high tech and bikes

[Jess from VA]

Had my very best ride all year today.   Perfect cool sunny weather, a long day through beautiful NoVA horse and farm country roads.  And a great riding partner on another Valk.

So we stop for a break at the foot of a Skyline Drive approach, and the convenience store is packed with all kinds of bikes.

Five beautiful new(er) Harleys together and the guys are tinkering with one of them.  My buddy and I walk over and ask what's up.  The ICU threw a code and it won't start.

Two of the five knew what they were doing, but to no avail.  One of them asked if I had tools, and I retrieved mine (not only the OE kit, but a nice selection of SK in SAE and metric wrenches, SAE/metric allans, quarter inch sockets, vice grips and everything I could think to add for a perfect tool kit (all in a good zipper vinyl bag in the saddlebag); I've rarely ever needed.  They couldn't even get the seat off without them.

And BTW, leaving the OE tools buried under the seat, radio (interstate) and battery pan is STUPID (my riding buddy said leaving them there increased the karma that you would never need them).  

I said, I'm no mechanic, but did you try disconnecting the pos battery cable for a minute then reconnecting; it might reset the ICU without the code.  It didn't work.  The lights and everything else electrical worked, but it would not fire or run.

We wanted to leave, and I was prepared to ask them to mail me back the wrenches they needed, but they gave them back.

I don't want a bike that throws codes.  Not one bit.  

[carolinarider09]

I don't want a bike that throws codes.  Not one bit.   

[TTG53#1717]

For me, when I bought my Valk in November of '96 it was high tec compared to my old Harleys. Degree wheel ?!?

Anyway...My 2013 Sportster is to me the last of the " do it my way " bikes they made. In 2014 they brought out the CAN BUS wiring harness that is probably the cause of that error code. You can't add a driving light , marker light, added brake light etc. unless is compatible with the BUS.  It sees an error and won't function properly.

I've been building and wiring custom stuff since '70 but draw the line there.

I lucked out getting mine before having to deal with that BS.

[Jess from VA]

Together with no tools, do you think Harley added the CAN BUS to maximize owners seeking (only) dealer service?   It sounds like that to me.   

[TTG53#1717]

As Musky Muskrat used to say..." It's posaboool" .

[GiG]

Together with no tools, do you think Harley added the CAN BUS to maximize owners seeking (only) dealer service?    - more like shooting fish in a barrel - first: pick off the suckers  falling for an icu aS " high tech"