Highland Motors

[IACHONDA50]

Thanks buddy.

[John in Leeds]

Been out playin' again so a couple of pics.

Why is only me who has a working camera

[nice1trev]

Hello again Max, man your really having a bad time with your bike huh, sorry to hear about it brother.
My 2003 highland wasnt starting very well either even if i jumped it off a car.
Mine also fired through the airbox and exhaust when i held the throttle open abit. John has explaned to me the ignition fires both cylinders at the same time until (i think) the ecu see's an increase in crankshaft speed then must revert to normal firing order. happy enough with this explanation, i can see this causing the firing in the inlet.

When i put a Oddysey pc535 battery in fully charged it was much better - it spins over so fast theres no time for spitting out the airbox ! it just fires the fuck up .

If its running funny even after you get it going remove and check the flywheel index/firing ring, the ring can come loose.there was a man in italy had this problem, manufacturing fault aparently. ( i checked mine and while it was off pinned it with a brass screw)
If its not running properly just buy a new updated one and try it.

Hope ya fix it and apologies if this has been metioned already in the thread.

Still waiting to get mine back from overland solutions where its getting kitted out ( putting a dakar fairing on it like the photo ya posted John !)
Oh... and failed my motorcycle liecence theory for the forth time - pricks.
Happy christmas all !!

[John in Leeds]

Originally Posted by nice1trev

Hello again Max, man your really having a bad time with your bike huh, sorry to hear about it brother.
My 2003 highland wasnt starting very well either even if i jumped it off a car.
Mine also fired through the airbox and exhaust when i held the throttle open abit. John has explaned to me the ignition fires both cylinders at the same time until (i think) the ecu see's an increase in crankshaft speed then must revert to normal firing order. happy enough with this explanation, i can see this causing the firing in the inlet.

When i put a Oddysey pc535 battery in fully charged it was much better - it spins over so fast theres no time for spitting out the airbox ! it just fires the fuck up .

FettSnok gets instant starting with his bike - so I may be wrong here. Hopefully I am getting to go over to Sweden in the New Year and can have a look at his bike and find out a lot more.

If its running funny even after you get it going remove and check the flywheel index/firing ring, the ring can come loose.there was a man in italy had this problem, manufacturing fault aparently. ( i checked mine and while it was off pinned it with a brass screw)
If its not running properly just buy a new updated one and try it.

Hope ya fix it and apologies if this has been metioned already in the thread.

I think you may be onto something here Grant, if Max just pulls off the cover and checks the toothed ring on the flywheel to see if it is tight and pinned. You never know.

Still waiting to get mine back from overland solutions where its getting kitted out ( putting a dakar fairing on it like the photo ya posted John !)
Oh... and failed my motorcycle liecence theory for the forth time - pricks.
Happy christmas all !!

Roll on getting it back eh Grant?

Happy Chrismas Highland friends

[GreaseSnake]

Hi guys!

First off; MAX!

The first video sounds like your starter freewheel is slipping. They ar "killable" when the engine constantly mis-fires during startup...

Second vid: not impossible that this has to do with the tooth wheel on the flywheel. Check it! Otherwise, I think you need an updated firmware and software in the ECU. Cold start difficulties (engine temp below 60deg cels) was fixed in a later firmware.


Then to "how the ECU works".
It's mostly true about how the ecu figures wich cyl to fire at what time (as it has no cam sync..).
It reads the accelerations of the crank and then fires at the right time. However...
Initially the the ECU fires each cyl twice in a 720deg cycle.
This is known in motor -terms as "Waste fire" or "wasted spark".
So, EACH cylinder is fired at x-deg (x stands for degree value at a given load(TPS) and engine speed(RPM) ) from tdc.
This gives one ignite in compression phase and one in exhaust.
When the ECU has figured when it gets a burn after firing, it'll loose the "wasted spark".
This is to get higher spark energy from the coils (longer charge time=more power to the spark)
Back firing is due to lean A/F mixture or/and low inlet air speed (Poor A/F mixing). This is not unusual to any bike, especially big twins.
But better fueling/mapping can give some remedy. Mine seldom backfires, but I'm quite careful with the throttle during cranking...
A clean startup need very precise tuning of the throttle pos, the TPS adjustment to this and so on.

