| Author | Message | ||
     Ulykan |
My shop does it for free, like it is warranty work. What shop are you using? I'm in Wichita. | ||
| Mideon |
Well I picked mine up last night and rode the hell out of it as much as I could. I was also in a lot of stop and start traffic. I noticed a huge difference in the amount of heat. While it still being warm there was not a "hot spot". I was just a VERY tolerable general warmness. The fan def works differently and I have to say they really hit on the money on this one. I would really recommend it. It was $126 for everything and was an hour and a 1/2 labor. That was installing the kit. My ECM flashes are always free. I had most of the Gateway staff out checking it out and they really agree that after the test rides it was a huge improvement and they are even looking to put them on their used bikes they are trying to sell. So 2 thumbs up from me on this one! | ||
| Kansas |
Riverfront HD in Lawrence, Ks. Kent is the Service Manager. Parker (big HD #1 on his forearm) is a Buell genius!! The shop is not your ordinary HD shop. They love Buells. Great guys. Very smart and helpful. Again, this is not your ordinary hairy-knuckled HD shop. | ||
| Teeps |
I have some questions, maybe Court or rattbuell can answer: Situation: My '06 Uly has the '07 air box and flash, (and I suspect dozens more...) So I wonder if, or how, the comfort flash will affect '06 Ulys with the '07 flash? Will the comfort flash only alter the fan function data, leaving the rest of the '07 data intact? Will it alter the ignition timing? Will it alter the fuel mapping? Will it alter the exhaust mapping? | ||
| Ratbuell |
From what I know of Digital Tech (and it usually starts with "get away from that thing please", lol), when you hook a bike up to it, it will identify the current flash present in the bike. Therefore, my assumption (key word there - I just sell 'em but know enough about fixing 'em to get in trouble) is that DT will assign the correct flash for your base map. From what I can gather...the ONLY thing affected is fan operation. Instead of referencing ONLY the cylinder head temp sensor for when to turn on, it now adds vehicle speed into the equation. As far as I can tell, there is NO fueling modification to the early bikes. I might put my stock ECM back in the bike long enough to get the flash...just to see what happens and how it behaves (currently run open airbox, Drummer, and Buell race ECM). Court - you've got mail  | ||
| Hughlysses |
Joe H. did the PDI on our first '10 Uly, an XT. Said fueling was much more stable at low speeds...but an interesting note (in 86 degree weather) he said the fan kicked on *more* at parking lot speeds than his personal 12S. Guess the vehicle speed factor compensates for low ambient airspeed by running the fan...more? RB- very interesting. It makes sense they'd do something like that. Squidbuzz commented that his bike feels like it runs better. If the kit is keeping the frame a lot cooler, the fuel's obviously going to be cooler so that might well explain it. REALLY looking forward to getting mine finished. I'm gonna do the fan duct and exhaust shield today and then do the RSS when I get the missing inner portion next week. | ||
| Kansas |
After my most recent flash, the fan did change behavior - it runs less. More noticeable than that though is that before, the bike had its best manners at 4K RPM, now I can ride it a full 500 RPM lower and it is way smoother. In fact, I used to have to clutch the YKW out of it when going slow, now I can just leave it in gear and roll around in 1st at 20ish and sub 2K RPMs. Easy to tell that either a) the new ECM flash did more than change the fan activity, or b) Parker at my my shop is a Super-Genius. I just picked it up this morning (tires and another (3rd!) set of rear hub bearings. On the 20 mile test ride, at one point I thought the bike had shut off. I was going 60 in a gusting headwind, and it was running so smoothly that it just disappeared underneath me. A good mechanic is a great thing! | ||
| Kansas |
As for the comfort kit, aside from the fan-shroud keeping dirt out of the electricals better, and the right-side intake keeping the rear head cooler, I don't know if there is much of a need for it after the latest ECM flash. The bike runs cooler now, even without the right-side intake. I don't think I'm going to need the comfort kit. I may just make my own fan-shroud. h/t to the BadWeb'r who posted his homebrew version of a fan-shroud. | ||
| Court |
