Author |
Message |
Pontlee77
| Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 10:20 am: |
|
I was thinking of starting this thread so we can post pics of what mods we have done to where the ECM sits to protect it. Mine:
Made this with an old piece of aluminium i had at home, a hammer, a wrench, a drill and an old ECM i had laying around to use it as reference. |
Motorbike
| Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 10:35 am: |
|
I have replaced the stock ECM with an Erik Buell Racing ECM since this pic was taken. |
Towpro
| Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 11:11 am: |
|
pontlee, does it keep the seat off the ends of the wire connectors? That is where the damage is caused. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/517589.html |
Pontlee77
| Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 02:59 pm: |
|
well truly i have to check with some kind of plasticine to see, but i never had any problems. |
Bike_pilot
| Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 03:36 pm: |
|
That's a nice looking part, but it might not help much. The trouble is that the seat hits the outer edge of the grey connector. |
Etennuly
| Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 04:21 pm: |
|
Won't that aluminum bar interfere with reception from alien aircraft? But then maybe you want to keep them from playing with the tune on your new ECM.
|
7873jake
| Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 06:10 pm: |
|
Its a lift point when shipping the Uly as international cargo...or a grab handle for when you want to put the bike up on the center stand. |
Pontlee77
| Posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 07:32 pm: |
|
didn't know it had so many uses |
Buellerxt
| Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - 01:12 pm: |
|
I 'had' a tiny bit of rubbing and though I haven't had issues I know they are lurking. Here is the crude, but so far successful fix we installed. What were the elves 'not' thinking when this setup was designed? Oh yeah, I forgot, it's a bad attribute so it has to be 'HARLEY's" fault! These pictures were taken after a 250 mile ride yesterday. The chalk is still in place! I wonder why Palmer, Erik Buell Racing, or some other Buell interested entity doesn't develop and sell a fix? Al? This fix seems to raise the seat enough at that point to keep the seat bottom above the connectors enough to prevent rubbing. I'll have to watch it regularly.
(Message edited by buellerxt on October 12, 2011) (Message edited by buellerxt on October 12, 2011) (Message edited by buellerxt on October 12, 2011) (Message edited by buellerxt on October 12, 2011) |
Froggy
| Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - 02:58 pm: |
|
quote:What were the elves 'not' thinking when this setup was designed? Oh yeah, I forgot, it's a bad attribute so it has to be 'HARLEY's" fault!
It was basically non-issue on the 06's due to the smaller ECM and thick seat. After they came out with lower seats, they saw it as an issue, and then came out with the spacer blocks which for the most part eliminated the issue. The 08's have a larger ECM, so now the block isn't as effective as before. For what its worth, look in the archives, it was a non existant issue up till a few months ago. This one cropped up out of nowhere a year after the last Uly rolled off the assembly line. |
Britchri10
| Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - 03:25 pm: |
|
I love the use of the pan scrubber! If it works for you it's all good! I'm gonna have to monitor mine from now on. That looks like a good solution. I think the "issue" is a result of the unintended consequences of product improvement. It's not always easy to foresee changes in one item effecting an existing item. |
Buellerxt
| Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - 05:40 pm: |
|
I hear you, froggy, but to me that's a worse reflection on the engineers/designers than I originally thought. They 'knew' they had a problem before, installed thicker ecm's and didn't ensure that clearance was good enough! Not impressive. Anyway, let's hope Palmer, Erik Buell Racing, Al, or some other interested and enterprising person develops a good solution and offers it for sale. In the meantime I'll monitor and adjust the fix accordingly. I don't like the idea of unbolting the ecm and moving it somewhere. |
Hughesatron
| Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - 06:17 pm: |
|
I've never had an issue with my ECM location or protection, but based on Froggy's comment, I guess that's because I have an '06X. |
Froggy
| Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - 06:28 pm: |
|
quote:They 'knew' they had a problem before, installed thicker ecm's and didn't ensure that clearance was good enough! Not impressive.
I'm sure the bean counters said "We can fix the issue for 2 cents using a plastic block, or we can spend a fortune by redoing the wiring harness to move the ECM". Idealy, they could have relocated it for 08 given it needed a new harness anyway, but it was likely an "easier said than done" type of situation, as it would require moving things around under the seat.
quote:I don't like the idea of unbolting the ecm and moving it somewhere.
