Which EHC Replacement (new version)

[gabe]

OK redoing the old EHC Replacement poll keeping the rules the same as when MOESPEEDS created it. Assuming all options cost the same which would you choose if you had to replace your EHC today? (now with some of our newer options)

- Wires Plus
- Kansas Motor Works R.I.P.
- Thunder Heart Micro Harness Controller
- Complete Rewire Harley Davidson Style
- Another EHC
- ESC
- M-Unit

**Added ESC and M-Unit per Franco's suggestion, thanks!

 

[Thors]

My next go around will be the TH Micro. Was going to try another M-unit but I like the cost and functionality of the micro. The combined blinker/brake circuit along with the separation of the front/rear blinker circuit simplifies the install over the M.

 

[francoblay1]

There are two missing: the ESC & the M-Unit

 

[Jwooky]

Problem is, they are not the same cost.

TH micro is 1/3 of the cost of the RIP but more difficult to wire and install.

THe RIP, which is the same unit but pre wired plug and play but it's 3 times the cost.

Same is true with the ESC.

Obviously if cost were the same the plug and play pre wired would be the way to go.

If you can understand a wire diagram you could save a lot of money with the TH micro.

 

[rasdes]

I just jumped back into the Big Dog world, while I was experimenting with other bikes and not keeping up with the forum the RIP came along, where can I read about the RIP, several positive comments but I would like to understand how it works.

Thanks in advance....

 

[DRBarnhart]

There are two missing: the ESC & the M-Unit

:iagree:

They're both viable options and should have been included in the poll.

Dennis

 

[KaptinAmerika]

All true
For those who know what they are doing you can simply buy the Thunderheart, M-unit etc and do all the brain work to make it fit and work and take complete responsibility for it.
For the rest someone else has done all the hard work for you and all you have to do is buy it and ride.

Problem is, they are not the same cost.

TH micro is 1/3 of the cost of the RIP but more difficult to wire and install.

THe RIP, which is the same unit but pre wired plug and play but it's 3 times the cost.

Same is true with the ESC.

Obviously if cost were the same the plug and play pre wired would be the way to go.

If you can understand a wire diagram you could save a lot of money with the TH micro.

 

[BadDawg Bill]

Why go through rewiring a bike with circuit boards that are not reliable, pay big bucks and wind up with new wiring with different circuit boards that you have to still use BD controls which are almost impossible to find and circuit boards that can go bad? It's almost like saying "that 1/2 inch wrench doesn't fit/work so let me go buy a NEW 1/2 wrench to fix the problem"......

I read this forum and believed everyone who said a wire-plus system was the way to go. Now I see almost everyone saying a RIP is the way to go and no votes for a wire-plus.

I decided I would rewire my bike with a wire-plus so it would be dependable. Now I find that a lot of guys here who did just that are still having problems and I still can't use Harley controls and I now have electrical problems. Almost $1,000 wasted....

In my opinion save your money and find a good chopper wiring diagram, buy some wire and connectors and spend a weekend doing it yourself with a Harley relay, bars and controls. You will know every wire in the bike and can be proud of what you did. I know now I should have done that. Just my 2 cents for what it's worth....

 

[KaptinAmerika]

There is no rewiring the bike with a R.I.P. kit BadDawg.
You pull the EHC and the A and B harness out of the bike.
Mount the new module route the harness and connect the JST connectors.
That's it.
No need to go buying a bunch of crap and then sitting around in your garage trying to figure it out. If that's what you want to do great but I think the point of this thread is not to argue that point but give the poster some gentler options to choose from.

 

[pknowles]

Why go through rewiring a bike with circuit boards that are not reliable, pay big bucks and wind up with new wiring with different circuit boards that you have to still use BD controls which are almost impossible to find and circuit boards that can go bad? It's almost like saying "that 1/2 inch wrench doesn't fit/work so let me go buy a NEW 1/2 wrench to fix the problem"......

I read this forum and believed everyone who said a wire-plus system was the way to go. Now I see almost everyone saying a RIP is the way to go and no votes for a wire-plus.

I decided I would rewire my bike with a wire-plus so it would be dependable. Now I find that a lot of guys here who did just that are still having problems and I still can't use Harley controls and I now have electrical problems. Almost $1,000 wasted....

In my opinion save your money and find a good chopper wiring diagram, buy some wire and connectors and spend a weekend doing it yourself with a Harley relay, bars and controls. You will know every wire in the bike and can be proud of what you did. I know now I should have done that. Just my 2 cents for what it's worth....

Like I said, I installed the wire+on my07 Bulldog in2010 and is still working fine. Had the ehc tested by Curtis a couple years later and is fine. I bought the Rip kit because it's plug and play. I'm not a technician and it was a real pain in the ass installing, but it's still working. Stuff does break.

 

[BadDawg Bill]

There is no rewiring the bike with a R.I.P. kit BadDawg.
You pull the EHC and the A and B harness out of the bike.
Mount the new module route the harness and connect the JST connectors.
That's it.
No need to go buying a bunch of crap and then sitting around in your garage trying to figure it out. If that's what you want to do great but I think the point of this thread is not to argue that point but give the poster some gentler options to choose from.

