| Author | Message | ||||
     Trevd |
For those of you that have moved their ECM, where have you moved it to? I've just installed my new Erik Buell Racing ECM, and kind of moved it a bit, but it's still making contact with the seat, which is what I want to avoid. Have you just put it in the space in front of the battery, not secured in any way? I thought about that, but am afraid that if it's not secured in place the vibrations would damage it. Any pics would be great too! | ||||
| Hughlysses |
Well, if things go as planned, I'm getting ready to install mine in the front cowl of my Uly. The reason is I'm installing an 09 XB12R engine in my 07 XB12X and I have a XB12R wiring harness to work with. I wouldn't recommend you try this unless you have a 12R wiring harness at your disposal. | ||||
| Trevd |
Yeah, I might wait till my engine dies and needs to be replaced before moving the ECM to the front cowl... | ||||
| Ronmold |
Hugh, that's a lot of wires to have flexing with the flyscreen. Do you have any other options? | ||||
| Trevd |
If I'm not mistaken, all the other XB12s have the ECM in the front cowl. It's only the Ulys that have it under the seat. | ||||
| Hughlysses |
Ron- Oddly enough, there will actually be fewer wires flexing with this arrangement than with the stock ECM location. Most wires from the ECM and fuse/relay box go to the front end of the bike- controls, lights, and speedometer. I got the idea after I found photos of an XB12R with an XB12S front end on it and the electrics mounted behind the flyscreen. My other option is try try to order a new 2009 XB12X wiring harness, which will set me back about $360. I've been watching ebay, and have found parts from a couple of 2008 XB12X's, but in both cases, the sellers claim to have sold the wiring harnesses before I asked about them (I'm skeptical). Who knew there was that much demand for Uly wiring harnesses? | ||||
| Hughlysses |
I'm pretty sure only the R has the ECM and fuse/relays mounted up front. | ||||
| Froggy |
Only Firebolt models have the ECM mounted up front. All XB Lightnings and Ulys have it mounted under the seat. I don't know off hand where the tubers keep theirs, but it is easy to assume it isn't up by the headlight like the Firebolt. | ||||
| Hughlysses |
The ECM on my S3 was mounted on the right side of the frame under the rear bodywork. | ||||
| Rwcfrank |
I kept mine under the seat but moved the front mounting tab out of the way and zip tied the ecm down further away from the seat pan. | ||||
| Motorbike |
Trevd, here is how I relocated the ECM on my 08 XT. My homemade bracket attaches under the same bolt that is used to attach the shock reservoir mount clip. After I did this relocation I checked the clearance by placing a rolled up ball of Play-Doh on the highest point of the ECM and then installing the seat. I took the bike out for a spin and then pulled the seat off and checked the thickness of the Play-Doh which showed over 1/4" clearance to the seat bottom. Also, I have replaced my stock ECM with an Erik Buell Racing ECM since these pics were taken. I placed a small piece of self adhesive felt on the lower end of the ECM to provide a cushion between the battery box and ECM. It is now very easy to remove and replace the ECM. Just pull one bolt out, unplug it and re-install new one. Old location, wear block OK, connector not OK:  Stainless bracket:  New location:  View from right front facing rearward:  | ||||
| Cpeg |
Great idea, thanks! I got wires on the gray side showing pinched marks, you just saved them. | ||||
| Ronmold |
That looks like where it should've been in the first place! Mine's movin' when I get the E.B.R. unit. | ||||
| Idaho_buelly |
Motorbike Great pics!! That looks like a great idea,thanks! | ||||
| Trevd |
Motorbike, I saw your relocation when I searched through the archives and I like it... the problem I have is that I don't have the bracket you made, and don't have the ability to make one. I wonder if I could find something similar in the hardware section at Home Depot? | ||||
| Motorbike |
Trevd, I am very fortunate to have a good friend who works in a very well equipped farm shop. He does a lot of metal fabrication and let's me use his equipment when needed. You could make a simple bracket similar to mine using any thin, flat steel stock. It does not have to be stainless, you could paint it to prevent rust. The first thing I did was to make a pattern of thin, stiff cardboard. I placed the ECM where I wanted it then bent the cardboard and marked the hole location on it. I then simply transferred the pattern onto the steel, cut it out, drilled and bent it. I'm sure you could find a piece of steel to use for this at any hardware store. My bracket, when flat, measures approximately 13/16" X 3" but does not have to be exact. It is good to know that the ECM is mounted solidly so it doesn't vibrate and you never have to worry about that nut on the front ECM screw. | ||||
| Hughlysses |
Trevd, you should be able to find some small angle brackets very similar to that with the holes already drilled in the hardware section of your local building supply store. They'll have a 90 degree bend, so you'll have to figure a way to bend it a little further (2 pairs of pliers should work). | ||||
| Rwven |
Here's where I put mine. If you stare at these awhile I think you can figure them out...   I've had it like this for 10K miles with no problems whatsoever. Motorbike's is a lot prettier... (Message edited by rwven on April 23, 2011) | ||||
| Pos90 |
I had the same problem Motorbike had so on my '09 X I bent a piece of metal to keep the seat off of the ecm and its connectors while retaining its factory location.