Why? It is free, it works, and fixes the problem. Since you like spending money, I'll ride down to Texas, and relocate it for you, and you can give me money. |
Tankhead
| Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - 07:08 pm: |
|
Well I finally moved it and just placed on top of the rubber strap of the battery. We shall see what happens. |
Dynasport
| Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - 07:16 pm: |
|
I tried very hard to relocate mine as I saw some others do on this board beside the frame. Since I am mechanically handicapped, I could not get it in the space available on my bike in such a way as to avoid contact with the seat. After an hour or two of frustration I slid it down into the area Motorbike's picture shows and left it there. It is not bolted or attached to anything, but I have checked it fairly frequently and haven't experienced any problems yet. That was about 2500 miles ago. |
Tankhead
| Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - 07:56 pm: |
|
Now the bean counters will managing an emission warranty for a lot longer. Great job hardly davidson.} |
Pos90
| Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - 08:51 pm: |
|
Here's my solution.
|
Darrell
| Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - 09:39 pm: |
|
I have an '06 and have just relocated my ECM due to rubbing. I have the stock seat, and I weight maybe 160 soaking wet, so there's no outside influences on why there was so much damage from the seat. Here's what my ECM and wires looked like: That's after 35,000 miles in the stock position. I moved the ECM next to the battery as others here have done. So far, so good. -darrell |
7873jake
| Posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 - 09:42 pm: |
|
|
Tankhead
| Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2011 - 08:36 am: |
|
That looks like my 2006 City-X. Harley coated my cables with a black gummy goo. Said I was good to go. I never complained and it lasted the near thirty thousand miles. But yeah I don't know what frog is talking about that 06's never had a problem. The city-x had the skyline seat. |
Etennuly
| Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2011 - 10:37 am: |
|
Darrell, My '06 wires looked the same as yours at about 15,000 miles. But mine were also twisted tight into each other. Like if you took the plug out and gave it two revolutions and plugged it back in. I bought the '06 low accessory seat that came with the extra plastic block. After installing that I had no more problems with those plugs rubbing the seat pan. |
Ourdee
| Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2011 - 10:57 am: |
|
Reinforced with epoxy and aluminum. I cut angles under the mounting tabs so that the wires sit lower when mounted. |
Paint_shaker
| Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2011 - 11:27 am: |
|
Not sure where the thought came up the 06 Ulys don't have an issue, but the seat rubs the ecm on my 06. |
Buellerxt
| Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2011 - 11:56 pm: |
|
Froggy quote:Why? It is free, it works, and fixes the problem. Since you like spending money, I'll ride down to Texas, and relocate it for you, and you can give me money. Unquote. No thanks little fella'! I realize you are the hyper miler extrodinaire(LOL) and could make the trip on a quart of gasoline(lol), while popping great wheelies and putting on 'stunta' exhibitions in every state on the way, lol, without using up 'any' tire life, of course, (lol), but I'll respectively decline the offer. (Message edited by buellerxt on October 13, 2011) |
H2opatrol
| Posted on Friday, October 14, 2011 - 12:52 am: |
|
^^^ i'm doing one of those snotty nose snort kind of laughs right now if you can picture it. Well put bueller lol |
Skifastbadly
| Posted on Saturday, October 15, 2011 - 09:09 pm: |
|
Well, speaking of ECMs.... Took off my seat today to move some stuff around only to find that Montana Harley, when the repaired my bike and replaced the ECM failed to replace the front bolt. Neither that nor the spacer block was there. So I figured, WTF might as well do a relocation. I like what Motorbike did, it looks clean. I'm always looking for an excuse to buy something at the hardware store, so this gave me the perfect reason to buy that bench vise I always wanted. Got it done in a reasonable amount of time. However, I do have a question on this mount...with the rear end now disconnected, is there concern that the vibrations may eventually crack the mounting bracket? I mean, it's not floating around free, but it's not bolted down either. Thoughts? EDIT: Upon re-reading this it's not clear what I mean. Will the fact that only one end of the ECM is attached to anything allow it to vibrate so that it cracks on the mounted end? (Message edited by skifastbadly on October 15, 2011) |
Dutton
| Posted on Saturday, October 15, 2011 - 10:23 pm: |
|
When I did motorbikes mod I put some foam under and around the rear of ecm .made for a nice snug fit. also took some pipe dope (clay like) rolled into a ball and installed seat went for a ride. plenty of clearance now. GREAT MOD! |
Motorbike
| Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2011 - 10:17 am: |
|
Skifastbadly, take a close look at my pic. When I relocated the ECM, I made the bracket to hold the front of the ECM but I also made the rear or lower end solid as well. I did this by sticking a piece of self-adhesive felt pad (bought at Menards) to the top rear corner of the ECM. When I position the ECM, it wedges very nicely down at the lower end and then I put one bolt in the top bracket to secure it. You can see the felt pad in the pic, it is tan in color. This mount is solid as a rock and cannot vibrate. In my opinion, it is much better than the stock mount and it would be very easy to replace the ECM, if the need arises. Thanks. |
Skifastbadly
| Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2011 - 12:25 pm: |
|
Motorbike: No, sir. Thank YOU. You have done the community a service. Great mod, as stated above. |
|