusted. And the backside of the box that contains the button and the LED is completely open to the weather too! And the screw and nut used to clamp it down is a very small screw that requires the use of a very small headed phillips screwdriver. Because this screw is so small, you cannot really tighten the clamp very tight at all. And even with the thick pad of rubber they provide, the clamp was still way too big for the handlebars of my BMW. So I ended up putting that on as best I could then once again getting out the black electricians tape and taping it as best I could so that it was secure. So the installation looks like crap! But it works. I am sure I will also have to re-tape it from time to time which will be a pain as well.

And once again, they obviously chose a wire that was as dirt cheap as they could to connect the button/LED unit to the transmitter. It is a 4 conductor wire, and the wires are 4 different colors. So know I have this rainbow looking wire along side all of the nice looking black cables. But it works.

This gadget only costs $25 on Amazon right now. In my opinion, the company should add about $2 to the cost of each unit to use a better clamp, enclose the button/LED box, and use black wires and a good plug on the receiver end, then charge $10 more for it. If they did that I would still think it is a great buy and everyone would be happy.

Oh well, perhaps in version 2!

I have installed the unit with a Sears opener and it works great! The handlebar clamp is a little tricky to install so I made it a permanent fixture to my bars. If it was chromed up it would match the handlebars! It does work great though.

This remote for use on our Goldwing arrived on time in great condition.
It installs easilt.
THe remote to fit on the motorcyccle will not fit on Goldwing handlebars, but that was no problem; it fits right in the left fairing pockets & works just fine.

Works very well but switch box and hardware very poor. Mounted mine in glove box door. I would have gone with 5 stars if it was being rated on function alone.

The skylink remote is a good, simple concept for those of us who park our ride in a garage. I only have one remote for my opener and was getting tired of switching remote from bike to car or not having it at all when I found the skylink remotes.

This is actually the second skylink unit from amazon. The first one worked a few times at my desk and then the push button switch came apart. Sending it back to amazon was a quick, painless experience. Before sending it back to amazon I contacted skylink directly but all I received was a generic response, send it in and they'll take a look at it and determine whether it was a warranty issue or not. Thank god for amazon's return policy.

The second one has also got issues. While trying to install it on my handlebars, the push button switch got broke. I was going to send it back but after looking it over decided to replace the switch with something that was more durable and able to withstand the rigors of use on a motorcycle. Instead of mounting it on the handlebars I mounted it on a sidecover down lower, works great.

If you are attempting to install the handlebar bracket you will need a tiny, tiny electronic sized nut driver and a small philips head screwdriver to have any chance of success. The mounting bracket/switch is a definite problem spot with this product.

All in all a good product that makes my life better but be prepared, you may have to do some DIY tinkering to get it right.

Makes life so much easier, not having to search or dig around for my opener when I am on the bike. Put the switch on the handlebars in a spot where you cant even see it, but I can still reach it.

I have installed it and it works fine. I did not use the bracket since it is on a Goldwing Motorcycle. I mounted it in the side pocket by drilling holes. I like it very much.

stopped working soon, manufacture did replace after I shipped, did a f/u several times, shipped to Canada may have taken longer. I don't like the way it fastens to motorcycle, also it has some plastic on transmitter that breaks easily. Hoping that the 2nd one lasts longer.

I am very happy with this remote overall. It was very easy to install, particularly the control box that wires into your existing garage door opener button. Pop the cover off your existing button, attach the wires to the terminals, then plug it in to an outlet. There is a lot of wire attached (didnt measure how much, sorry), so will work even if your outlet is several feet away.

The part that goes on your bike has a handlebar mount, but it doesn't look too good. I knew before i bought it that I was going to take it apart and mount the switch and LED directly to a fairing panel. Did this with ease. The transmitter is connected to the switch and LED by about 16 inches of wire. Find a good place to route the wire, and stick the transmitter to something flat so that it is hidden. Comes with some sticky velcro to mount it.

My only "complaint", which is why it gets 4 stars, is that the transmitter and switch are not waterproof. I think the switch would probably be ok in the rain, but I don't know about the transmitter. You could see the switch housing with silicone pretty easily, if you wanted to waterproof it more. Just make sure you mount the transmitter somewhere it won't get wet.

It worked without a hitch. My only problem is the screw to loosen the handlebar clamp was so tight that I stripped it. Once I was able to eventually get it off (with a vice grip), the clamp (incredibly difficult to actually install) was way too big for my handlebars.

I ended up using some color matched zip ties with half of the handlebar clamp (the half with the switch) to make it fit securely on. It was difficult enough and is not "pretty" enough now that I took two stars off. They really need to design a better way to attach this to the handlebars.

I also spray painted the wiring to be black. It comes with like 5 wires that are color coded with drab 80's era, pastel colors. So after a quick spray and dry it looks like the rest of my wires on my bike.