| Author | Message | ||
     Rays |
I have just diagnosed a broken wire in the loom between where it flexes around the steering head and runs along the inside of the frame. It appears to have broken right where a tie-wrap ties the loom to the throttle cables.  In my case this tie-wrap was clearly done up too tight (err, when I say clearly - that is now that I have looked at it closely and felt the distinct dimple in the wiring loom). In my case my Uly has 6,700Km and is a daily ride for me. For the last week I have noticed gremlins with the clock re-setting to 1:00 and both trip meters resetting to zero. When I was re-fuelling yesterday the first real clue came when I noticed the speedo and tacho needles do a sweep when I turned the steering to full left lock with the ignition off! Without the service manual (thanks to the really slow parts distribution to Australia I have had this on order (and paid for) for 15 weeks!!!!!!!!) I had to do some reverse-engineering to see what was what but it turns out the 12volts (brown wire - yellow tracer) that is supplied to the instrument cluster ( I assume to power the memory for the clock and trip meters) has an internal break right where that damned tie-wrap is so makes and breaks when you turn the steering. Went into the dealer this morning and they informed me that there is no way Buell will spring for a loom but they are happy to repair the broken wire for me next week. On the way in to see the dealer I noticed the neutral light has become intermittent so I have to assume there is more than one wire internally fractured so the real question is 'are there any critical wires about to fail just as I'm pulling across in front of a bus?'. I will get the loom repaired under warranty next week but for my own peace of mind I think I will order a replacement loom - imagine the mess of splicing more than one or two wires in that critical flexible location? So, my advice to you all is to go directly to the shed / garage and check that damned tie-wrap. In that location I think something like a couple of turns of spiral wrap would be better than a tie-wrap. Court, I see from all the posts here that you are the man to ask - what would your position on this sort of issue be from a warranty claim point of view? I have spent my working life with wiring and electronics and I know how unreliable a multi-strand wire might be if it has been badly stressed but not quite completely broken. On the positive side, this is the first actual 'issue' I've seen to date. Yes I've had a lot of the little things that have been brought up on the forum but having ridden many bikes over the years I've yet to see the perfect motorcycle and consider those things par for the course. | ||
| Eor |
I've had some electrical gremlins as well...clock resetting, etc, but it seems to have stopped for the time being. I'll check that tomorrow, though. Thanks! | ||
| Lowflyer |
I have to admit, I noticed that tie strap and several others when I brought the bike home. Being a career avionics dude myself, I went over the entire electrical harness with extreme prejudice. I replaced most of the factory zip ties as they all appeared to have been tightened by an 800-pound gorilla.  I have had this on order (and paid for) for 15 weeks!!!!!! Have you tried calling Buell Customer Service? | ||
| Dragon_slayer |
Sorry guys but I can not buy the tight tie wrap breaking the copper wire story. If that was the case, all your crimp on connectors would fall off plus any wire tighten under a screw head. I think it may be due to flex. | ||
| Lowflyer |
DS, It is a combination of the flex and the tightness of the tie wrap. Cranking zip ties down will aggravate flex or vibration and give the wire a convenient place to break. I have seen this many, many times. BTW, crimped connectors will break if you bend the wire where it is crimped. (Message edited by lowflyer on March 04, 2006) | ||
| Rays |
Dragon - sorry, I didn't explain myself as well as I should have. The tie-wrap isn't cutting the wire through direct over-tension - it is as Lowflyer has described. When you have a loom that has to flex as much as it does around a steering head (and other relatively important places such as where the wiring exits the pilots control column in an aircraft) it is critical to have the wire free to move relative to its fellow wires as the loom moves throughout its range of movement. A tight tie-wrap doesn't belong anywhere in this area of movement as the flexing will then focus right on the tie-wrap area rather than the whole flexible section. Buell have actually designed the loom in this area very nicely - you can see the flexible part of the loom doesn't have the stiff, cloth covered insulation but has a loose, spiral wound sheath in the area between the very cool guide on the front of the steering head and where the loom goes flat along the inside of the frame rail. Unfortunately as many of the engineering types here can vouch for - good design can get lost with poor implementation. When I was a youngster in the air force you would have had your tail fried if you had ever tie-wrapped a control column or landing gear loom in that way. I am kicking myself for not looking the wiring over as Lowflyer did but that's the way the cookie crumbles. With the Uly in sick bay I had to press the ZX-12 into service for the Sunday morning breakfast ride (about 100 miles) and have had nothing but complaints about the lack of comfort from my wife all day!  |