>>>You guys have to pay for to have a flash update? My shop does it for free, like it is warranty work. Your shop has also been around since 1929 and has more Harley-Davidson Bar and Shield awards than any dealership in the world. | ||
| Svh |
Both of the dealers near me do reflashes for free. I appreciate it and make sure to help them out. | ||
| Unravels |
I put the comfort kit in, was not too bad except for the forward ecm nut thing and had to do it twice. Seems to run cooler, frame still gets hot on rt side. When bike shuts off and fan runs, more air, or more directed air, comes out the bottom. When putting in the fan shroud make sure the braided shield on the fuel line is in between the fuel line and the shroud, the shroud has a sharp edge on it, due to vibration if the braided shield is not in the way it looks as though it could cut the fuel line over time. As far as the forward nut on the ecm goes, I was able to get the nut in from the bottom by jacking the bike up and gain some clearance between the base pan and shock, where the issue began was with the new ecm bolt , it has thread locker pre applied on it, the ecm nut is a nylock, when you get to a certain point when threading the bolt it galls against the nylock and then the nut just spins in place as the recess in the base pan is not solid enough to hold it in place. Ended up taking everything apart again and super glueing the nut into the base pan and reusing the original ecm bolt so would not have any issues. One thing I am curious about still is whether or not it is okay to still use the odie heat blanket. After riding it with the kit installed still seems like a lot of hot air still comes through the holes in the frame that the heat blanket would cover. I did not put the little heat deflectors on the side of the subframe when I test rode it, but could feel heat coming from there, so I guess if you have the heat deflectors might be a good idea to still use them. One issue I had the is really annoying, is when I loosened the left pannier bracket the bolt that attaches the rear set broke off, tried to easy out it and the easy out broke in the hole when the drill stalled. So I think I am not going to be getting the bolt or the easyout out of the hole without destroy the rearset. Come to find out the rearset costs $159, so I could have just paid the dealer to install the comfort kit and not have had to do it twice. Fun stuff. | ||
| Florida_lime |
I just picked up my bike from the dealer who replaced the ETS, and the comfort kit which had also come in. After working 12 hours, then the whole 3 1/2 hour round trip from my "local" dealer, (I had checked to make sure all the pieces were there at the dealer before I left) - I figured I had time to do the exhaust shield and RSS. You know, the easy part. I pulled off the original RS part, then the instructions say to mount the new inner shroud using the bolts and washers just removed. Does the inner shroud on everyone else's kit NOT want a SHOULDERED bolt like the original plastic piece takes???   Edit: I ended up using washers to temporarily mount the inner shroud, but either the holes need to be enlarged to accept the shoulder on the Torx bolts, or there should be new, non-shouldered bolts supplied as part of the kit. I happen to have 2 of the same bolts that I removed when I added my light bar - they may lose the shoulder on a lathe to maintain a stock appearance.  The back mounting bolt of the outer shroud is the same, but the hole is elongated enough that the shoulder pushed its way into the hole as it was tightened. (Message edited by Florida_lime on August 08, 2009) | ||
| Hammertime2 |
I had my RSS comfort kit installed by my Dealer on Thursday, along with the new flash. I then rode my Uly XT in the 100 degree Texas heat for 60 miles, what a difference it makes. My right leg is no longer roasting. The fan hardly comes on any more. Happy days are here again. I was beginning to think I was going to have to park the bike until summer was over. I rode another 130 miles today in 96 degree heat, it is like a different bike. I give the kit two thumbs up, best $120 I have spent yet. Btw, the dealer charged me $105 to install it. It was my Dealers first install and took the tech a good two hours. | ||
| Thesmaz |
Any info from you guys that have the ECM flash for this kit and still being able to use ECMSpy? I'd like to have the kit and ECM flash but not at the expense of being locked out of the ECM and given that I'm stationed in Italy makes it a bit more difficult to get this flash unless it's world-wide. | ||
| Ratbuell |
