Offroad Switch Project

[Hollybrook]

I've begun preparation for an upcoming 6-8 week long trip that will include the Trans America Trail (TAT from Virginia to the Oregon Coast), the northern Pacific Coast Highway, the Trans Canada Highway through the Frasier River valley and into Banff, the northern section of the Continental Divide Trail, the remainder of Sam Correro's TAT east to the Minnesota/Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula and the rest of Michigan, the Cross Pennsylvania Adventure Trail and sections of the Mid Atlantic Backcountry Discovery Route (MABDR). Part of the fun is making some changes to my T700 that include an Acerbis tank, CamelADV side panels, Highway Dirt Bike (HDB) hand guards, Rottweiler/CRG mirrors, Cyclops Aurora lights, Seat Concepts Tall Comfort seat, and a Giant Loop tank bag.  The Acerbis tank was necessary to replace a dented stock tank and give me a couple more gallons of gas that my riding buddies already have.  Many of the other changes were required to make the Acerbis tank work.

 

In addition to adding a bunch of parts, I wanted to make some electrical changes to the bike to improve its offroad functions, as well as control the new lighting.  For this part of the project, my goals were:

 

1) Turn off ABS while riding
2) All stock functions unaffected while riding on road
3) Disable side stand and clutch switches while offroad
4) Have LED indicate offroad mode enabled
5) Switch Cyclops Aurora low beam mode between conspicuity and low intensity
6) Adjust Cyclops Aurora low beam intensity
7) Have LED indicate when Cyclops Aurora conspicuity is turned off
8 ) Include a high current heated gear port

 

The HDB hand guards are able to mount a switch plate that can accommodate two switches and a heated gear port.  This gave me a panel for controlling the new electrical functions while protecting the switches and making them easily accessible.

 

Edited May 18 by Hollybrook

[Hollybrook]

The ABS disable method I decided on was the Nerb1 mod that has been described here and on YouTube.  Basically, the signal from the rear wheel sensor is disconnected, causing the ABS computer to detect the fault and completely cease all ABS functions, leaving the brakes working like a bike with no ABS. On the older bikes with an LCD screen, no one has figured out a better method of completely disabling the ABS, and even solutions like the LSK dongle do it this way.  The downside is that you cannot re-enable the ABS without turning off the ignition, which I can do easily while riding the bike, as long as I am on a smooth straightaway.  I just turn off the key, wait a second and turn it back on.  The engine restarts and off I go.

 

Many people choose to do the Nerb1 mod with additional connectors, so that they just unplug the connection under the right side cover, and add a set of connectors with one lead broken by a switch.  I chose not add the additional connectors and cut one of the wires on the bike side of the connection and extended these two cut ends up to the handlebar switch plate.  When the switch is closed, the ABS system works just like stock and you can disable it with the switch on the LCD panel.

 

By using a double pole, double throw (DPDT) switch, I could also add the ability to disable the side stand and clutch switches.  This allows the starter to be engaged, even if the side stand is down or the clutch is not pulled in when the bike is in gear.  There are a couple of reasons for doing this.  First of all, the side stand switch is easy to break, requiring you to cut the wires and twist them together so that you can restart the bike.  Secondly, there are times when the bike is not the easiest to start and if you are on a hill or other difficult terrain, it can be helpful to move the bike with the starter motor.

 

There was a mod posted to do this a while back (https://www.tenere700.net/topic/7200-how-to-bypass-clutch-and-sidestand-switches/), but it required a jumper wire to be put across the high current contacts of the starting circuit cut-off relay.  Looking at the schematics, I determined that the neutral contact of the gear position switch was only used at the starting circuit cut-off relay.  This meant that I could ground that terminal of the relay and disable the side stand and clutch switches, so I added a wire to this lead and ran it up to the handlebar switch plate. 

 

[Hollybrook]

The Cyclops lights were wired as per the instructions included with them.  I did replace their switch to control the lights.  Not only was HDB switch plate too thick for the switch and keeper nut, but I also needed a second set of terminals so that I could include the LED that tells me that the light is in offroad mode.  I decided to use an identical DPDT switch to the one that I used for the ABS switch.  With the heated gear port, LEDs and DPDT switches on a quite small plate, things got busy in a hurry and I took some time to streamline the wiring and plan how to make it waterproof.  The switches I selected are designed for boating and are IP67 rated, but the wiring contacts are exposed and I decided to pot them with silicone for strain relief and moisture protection.  I used some large heat shrink tubing with glue inside to make a well for the silicone to squirt into.

 

 

 

To make the wiring easier and the handlebars removable, I used waterproof Deutsch connectors just below the switch plate.

Edited May 18 by Hollybrook

[Hollybrook]

After using this mod for 1,000 miles over a week, I am happy with how it turned out.  A few notes:

 

1)  The green LEDs that I used are not easy to see in daylight, but are quite visible without being too bright in low light and at night.  I would consider trying red leds next time to make them more visible.
2)  Because I did not run a switched power lead to the switch panel, the LED for the ABS switch is essentially a neutral indicator that works even when the key is off.  This is useful for finding neutral without turning on the key, but it also lights all the time if you leave the bike shut off with the trans in neutral.
3)  Support from Brian at Cyclops/Skene and Chad at Highway Dirt Bikes was excellent.  I can recommend these two vendors without reservation!

 

I will be happy to answer any questions about this project.  There was a lot of time spent on it and I am sure I am not explaining parts of it in detail.

[random1781]

22 hours ago, Hollybrook said:

With the heated gear port, LEDs and DPDT switches on a quite small plate, things got busy in a hurry and I took some time to streamline the wiring and plan how to make it waterproof.

It's funny how wiring in particular seems really straightforward at first but winds up being a lot more complex. What silicone specifically did you use?

[Hollybrook]

Wiring would be easier if I hadn't spent 40 years in the electronics industry and had good practices drilled into my head. 

 

@random1781 I used Permatex 81158 - a black RTV silicone sealer that I picked because it was black and cheap. 

Edited May 20 by Hollybrook

[Hollybrook]

Just a quick update. 

 

The switch to disable the clutch and side stand sensors is fine for short times, but the display seems to not like it being switched for a long time.  My guess is that the display is sensing the neutral light being on while the bike is moving and in gear.  If you move the switch to the middle position (ABS off, clutch and side stand switches working), it quickly goes back to normal.  I am now only using this function at the beginning of a particularly difficult climb when I might stall and need to move the bike with the starter if it does not immediately fire again.

 

If the ABS disable switch is left in the disable position for a very long time, it will throw a CEL code that remains for a couple of cycles of the ignition switch.  I am now disabling the ABS with the switch and then returning it to the normal operation position while riding.  This accomplishes two things: first, it appears to avoid the CEL; second, I have sometimes gone to turn the ABS back on by switching off the ignition while riding on a straightaway, only to find that the switch is still in the disable position, leaving me to perform the operation a second time with the switch in the correct position.  Since the ABS disable function works on the fly, it is easy to switch off the ABS while riding if I forget to turn it back on.

 

While I would prefer to have neither of these problems, both are easy to get around and I am no longer encountering them by changing how I use the functions.  All in all, I am quite satisfied with how this project has turned out, and prefer it to the LSK dongle.

Edited Wednesday at 06:45 PM by Hollybrook