- Joined
- Aug 10, 2007
- Messages
- 8,417
- Reaction score
- 278
- Bike
- BMW R1200GS Adventure
In July I discovered that a new 2023 Honda CRF300Rally was being written off by an Insurance company.
I was really interested in getting hold of spares to have as a backup for my Rally...especially as spares are so costly and scarce at the moment.
A visit to Honda Tygerberg - confirmed the little bike had in fact had a serious argument with a pole but thankfully the rider was ok with no injuries (a blessing to be young and be able to bounce
)
The quotation I was privvy to showed a horrendous cost for repairs but that did not put me off. I contacted a friend at theInsurance Company that explained that they no longer allow straight buy-outs and that the bike would be uplifted by a salvage company and sold on auction.
So after weeks of watching every auction listing - the bike finally became available on Friday. So early up and awake - left Napier at 5am for the drive to Cape Town (with bike trailer attached) to ensure I get to the premises before any auction started.
Bidding was all done online and not in person as I expected...so once I registered (online) and paid my deposit - I was ready for the bidding to start.
Nail biting indeed but my perseverance paid off and when the Rally's Lot finally came on... I secured the sale and became the new owner of this gem ....
Most of the damage or issues appeared to be cosmetic, apart from the Instrument Tower (Not the digital clocks) and Headlight unit.
So on Saturday I started stripping the panels off and the damaged components to get a more naked approach.
Substantial upgrades were already on the bike - bargain!
I was however horrified when the side panels came off and I saw the "electrical engineering" done to the bike's electrical cabling...
Firstly - What looked like 30-40Amp Auto wire was WELDED (not soldered) onto 4 strands of wire to run LED spotlights via a relay.
....instead of using the factory provided 12V Accessory points on the harnass....these were merely cut off and open wires just taped to the loom.
Pics below the before & after installing a new Honda connector
Amazing ....short circuit just waiting to happen!
Spotlight harnass as well as Cigarette socket removed
At least now I was more comfortable that there won't be some major issue with short circuits.
Next was to remove the Headlight as well as the Tower assembly
Just a little bit of damage here
So now once this stuff was all removed, I reconnected the battery to check the ECU response and was grateful to see the dash light up and no flashing fault lights.
Switched the kill switch to on and it niggled a bit as a familiar relay noise was not heard....at this stage the Fuekl Pump should be priming ...but there was nothing!
Pressed the start button and the engine turned over like a beast... but just would not start.
Walked over to my Rally and did same procedure just to confirm and indeed - there seemed to be a fuel pump issue...BUT these bikes also have Bank/Tilt Angle Sensors that switched the fuel pump off and kills the engine in the event you have a fall or the lean angle is more than 45deg.
So I stripped out the Bank Angle sensor and measured it according to the info in the factory service manual - it tested ok. Tested the harnass plug and found that it was not getting any power to initialise the fuel pump.
Removed the Fuel tank and removed the fuel pump.
Stripped the fuel pump and applied 12v to the unit - it whirred into life...so the Pump was not the issue.
Dr Google was no help either.... I found one Youtube video where the chap resets the ECU or at least clears the Fault Codes by bridging out two wires....however his bike had a 4-wire plug - the Rally has 6-pins...so not going to work.
Eventually - over a coffee - I decided to RTFM and checking the schematics, noticed that the Kill switch has a wire directly connected to the Bank Angle sensor.
So maybe the Kill switch was the issue?
Looking at the closeup image of the front of thebike before I removed the headlight and the tower assembly - I noticed part of the metal structure had pushed back against the wire harnass - in fact the shroud carrying the Kill switch wires. I ran my fingers up & down and felt the slightest mark on the shroud. Cut open a 3cm section of the shroud and VOILA!!!! there a single severed wire became visible. Opened up a bit more, soldered wire together....held both thumbs...turned ignition on...hit Kill switch and the Fuel Pump purred into life success!!!! Some amalgamating tape around the fix and shroud and we're back in business.
What a lekker feeling to have the bike roar into life after only 1 day... (could not twist throttle too much - Sunday and Air B&Bguests still asleep)
View attachment VID_20240825_140130.mp4
A table full of spares needed ...