Even if the TPS value is right, it douesn't mean that he throttle butterfly is in it's correct pos.
For stock throttle I think it's somewhat like this (John can probably correct me if I'm wrong. I'm not close to my manuals at the moment).
The idle stop bolt: Adjusting:
turn counter clockwise until the butterfly is fully closed. Turn clockwixe an index to the fully closed throttle arm.
Turn clockwise, count 4.0 full turns (1/1). Lock.
Turn Ign. on. Adjust TPS to 0.65v (to know you are measuring at the right spot, move the throttle, the value should rise with more throttle.). Done.

Startup: Ign on. (first check that the kill switch is in RUN) THEN, apply the choke leveler. Push starter.
IF you ever touch the chocke leveler BEFORE turning ign on, it'll go BANANAS!
Every time you turn ign on the ECU reads the value from the TPS and uses this value as a set point of idle pos.
That's why you shouldn't mess with the chocke before turning the ignition on. ('cause in fact you are way past idle pos when fully applied choke. A/F will be rubbish during crank, the bike misfires. The rest is known.)

This is straight out of my head, don't shoot me if I mistook or missed some little part. But in the big picture, this is the deal.

Yep, John is coming to pay me a visit, to get the first Highland in the UK with twin inlets (I hope he'll be the first!). Just need to sort some things out first, but we'll get there. Time is my my greatest lack at the moment

Happy New Year, all you Highland Riders out there!

/Gs

[nice1trev]

Ah greasesnake !... may Alah grant you a thousand camals !! Excellent information - you very smart man
Ill have a go at tuning the throttle valve and TPS on mine when i get it back.
Ild like an updated map for mine ( Alloy body ECU 2003) its possible to load this with the ECU off the bike ?
Do you like Scotch wisky ?
Money ?
Cigars ?
Tabacco ?
Porn ?
Could i send my ECU to you ?

[GreaseSnake]

Originally Posted by nice1trev

( Alloy body ECU 2003) its possible to load this with the ECU off the bike ?

Yep!

Originally Posted by nice1trev

Do you like Scotch wisky ?

I would be an arse if I didn't

Originally Posted by nice1trev

Money ?

Surely!

Originally Posted by nice1trev

Cigars ?

Well of course!

Originally Posted by nice1trev

Tabacco ?

Only the domestic type

Originally Posted by nice1trev

Porn ?

I am a guy, you know...

Originally Posted by nice1trev

Could i send my ECU to you ?

Certainly!

[nice1trev]

Cool as Mr FettSnok ! Thank you very much
I think ill have the scoot back about march... maybe. so some time in April i guess if you can spare the time.
Im also chasing a spare ecu if you know who might have one, Highland say their out of spares.
Do ya put spikes in your tyres and ride in winter ?

[fullmonte]

Does anybody want a Highland Motard here in the states? There's one for sale here in TN. PM me and I'll send a link.

[GreaseSnake]

Originally Posted by nice1trev

Cool as Mr FettSnok ! Thank you very much
I think ill have the scoot back about march... maybe. so some time in April i guess if you can spare the time.
Im also chasing a spare ecu if you know who might have one, Highland say their out of spares.
Do ya put spikes in your tyres and ride in winter ?

Is your box black och is it metal fininsh ?
Any labels or such?

Spiked tyres is a big plus when riding on the lakes

Gotta get my own for the annual MOT (sort of), need to mount the "pre-scilencers", a red reflex at the rear, some licence plate lighting, a some new turn signals and a new rear tyre... Well, it's just expendables. Quite ok after riding the bike for 10000km (yep, all those zeros) since the last MOT.
(I recon about 2000km of themm, where at the red line. Poor thing )

[Lorretto]

As a new addition to the Highland collective here is a photo of my new to me Allroad. I would still be thinking about what a Highland would be like if not for this thread. Thanks to all the inmates that have taken the time to post their experiences.

I’ve only put a few hundred K on the Allroad so not much experience with it as yet.

The only addition I have for now is battery related. A Braille B14115 with 330 CCA will fit under the seat without modification. Likewise, a KTM 950 battery a YTZ14S, which is smaller with 230 CCA will fit no problem. Each battery had no problem firing up the bike.

Also count me in on the intake mods, I’m not much of a wrench but I’ll give it a go.

[John in Leeds]

Good to have you on board Lorretto

Will be good to have a comparison from an unbiased rider.

They get together over here too

[Lorretto]

Hey John; Thanks for the Welcome.



I’m not sure about the unbiased view of the KTM vs Highland comparison as I have not spent enough time with the Highland but here is my initial reaction.

