• Hi everyone,

    As you all know, Coffee (Dean) passed away a couple of years ago. I am Dean's ex-wife's husband and happen to have spent my career in tech. Over the years, I occasionally helped Dean with various tech issues.

    When he passed, I worked with his kids to gather the necessary credentials to keep this site running. Since then (and for however long they worked with Coffee), Woodschick and Dirtdame have been maintaining the site and covering the costs. Without their hard work and financial support, CafeHusky would have been lost.

    Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been working to migrate the site to a free cloud compute instance so that Woodschick and Dirtdame no longer have to fund it. At the same time, I’ve updated the site to a current version of XenForo (the discussion software it runs on). The previous version was outdated and no longer supported.

    Unfortunately, the new software version doesn’t support importing the old site’s styles, so for now, you’ll see the XenForo default style. This may change over time.

    Coffee didn’t document the work he did on the site, so I’ve been digging through the old setup to understand how everything was running. There may still be things I’ve missed. One known issue is that email functionality is not yet working on the new site, but I hope to resolve this over time.

    Thanks for your patience and support!

computer keys

I had our lock & door guy from work made up a spare non-chipped extra. I keep it hidden in my shop just to lock the handle bars.
I have the chipped key clipped to my helmet when not riding. If I'm working in the shop and have to move my bike around it's a lot easer.
:cheers:
 
so if i get things right, i can take the key i have and get a non computer one made. Then I take the computer one and attache it to the bike, then the non computer one will work for everything?

i lost the first key and it's insane that they're like $65
 
Abby said:
so if i get things right, i can take the key i have and get a non computer one made. Then I take the computer one and attache it to the bike, then the non computer one will work for everything?
Click to expand...


:thinking: Good Question...I'll try it tonight. Don't see why that wouldn't work. Maybe just carry the key on person and leave the NP key in the bike.

Why don't they just make a chipped card (credit card like) for your bike that you can carry in your wallet. As long as your near your bike push the start button and away you go.
Walk away and your bike shuts off and alarms itself.:thinking:

Just a thought... maybe on next years models.
 
HuskyDude said:
:thinking: Good Question...I'll try it tonight. Don't see why that wouldn't work. Maybe just carry the key on person and leave the NP key in the bike.

Why don't they just make a chipped card (credit card like) for your bike that you can carry in your wallet. As long as your near your bike push the start button and away you go.
Walk away and your bike shuts off and alarms itself.:thinking:

Just a thought... maybe on next years models.
Click to expand...

Whoa, easy there. You're heading down a path straight into BMW territory with that one. :oldman:
 
Abby said:
so if i get things right, i can take the key i have and get a non computer one made. Then I take the computer one and attache it to the bike, then the non computer one will work for everything?
Click to expand...

Just attaching the chipped key to the bike won't work. It needs to be very close to the steering lock, probably within 1 inch.
 
nev.. said:
Just attaching the chipped key to the bike won't work. It needs to be very close to the steering lock, probably within 1 inch.
Click to expand...


is it the same sort of technolgy that's in the keyless cars? we had one in Hilo the other day that was just a push button to start. for that key it was good enough to have it in the trunk.
 
HuskyDude said:
Oh well:excuseme: It was a good thought anyway.
Click to expand...

With late model HD Touring models you get a fob that works exactly as you describe. Put it in your pocket, walk up to the bike, turn the power switch to on and push the start button. When your done, power switch off and walk away. At about 10 feet it arms the alarm. Really well done.

On my BMW K1600 they totally missed the bark. You've got a key, and a fob. The fob has buttons to unlock the cases and arm/disarm the alarm, but you still need the freakin' key. I put the fob in a drawer and just use the key. They could learn a bit from HD in this area. Keys are history.
 
Abby said:
is it the same sort of technolgy that's in the keyless cars? we had one in Hilo the other day that was just a push button to start. for that key it was good enough to have it in the trunk.
Click to expand...


You can test it for yourself. There is an antenna ring around the keyhole and when the key is turned it 'powers up' the key which will start transmitting it's code. The code is decrypted and read and compared to the key code stored in the ECU and will allow the bike to start. If there is no chip in the key, the bike will not start. If there are two keys next to the antenna, both will send their codes, and the ECU will received some combination of both codes and will not start (you will see an EWS error on the dash). If you try it a few times with one key in the ignition and your spare key at varying distances away from the ignition lock you will see that it is only when the second key is within say an inch of the antenna that it will cause the EWS error. So for the RFID to start the bike, the key needs to be that close to the antenna.
 
Modern BMWs have a maximum of ten keys programmed to work. From what I understand, lose all ten, and it's time to part the bike out. Don't ask how, but I have lost 3 to my '07.

Back in 07 BMW had a bad run of antenna rings, the part that reads the RDIF key chip. It sits around the key slot. For security reasons, the screws that attach it are one way screws and must be drilled out. If the antenna ring goes bad you get the EWS error code (thought to mean "engine won't start") and the engine won't start. So you are out in BFE and you shut your bike off, go to start it, and no go.

Folks were pretty pissed. When this started a new antenna ring was a few hundred bucks. Covered under warranty, but people started carrying spares. People were pissed. You could plug a spare ring into the wiring harness, zip lock a key to it, use a second key in the ignition lock, and the bike would start. But the spare ring might go bad too. BMW went through I think 4 different ring part numbers until they got one that does not (seemingly) fail. By the end, a new ring cost $27. Some would say BMW lowered the price so corporate would not take such a loss on warranty repairs.

This took a year or two to straighten out. People were pissed. The BMW world adventure ideal went to hell. If you are off in Peru and your bike won't start without a new part it seems you are better off on a KLR. This problem was emblematic of over electronic sophisticated bikes being 3rd world unfriendly.

All over something no US rider could understand. BMW bikes are basically never stolen. Ducati has chipped keys, but using switches you can enter a code and defeat the non start. BMW, you are screwed.

I still enjoy my GSA. I never had my antenna ring fail, nor my final drive. My bike has never stranded me, nor my previous BMW. But I view BMWs as being rideable only in first world countries. We're I to tour elsewhere, I would go with a bike repairable in a village. Not a BMW, and truthfully, not a Husky TR. A carbed KLR comes to mind.

BMW did replace my antenna ring for free with the known good part during a service way back when. I asked them to use regular screws. They do generally fix things. The bikes are reliable when sorted. Sort of.

Oh, and a chipped key for my BMW bike costs $27. Husky is ripping us off at $65. Such is life.
 
socalrob said:
We're I to tour elsewhere, I would go with a bike repairable in a village. Not a BMW, and truthfully, not a Husky TR. A carbed KLR comes to mind.
Click to expand...

One of the many reasons I love my Ural. A friend asked me what bike I would buy to ride around the world. I laughed and told him that I'd just take my Ural. Simple engineering that can be repaired anytime, anywhere. He seemed shocked. He bought a water-cooled GS anyway. :D

It is a simple difference in mentalities. His thought was to buy a bike that wouldn't break down, and if he did that, he wouldn't have to worry about roadside repairs and getting stranded.

I think anything will break down on a true adventure ride, and the value is in being able to repair it quickly by yourself with the tools you have on hand.

The TR650 is my first EFI motorcycle. It is my first with a digital dash. It is a lot of firsts for me. I love it for what it is, but I still don't think I'd ride this thing through Africa.
 
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