Further updates to follow
I was really interested in getting hold of spares to have as a backup for my Rally...especially as spares are so costly and scarce at the moment.
A visit to Honda Tygerberg - confirmed the little bike had in fact had a serious argument with a pole but thankfully the rider was ok with no injuries (a blessing to be young and be able to bounce
)The quotation I was privvy to showed a horrendous cost for repairs but that did not put me off. I contacted a friend at theInsurance Company that explained that they no longer allow straight buy-outs and that the bike would be uplifted by a salvage company and sold on auction.
So after weeks of watching every auction listing - the bike finally became available on Friday. So early up and awake - left Napier at 5am for the drive to Cape Town (with bike trailer attached) to ensure I get to the premises before any auction started.
Bidding was all done online and not in person as I expected...so once I registered (online) and paid my deposit - I was ready for the bidding to start.
Nail biting indeed but my perseverance paid off and when the Rally's Lot finally came on... I secured the sale and became the new owner of this gem ....
Most of the damage or issues appeared to be cosmetic, apart from the Instrument Tower (Not the digital clocks) and Headlight unit.
So on Saturday I started stripping the panels off and the damaged components to get a more naked approach.
Substantial upgrades were already on the bike - bargain!
I was however horrified when the side panels came off and I saw the "electrical engineering" done to the bike's electrical cabling...
Firstly - What looked like 30-40Amp Auto wire was WELDED (not soldered) onto 4 strands of wire to run LED spotlights via a relay.
....instead of using the factory provided 12V Accessory points on the harnass....these were merely cut off and open wires just taped to the loom.
Pics below the before & after installing a new Honda connector
Amazing ....short circuit just waiting to happen!
Spotlight harnass as well as Cigarette socket removed
At least now I was more comfortable that there won't be some major issue with short circuits.
Next was to remove the Headlight as well as the Tower assembly
Just a little bit of damage here
So now once this stuff was all removed, I reconnected the battery to check the ECU response and was grateful to see the dash light up and no flashing fault lights.
Switched the kill switch to on and it niggled a bit as a familiar relay noise was not heard....at this stage the Fuekl Pump should be priming ...but there was nothing!
Pressed the start button and the engine turned over like a beast... but just would not start.
Walked over to my Rally and did same procedure just to confirm and indeed - there seemed to be a fuel pump issue...BUT these bikes also have Bank/Tilt Angle Sensors that switched the fuel pump off and kills the engine in the event you have a fall or the lean angle is more than 45deg.
So I stripped out the Bank Angle sensor and measured it according to the info in the factory service manual - it tested ok. Tested the harnass plug and found that it was not getting any power to initialise the fuel pump.
Removed the Fuel tank and removed the fuel pump.
Stripped the fuel pump and applied 12v to the unit - it whirred into life...so the Pump was not the issue.
Dr Google was no help either.... I found one Youtube video where the chap resets the ECU or at least clears the Fault Codes by bridging out two wires....however his bike had a 4-wire plug - the Rally has 6-pins...so not going to work.
Eventually - over a coffee - I decided to RTFM and checking the schematics, noticed that the Kill switch has a wire directly connected to the Bank Angle sensor.
So maybe the Kill switch was the issue?
Looking at the closeup image of the front of thebike before I removed the headlight and the tower assembly - I noticed part of the metal structure had pushed back against the wire harnass - in fact the shroud carrying the Kill switch wires. I ran my fingers up & down and felt the slightest mark on the shroud. Cut open a 3cm section of the shroud and VOILA!!!! there a single severed wire became visible. Opened up a bit more, soldered wire together....held both thumbs...turned ignition on...hit Kill switch and the Fuel Pump purred into life
success!!!! Some amalgamating tape around the fix and shroud and we're back in business.What a lekker feeling to have the bike roar into life after only 1 day... (could not twist throttle too much - Sunday and Air B&Bguests still asleep)
View attachment VID_20240825_140130.mp4
A table full of spares needed ...
Further updates to follow
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