"Alert: All Oilhead owners..."

[sweatmark]

Saw this ADV topic thread recently and thought it worthwhile for our group:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=665648

Aside from our "too tight" wire ties, plus a couple of rubbed-raw wiring harness catastrophes under fuel tanks and/or battery trays, I don't recall reading about anybody's Roadster going up in flames due to shorted headlight or ignition switch... but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

<edit> After looking at Roadster and Rockster wiring diagrams, the ignition switch power supply wire is the circuit I want to protect via added fuse.

[gregor]

The link does not work for me.
However this is always a balance of risks. Do you want to be plunged into darkness when something shorts or do you want to get safely to the roadside as the wiring loom gently smoulders?

[rdsmith3]

Thanks for the heads up.

I cut my wire ties and headed relays for the headlight years ago.

That is the extent of what I have done.

[sweatmark]

The link does not work for me.
However this is always a balance of risks. Do you want to be plunged into darkness when something shorts or do you want to get safely to the roadside as the wiring loom gently smoulders?

gregor - I've successfully tried the link from both laptop and BlackBerry, unsure why you might have problems. Regardless, the topic thread in advrider/bikes/GSpot/Oilheads forum has the title I've quoted, in case someone needs to search for it.

You make a good point about the nature of the headlight circuit and safety. If the R1150** battery wasn't such a pain to access, then the "gentle smoldering" (until disconnecting battery to prevent moto-flambé) option would be preferred over "plunged into darkness". Cause for pause.

Instead of main fuse... a breaker? Or a big main switch? Or fire extinguisher mounted where evap cannister once resided?

[gregor]

Clicking on the link produces a blank page. But I managed to open it on a separate tab.

Maybe there is a simpler compromise with the wiring.
On my old Triumph T90 for example I did a simple 6V custom wiring loom with a relay to actuate the high/low charging rate when the headlight was switched on. The bike did not have an electric start and so I had the main battery connector as a push on 'spade' type. Meant I could just disconnect the main loom for security or other purposes. But I admit it was a long long time ago.

[foobar]

I purchased an R1150R used with 30k miles. With regards to this topic, I would suggest that the electrical system appears to have poor circuit protection. A short in my headlight was "allowed" to linger long enough to heat wires in the main wiring harness. The main harness melted/fused together and was essentially unusable. Luckily for me, my insurance co stood by me even though the bike was on a policy for only a month or so. The main wiring harness is ~$1500 and can only be sourced from Germany...

I will not put this issue beyond a previous owner doing some "work" on the bike that might have caused the issue, but I have never seen any vehicle have a catastrophic electrical failure-- esp to the degree that the R1150R did.

My advise is to have the bike checked out professionally as soon as possible if you even slightly suspect an electrical issue-- too many unprotected or poorly protected circuits on this bike.

[Beemeridian]

22

[sweatmark]

R1150R Roadster and Rockster wiring schematics show several unfused lengths of wire, including the battery-alternator-starter run, starter relay, the 6mm power supply to fuse box, iABS 2.5mm supply, turn signal flasher supply, load relief relay supply, and ignition key switch supply. Both 2003+ Roadster and Rockster have fused headlight circuits.

These circuits are confined to fusebox except for the battery-alternator-starter, iABS, and ignition key switch supplies. The ignition switch supply is the circuit I want to protect on Rockster via added fuse or breaker.

Early R1150R Roadster does not have fused headlight circuits... power to low/dip routed through headlight relay; high beam power routed through left hand switch. If we still owned our 2002 Roadster, fuses would be added to add circuit protection for both left- and right-side switch modules.