My RSS and heat shield took about eight minutes to install, and the hardware was perfect. I don't remember if my OEM RSS was held in with shoulderbolts...but I don't think it was. Has yours been apart in the past? Maybe for a rockerbox leak? Sounds like your shoulder bolts belong on the airbox cover... The hardest part about that install was finding a way to orient the front hose clamp on the heat shield so it "hid" behind the pipe. My '06 has a timing cover in the way of the '10 location/orientation. But after some fiddling, I got it. The underseat duct...well... *Disclaimer* - it *can* be done this way. I *don't* necessarily endorse it or recommend it. But...it *can* work... I removed the ECM bolts, so the underseat pan could flex a little more. Flipped the ECM to the left of the bike on the harness and left it sit. Tried an experiment - seeing if any "shortcuts" existed. Pried, cussed, shoved, got it in about halfway, had a beer, pried some more...and managed to get the duct shoved into place and lined up. No battery removal, no harness removal, no pan removal (which meant no bag frame removal). All of my "visual" checks (and that term is used loosely since most stuff is pretty well hidden) look OK as far as pinches, chafes, routing, etc. Same with the "prying finger" checks. Time will tell as far as that goes. The catch? My ECM nut spun. Took me over an hour to get that damned thing out, and right now it's replaced with a ziptie until I can get a standard, non-locking nut from the store today. Note to the engineers? Put a nutsert in there too, like the rear ECM mount. There's room to beef up the thickness of the plastic to hold the nutsert. | ||
| Florida_lime |
the hardware was perfect. I don't remember if my OEM RSS was held in with shoulderbolts...but I don't think it was. Has yours been apart in the past? Maybe for a rockerbox leak? Sounds like your shoulder bolts belong on the airbox cover... Yes, apart 3 times for the rockerbox seal, but (by memory, not with me this moment) the original RS piece has larger holes in it than the new RSS. Yes, the bolts in mine are the same as the airbox cover - 1/4-20 with a 5/16 shoulder. If mine is an oddball, no matter. It is easy enough to adjust. I was just happy to be able to ride to work today after 10 days without ! | ||
| Woodreaux |
The Comfort Kit got installed on my 08 Uly Saturday. It was 95 here in Houston when I went riding at 530pm. I wanted to go when it was getting really hot. The kit seems to do a pretty good job of attenuating the heat and I agree with Mideon the "hotspot" seems to have been addressed. At 95+ temps everything is hot. I didn't expect so much traffic so I cut the ride short as every lunatic on 4 wheels was out. All in all, good job BMC. The more I ride the Uly the more dust collects on my Electra Glide. | ||
| Court |
I went through yesterday . . . .call me anal . . . spending a couple hours with a calibrated torque wrench and redoing every fastener and examining the install. It's an interesting kit and initial appearances indicate a well engineered solution. I'm going to put 1,000 miles on the bike this week to see how it does. OFF TOPIC: While tightening I found something I didn't like. It is a factory condition, nothing the dealer did. There are two screws on the left frame rail, adjacent to the ECM where ground attach. The front one lands 3 ring terminals. The wires attached to the terminals were stretched to tow octaves above middle "C". In addition the goofy T27 screw is impossible to access properly without lots of removal. I can see how it happened in production. When the fastener is tightened, the terminals get spun until tension on the attached wires stops them from following the rotation, thus leaving them in great tension. I removed the T27 head fastener, went to the hardware store and got a hex head bolt the same size. Brushed all the ground clean, added two drops of Blue Loc-Tite to the new fastener and reattached the grounds. I only did the front one and will likely do the rear this week. I suspect this would never be a problem but it looks like potential for trouble and the factory arrangement, if something went wrong, would be a tough roadside fix. I can now, without removing anything expect the seat, check the tightness and re-tighten if necessary.  | ||
| Odie |
Anybody have a Rob Crinns RSS they want to get rid of now?? | ||
| Teeps |
I have a pair of low profile scoops I will part with. http://www.trojan-horse.co.uk/prods/194.html | ||
| Xbimmer |
