Honda Bank Angle Sensor: Bypass the damn thing?

[pearsonm]

Last weekend at Heartland my F4i cut out coming into Turn 8 which it hadn’t done before. Then, after lunch, it freaking did it again. It was idling low so I cranked it up thinking it was dieing when I shut off the throttle quickly, but it freaking did it again!

Obviously this was a recipe for an asspacking. Fortunately, a spectator saw the last episode and knew exactly what was going on. His diagnosis was right on - the bank angle sensor was flopping around behind the dash. With some creative zip tying I locked the POS to the fairing stay and didn’t have the problem again. My dilemma now is what to do going forward.

The designers at Honda should be slapped for mounting such a crucial component to the headlight. It’s a freaking trackbike you morons! There are no headlights on trackbikes!

Anyway, I don’t see a good place on the fairing stay to bolt the thing that would keep it horizontal from the sides and front. Quite honestly, I’d rather keep it to prevent the motor from grenading in a layover, but only if I’m certain the cut-out problem’s solved.

I was up late last night Google searching the issue. It looks like 929’s and 600RR’s have the same setup. The 600RR guys are lucky in that there are two spots on the fairing stay to tap in to. The stunters just cut 'em out, splice the green and red wires (?) and leave the white open. What do you guys do?

 

[sasrocks]

My first trackbike was a f4i. Bypass it and throw it far far away.

 

[liteitup]

So you removed the headlight and did not know about the sensor? I laid my bike down 3 times and only once did the motor actually cut out so the usefulness of the sensor itself is not so great. Id just zip tie the hell out of it, shouldn't go anywhere after that. The 954 it bolts to the stay.

 

[jeff15]

I don't think you would want to run without it. Being fuel injected, the fuel pump will continue to operate. the sensor should kill power to it when the bike is layed over. If somehow the fuel line broke and your bike catches fire, it will keep pumping fuel out of the tank with the sensor disabled.

 

[pearsonm]

jeff15;121638 wrote: I don't think you would want to run without it.

I'm starting to lean that way. I called the shop who worked on it this afternoon, they suggested backing up the zip ties with safety wire. They also brought up a good point - as the bike's leaned over centrifugal force on the outside is counteracting gravity on the inside so the net effect should be zero. When the bike's truly on its side is when it should trigger.

I think I'll dig back into it and see if I can rig up some sort of bracket.

 

[jeff15]

i made a bracket for mine and bolted to my vortex fairing stay. I'll post a pic tomorrow, so you can see how i did mine, it might work for you. Are you using the stock bracket or a after market?

 

[pearsonm]

jeff15;121664 wrote: Are you using the stock bracket or a after market?

Stock. It's my understanding aftermarket units are designed to accommodate the sensor.

I know it was a single zip tie that was previously holding the sensor in because it was cut and dangling when I took off the upper. I'm certain the shop forgot to button it back up. It looks like a rat's nest in there with all the unused wires and connectors. I wish I knew enough about electrical systems to be able to remove all the unnecessary crap.

 

[pearsonm]

I decided to get MacGyver on it's ass. I wish I had a proper shop with a vise and drill press. It still should be better than zip-ties. If not, I'm bypassing the POS.

 

[geckert]

I rigged my BAS pretty nice on the f4i. Ill post a pic of it. There were 2 little rods on the stay that held the ram air tubes in place.Wwell if you flip them around and bend them a bit you can mount the BAS right onto the eyes at the end of these rods and it holds it firmly in place. I havnt had a problem with my air tubes moving around.

Just saw you made your own bracket, cool! I didnt want to disconnect mine incase I wreck and the bike keeps running while on its side I dont think that would be too good for the engine.

 

[pearsonm]

geckert;124531 wrote: I rigged my BAS pretty nice on the f4i. Ill post a pic of it. There were 2 little rods on the stay that held the ram air tubes in place.Wwell if you flip them around and bend them a bit you can mount the BAS right onto the eyes at the end of these rods and it holds it firmly in place. I havnt had a problem with my air tubes moving around.

Brilliant! Your solution's much more creative than mine.

Here's another shot all safety-wired up. This was my first time drilling for wire. Considering that I don't have a proper workbench, vise or drill press it wasn't too bad.