| Author | Message | ||
     Buford |
Why? | ||
| Garyz28 |
The purpose of the Bank angle sensor is to kill the engine if the bike is laying on its side. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
To ensure I have a reason to visit the service dept. | ||
| Etennuly |
Not only does it shut the engine off in case of a tip over, but it shuts off the fuel pump in case that tip over was a big wreck where someone ends up lying on the ground wishing they weren't being sprayed with gasoline. And.........to ensure that most of us got to have a reason to visit the service department more than once. | ||
| Jaimec |
Funny... I always thought that little rocker switch by my right thumb served that purpose... | ||
| Diablobrian |
That's fine, if you are still conscious, and in good enough shape to get to the bike, but there are times when it is a good idea to have a kill switch that engages when things go very very wrong. | ||
| Cataract2 |
Visit the service dept? Never heard of those things going bad. | ||
| Bombardier |
If you are still conscious Jaimec. Or have all your limbs to crawl back to your bike after you have untangled yourself from the front crossmember and the new driving lights the owner put on just yesterday. | ||
| M1combat |
"Funny... I always thought that little rocker switch by my right thumb served that purpose..." You're just bloody brilliant. | ||
| Slaughter |
Next time you're in a panic situation, try and determine exactly WHEN you are about to be spit off the bike into space. It is at exactly THAT moment that you reach for the kill switch. Probably just as your butt is starting to launch off the seat in a high-side or as the bike has slid out after hitting a patch of sand in mid-turn. Piece of cake! | ||
| Froggy |
Cataract2, obviously you never went to the "Big Bad & Dirty" section  | ||
| Jaimec |
Dang, you're all correct. I have no idea how those old time bikers did it for all of those decades before these new fangled sensors came out. I guess they all just DIED in flaming crashes... | ||
| Mr2shim |
hrmm,... I had no idea these bikes had such a device. | ||
| Jos51700 |
It's really not so much for shutting off the fuel pump in the event of spraying fuel everywhere (really, they do a lot of testing to insure that the fuel does not vacate the fuel vessel unintentionally. That's why they have the wacky check-ball in the tank vent, and why the front end comes off in a front-end collision) GaryZ nailed it in the second post. It's to shut the bike off. Carb'd bikes didn't really need them as much, since carburetors essentially require gravity to keep proper operation and a vehicular upset stalls the motor, but FI engines can run in any orientation, as long as the pump pickup isn't uncovered. I'd rather have fuel spraying me in the face after a wreck, as opposed a wheel running on my leg, with the motor idling at 1000 RPM and the trans in 5th. | ||
| Jos51700 |
Or a throttle jammed wide open after a handlebar end gets jammed in the dirt. | ||
| Gearhead |
It's an extremely important safety device which I'm glad Buell has. After low siding at Road America in turn 5 last year, at least I didn't have to worry about my bike continuing to spin around in the gravel, possibly running over me as I lay there. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Dang, you're all correct. I have no idea how those old time bikers did it for all of those decades before these new fangled sensors came out. I guess they all just DIED in flaming crashes... In the old days the fuel would slosh to the side of the carburetor and the engine would die. | ||
| Ratbuell |
+1 Gearhead. We have enough trouble getting folks to wear helmets these days; can you imagine trying to get every rider to put a lanyard on their wrist (think jet ski, or full on race bike)? BAS is the consumer's version...and I'm also damned glad to have 'em. Imagine if you will...you dump your bike. It's running. You try to pick it up, adrenalin pumping and brain not working so well on the rational front, just worried about self-preservation (like, get-bike-up-get-out-of-traffic). You grab it in a natural spot - the handgrips. It revs up. What if the tire catches? I'd rather push a stalled bike than get pulled by a live, pissed-off bike. I ride a lot, but even I admit if I go down, my first thought isn't "kill switch", it's "where's that minivan, I gotta get outta here". | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Dropped mine today. BAS didn't shut the bike down. Had to hit the kill switch to turn it off.  | ||
| Ratbuell |
Ft - did you get the recall done? A failed sensor can not only kill the bike when it doesn't need to (most commonly noted, for obvious reasons) but can fail to work when it needs to. If yours was bad and simply relocated...should be able to get it replaced with no questions. | ||
| Froggy |
Ft's BAS was replaced several times even after the recall. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Two before the recall, three after the recall. What can I say? | ||
| Jaimec |
I've had two friends with Hondas whose bank angle sensor shut their bikes off when in a deep lean. The GL1800 GoldWing had a recall because the bank angle sensor mount would crack dislodging the sensor and shutting the bike off, even if it was doing 70 mph on the freeway. No thanks. Don't need one. I've trained myself to hit the kill switch as soon as a bike goes down (mine or someone else's). Comes from being an MSF Rider Coach (Instructor) for almost 18 years. | ||
| Jos51700 |
Wait till you have to diagnose some custom painted bike, and when they reassembled it after painting, they put the sensor in upside down. Nice! I'll be leaving mine in, but I can dig not wanting one, too. | ||
| Retrittion |
I'll keep mine -- last time I slid down the street I wasn't really paying much attention afterwards and I can't guarantee I will/will not turn off the bike manually or even be thinking it about that. Thats the thing about accidents -- you never know how you'll react to them (not every time at least). I'm keeping mine for the time being, though I can see why the part could be problematic. Personally I would like a RFID option -- it would be both a good security option (bike will not run without it) and if you were separated from the bike by more than 3-4 feet (as in an accident) it would shut off as well. Only problem is if the bike is on while you are still "attatched" -- that would suck. Which is why I am keeping it -- if the bike has me pinned I don't want it to be running too. my .02 cents | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Wonder if they guy who wrecked on Deal's Gap and set the side of the mountain on fire had a working BAS to turn off the fuel pump. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
On boats we have tether switches that if I fall out, a little cord attached to my wrist/pfd kills the motor so I don't get made into sushi. Why isn't something like this used? | ||
| Ttags |
holy crap guys. safety feature! slid mine down the street at 80 mph. i ended up in front of the bike afterwards. say it didn't have that sensor aand the bike felt like, hmm... running me over. that would make a little road rash a lot worse. and yes it is unlikely, but not impossible. if ya don't like it, bypass it and quit crying . also, didnt know the bike had the sensor so it took me a few moments to figure out i had to key off and on to restart. but even in that disoriented, pumped up stage, still was able to figure it out. Great idea. Thanks Buell! | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I don't NOT want one. I just want it to quit failing. I won't bypass it. | ||
| Diablobrian |
FB, have you tried relocating it? I mean REALLY relocating it. The firebolts have theirs up front in the fairing and I have never heard of an issue with them. Just a thought |