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| Uly_man |
Well, as a matter of information, my 06 Uly low seat does not sit on the ECM and I have no problems on that account. | ||||
| Griffmeister |
Interesting, I actually just looked at the contact marks on the seat and relieved the seat pan with a Dremel tool. Didn't think about using putty to check actual clearance, I like that idea. Motorbike, is that a Special Ops heat shield up front? If so, which style, he has like three designs that fit the Uly. | ||||
| Motorbike |
Griffmeister, yes that is a Special Ops heat shield. It is only the front part of the 2-piece Maximum heat shield for the Ulysses. A very nice product! I was looking for some way to block the heat that comes out under the right front of the seat. This shield works great! With the comfort kit, heat shield and new fan program of the Erik Buell Racing ECM, I think the heat problem is cured! (Message edited by motorbike on April 23, 2011) | ||||
| Cpeg |
Thanks again Motorbike Bent me a strip of 1/8th aluminum drilled 2 holes and it fell in place. not as pretty as your SS but the job is done. | ||||
| Motorbike |
You're welcome. These ECMs probably really do not need to be fastened down but I know it will not hurt anything either. | ||||
| Trevd |
Like Hughlysses suggested, I went to Lowes, and picked up a bag of steel corner brackets, like this:  I used a vise grip and a pair of pliars to bend one of them. It was a pain in the butt, and made me wish I had access to something other than vise grips and pliers.  the top one is the original, the bottom is one that I bent. I didn't actually end up using this one because I got the bend wrong, but you get the idea. I then used my rotary tool to take off a piece of the bracket in order to give me access to the torx screw while the ECM was bolted to the bracket.  Again, that isn't the one I ended up using. Then I spent a bunch of time trying to get the bracket to fit properly. I put it on, attached the ECM, tried the seat on, realized that the ECM was too high, and took it all apart and tried bending the bracket again, and over and over. It was a pretty major PITA. This is what it looks like in the end.    The orange powder you see there is chalk that I used to make sure that it wasn't touching the bottom of the seat. I would put the seat on, put some chalk on the ECM, sit on the bike, jump up and down like a crazy guy, then take the seat off, and see if there was any chalk on the seat pan. There was always a little dot of chalk on a ridge on the seat pan, so I ended up using my rotary tool again to carve away a bit of the ridge off to ensure I had clearance. Then I stuck a piece of self-adhesive foam on the ECM (where the chalk is in the pictures) to ensure that if it does make contact at any point, I'll be able to see it in the foam. As you can see in the pictures, I had also put some of that foam on the edges of the ECM, and on the bottom, with the goal of reducing the amount of vibration that the ECM receives. Probably overkill, but I had the foam so I figured why not? Would I do this again? Hell no!! I'm sure it will be better than the original location, but I'm on a limited amount of personal time right now (we have a 4 month old baby, plus our 4 year old) and this took me so much time that I could have been out riding that I don't think it was worth it to me. Although I guess in the end if it saves my ECM from getting cracked or damaged, it will be time well spent. And, my main reason for doing this, I won't ever have to deal with that damn front ECM nut again!! (Message edited by trevd on April 24, 2011) | ||||
| Leoallafila |
I just relocated the ECU thanks to this thread. Easy to do if you have some basic tools. I think the most important thing to do while securing the ECU in it's new position is to make sure it doesn't vibrate. I attached some self adhesive thick velcro (only the fuzzy half) on the bottom where it rests against the damper reservoir and on the lower corner where it touches the battery tray. This way it really doesn't move an inch and cannot vibrate. | ||||
| Leoallafila |
BTW: how do you manage to keep your bike so clean under there? Am I the only one that lives on a planet with dust particles??? Seriously! I only have 1800 miles on the bike but it was already pretty dusty under there when I removed the ECM. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/628618.jpg | ||||
| Motorbike |
Well, that pic was taken at about 5,000 miles. Since it is an XT, not and X, I only ride it on hard surfaced roads. It never really gets dirty under the seat and that is good as it would probably not be good to spray water in that area. I know a lot of Uly owners would disagree with the way I use (or don't use?) my bike but I really like this one and will try to make it last a long time. Funny thing is though, I have never owned any motorcycle more than 4 years.  | ||||
| Chromehead |
Motorbike, Chalk another one up to your ECM relocation write up. Happened to already have an angle bracket with holes in the middle. i just cut one end of with a hacksaw, used the bench grinder to clean it up and drilled the holes slightly bigger. Also found a black plug at lowes that fit perfect to fill the hole left where the front bolt was. looks perfect and was a simple job. Thanks for sharing. | ||||
| Motorbike |
For anyone else that plans to do this type of relocation, please keep in mind that you need to tuck the rear of the ECM down as far as possible and also fabricate the bracket so it holds the front of the ECM down low and tight to the shock reservoir. If it is not done this way, the seat will hit the top front edge of the ECM anyway and all your efforts will be for nothing. As stated before, I checked the clearance after this mod and have 1/4" between the seat and highest point on the ECM, which should be plenty. Thanks. |
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