The Highland has the potential to be the nirvana of multi-purpose bikes. The KTM is a great bike out of the box. You may remember the boxer, Mike Tyson; early in his career he was referred to as the badest man on the planet. I view the KTM 9** Adv as the badest production bike on the planet. It does virtually everything really well, not perfect but better than good. So I might have a tad of bias going on.

The issue I have with the KTM Twin is the weight, she is a big girl. I’m 175 lbs with a 29” inseam and can deal with the seat height but if she decides to take nap on the side it’s best to get out of her way. The Highland feels much smaller and is much more agile at low speed particularly in a parking garage. The Highland will pull a much tighter lock to lock turn. The KTM has twin rotors on the front wheel but the Highland single rotor seemed to stop shorter. This may be just my perception. The Highland is better in city traffic as the low end torque is where you need it for stop and go. A big bonus for me is I can almost flat foot both feet on the Highland on the KTM it’s not even close.

To unleash the Highland’s potential the fueling issues will need to be cured. My Allroad has some flat spots and sputters at 3500 to 4000. It does smooth out but I have not taken the bike much past 5000 as I want to change the oil before I start to get too far along. Some little things bug me but again it may be that I have not spent enough time with the bike: no storage (the KTM has decent storage under the seat, glove box and the fairings can be stuffed with spare tubes), the side stand is iffy at best, the rear brake lever is tough for me to get to size wise, the shift lever looks a little cheesy but works fine and folds so no big deal there, I still haven't figured out how to use the steering lock and a frame mounted fairing would be a big plus. I will eventually take a look at getting some kind of tank/engine protection, luggage carrier, maybe a center stand and some hand guards.

Even though I will probably like almost every feature of the KTM over the Highland the bottom line will be the Highland is 100 lbs lighter dressed and ready to play. Size does matter and sometimes less is more. So I’ll keep my pair of dirty twins and enjoy them both.

[John in Leeds]

Originally Posted by Lorretto

Hey John; Thanks for the Welcome.

I’m not sure about the unbiased view of the KTM vs Highland comparison as I have not spent enough time with the Highland but here is my initial reaction. The Highland has the potential to be the nirvana of multi-purpose bikes. Even though I will probably like almost every feature of the KTM over the Highland the bottom line will be the Highland is 100 lbs lighter dressed and ready to play. Size does matter and sometimes less is more. So I’ll keep my pair of dirty twins and enjoy them both.

The Highland cannot compete with the Ktoom just yet - it's just not developed enough. However the potential is there, the motor pulls like nothing else but until the dual inlet is sorted it will be rough and strangled on top end. There is no other emgine on the market so light and so appropriate for dual sport.

Both FettSnok and guys who have ridden the twin inlet bikes at the factory say the bikes run really sweet and have loads more top end, must be something worth waiting for.

I just hope that Highland or one of their partners puts together a proper lightweight powerful dual sport bike that is sophisticated enough for a wide market. It would certainly be the worlds best for adventure touring.

Your Allroad I think is the best version of the Highland 950, seat height and clearances making it comfortable for mere motals. It will do both on and off road well. The Motard is just a missmatch, too much suspension travel, underbraked and no top end power. Also you need a smooth engine set up on a tarmac bike. My bike the Outback is a little too tall and needs a weight reduction to really do well on the single track, it also needs an ability to chuff along at low revs on partial throttle where the going gets technical. The levers are really good off road and I've never even bent one in coming off. The steering lock has never worked but there is a luggage rack available from the factory (see my pics). Hand guards are essential, the bars help to protect the radiator when it goes over. Lots of things can be done but at the cost of extra weight.

Your bike does need a new map or something 'cos mine is at its best above 3000 rpm under load, pinging up the front effortlessly. At present it runs out of puff over 8000, that is well below the rev limit but there is plenty of power below that so it's not much of an issue.

Hope you are able to enjoy both bikes for some time. Lets also hope that FettSnok's modifications to my bike are successful and that we can put a few sets together for anyone who wants their Highland to run really well.

ride safe

John

[nice1trev]

Hey Greasesnake
my ecu is the old aluminium type , i carn't remember seeing any labels on it though there's a couple of dates and signitures on it where its been re-programed over here. I dont know the details as was before i got it.

Im travelling on it soon you see so wouldn't mind a spare if you know of any
If i fry it somehow ill have to fit most components from the new system to get running again !

cheers