Anybody have a Rob Crinns RSS they want to get rid of now?? ...not until I can see how the Factory version differs with airflow direction, but do you want to make me an offer?  OFF TOPIC: While tightening I found something I didn't like. It is a factory condition, nothing the dealer did. There are two screws on the left frame rail, adjacent to the ECM where ground attach. Court, in my endeavors to solve my skip-spark condition those two grounds were addressed, and my wires were not stressed like that at all. I think you definitely solved a future problem before it happened to you, those ring terminals kept breaking under my flyscreen until I built my own fix. Somebody at the factory wasn't paying attention... with the fuse box out of the way it's not a problem to hold the terminals in place 100 degrees from where yours were while tightening the screw. Does the inner shroud on everyone else's kit NOT want a SHOULDERED bolt like the original plastic piece takes??? 'Lime those screws are not supposed to be shouldered, part# AA0406.11CVB "SCREW, 1/4-20 X 3/4 truss hd. torx" with a BA0409.6BL washer. Yours were probably "relocated" somewhere by the shop... | ||
| Someday |
Court, I'm in the process of doing the install of the shock shroud right now and found the same condition you did. My wires weren't super taught by snug. I already did what you did: loosen the screw and rotate the wires forward. Looks safer. I also found the fuel hose to the pump seemed to interfere with the shroud seating properly. I ended up Dremeling away some plastic to allow the shroud to seat better. I also noticed the sharp edge someone posted about that rubs the fuel hose. This is the area that I ground away for more clearance. | ||
| Florida_lime |
'Lime those screws are not supposed to be shouldered, part# AA0406.11CVB "SCREW, 1/4-20 X 3/4 truss hd. torx" with a BA0409.6BL washer. Yours were probably "relocated" somewhere by the shop... Thanks for the confirmation. | ||
| Sekalilgai |
Court yup found the same guitar-string-taut grounds. A couple of the side fasteners weren't all that snug either. Probably a good thing to go in and retighten things. Not a huge fan (!) of the T27s in this application. Anyone relocated the BAS to the old spot? Ken | ||
| Florida_lime |
Riding home from work today proved the effectiveness of the RSS and header shield to me. I haven't even done the fan shroud yet (I do have the 2 pc. "Maximum" Odie's blanket), or the reflash, but the right side was DEFINITELY cooler than usual. Only 1/2 hour ride in 90+ degrees, but I'd say the left side was warmer than the right !   Now all I have to do (besides the shroud) is take it on the highway long enough to see if the skip spark #@$% is gone. | ||
| Teeps |
Installed the RSS and exhaust heat shield and decided to run a short test. Rode my test loop around Palos Verdes Peninsula, about 36 miles total. At no time during the ride did the fan come on. This was consistent with a test I did a couple of years ago using xBimmer's RSS. Link here for what it's worth. I did not record any temperatures today other than to note ambient temperature in mid 70s F. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/142 838/224426.html?1157060224 The factory accessory RSS worked at least as well as the aftermarket RSSs. Time will tell if it's any better. | ||
| Madduck |
Thanks Court, I now know I am more paranoid than you. I never put loctite on any electrical connector. It is an insulator and one shouldn't risk "insulating" away any of the electrons. I am willing to admit that I am in the rabidly paranoid category having owned a sunbeam alpine in the 60's. | ||
| Gamdh |
Just a note... Tech Tip 339 dealt specifically with cleaning up that ground point and did not mention using any loctite. Many have opted for using star washers on that point instead of loctite for the reason pointed out by Madduck. | ||
| Xbimmer |
I used copper antiseize on the threads and star washers against the rings, seems to be working fine. | ||
| Alchemy |
Completed the comfort kit installation as well as replacing the fan while I was in there. The fan is a bit of a bear to replace since the electrical connector is VERY difficult to access. The good news is that half the job is already done when the bottom pan is removed. I also came across 2 bare wires in the harness that I repaired. I found the instructions regarding the HW for the ECM confusing and just installed the existing HW as the new bolt seemed way too long. Took it around the block just now but too tired to give it a real check. Tomorrow will tell. |