I agree with you Curtis that the point of this thread is to "guide" members to the right decision. That is my point.

You said "You pull the EHC and the A and B harness out of the bike.
Mount the new module" So all you are doing in reality is swapping out the ECH for another ECH....

You still can't use Harley controls so if your controls go bad what do you do?
We all know after BD went out of business their parts are getting harder and harder to find. So you spend X amount of $$ buying the RIP system and it works well for a year or two before your controls go south. Then what?

I don't begrudge anyone for trying to find a quick fix but I feel like I was mislead with all the Wire-Plus threads and I feel now that I wasted $1,000 that I wouldn't have IF there were opposing posts that could have given me some food for thought.

It's like the headlight threads. Most had members touting the HID system but a few and one really good one showed the difference with your LED kit. I read them all and decided on your kit which I'm very happy with and very impressed with your service. That type of discussion in different threads made for an informed decision.

This poll has an option for Harley rewire and I posted for that side of the poll. I'm not trying to "push" anyone into making any decision only presenting facts that can help them make the right one.

There is a "kit" out there that has all the harnesses and parts to wire a Harley style system without any type "EHC" for around $400 that any Harley shop can fix or install. So there is an alternative.

 

[KaptinAmerika]

I'm a die hard BD fan so any recommendations of Harleyizing our BDs gets under my skin.
Sorry its just the way I am.
In addition I am growing weary of the fear mongering being done to Big Dogs.
Yes BD in its original form is gone but BD in its current form is still alive and well.
There are a number of vendors working very hard to keep BDs rolling and there is talk of BD rising again.
My endeavor is to keep BD alive in spirit and body. I am an avid believer in the general direction they were going with modernizing the custom bike and I intend to continue in that direction as do a number of others. This being a BD forum I do get weary of those who come here and try to convince people that UnBigDogging their Big Dog is the way to go.
I do agree with you that a lot of money was thrown away by a lot of people due to poor design work earlier on. But I think those issues have been resolved now. For example with the new RIP kit yes there is the possibility of the module going out down the road. However, with the RIP kit being non-proprietary the end owner can simply order a new module disconnect the one in there now and connect the new one and be down the road. The replacement module for the RIP kit is relatively low cost compared to the module costs of other systems.
In the end if an individual wants to hack their BD and go with an old school system it is certainly their choice but I will never recommend that to anyone as I believe the newer kits are cleaner and more reliable overall.

 

[fmschatz]

I agree with Kaptin. Long Live Big Dogs

 

[Iman]

Curtis is the man!!!

 

[gabe]

OK I tried to edit the poll and can't find how. Is this possible? Please point me in the right direction.

 

[pauly]

Kaptin is right!!! If the rip kit module goes down just buy another one without the harness! The price is reasonable.

I recommend having a good look at the wiring diagram of the micro controller that the R.I.P. kit and others use! It is the same unit and CAN be wired with H.D. hand controls! :2thumbs:

http://www.thunder-heart.com/Tech Service PDFs/EI4260.pdf

Paul.

 

[Th3InfamousI]

I agree with you Curtis that the point of this thread is to "guide" members to the right decision. That is my point.

You said "You pull the EHC and the A and B harness out of the bike.
Mount the new module" So all you are doing in reality is swapping out the ECH for another ECH....

You still can't use Harley controls so if your controls go bad what do you do?
We all know after BD went out of business their parts are getting harder and harder to find. So you spend X amount of $$ buying the RIP system and it works well for a year or two before your controls go south. Then what?

I don't begrudge anyone for trying to find a quick fix but I feel like I was mislead with all the Wire-Plus threads and I feel now that I wasted $1,000 that I wouldn't have IF there were opposing posts that could have given me some food for thought.

It's like the headlight threads. Most had members touting the HID system but a few and one really good one showed the difference with your LED kit. I read them all and decided on your kit which I'm very happy with and very impressed with your service. That type of discussion in different threads made for an informed decision.

This poll has an option for Harley rewire and I posted for that side of the poll. I'm not trying to "push" anyone into making any decision only presenting facts that can help them make the right one.

There is a "kit" out there that has all the harnesses and parts to wire a Harley style system without any type "EHC" for around $400 that any Harley shop can fix or install. So there is an alternative.

I don't think you were ever meant to be mislead, the wires plus has been around the block for a while and that was the first replacement ever build for big dogs to keep them on the road. Just within the last 12 months we have seen two new kits come out and the ease of install over the wire plus as well as the idea that some issues in the wire plus design have been amended in the new kits. I bought the wire plus 3 years ago and installed, it was the only option.

Your option of buying a Harley computer isn't accurate at $400, as either you need to chAnge your handlebars and controls with another $800-1200 there. I you really want to get rid of them as well.

 

[BadDawg Bill]

Hi Eric,
As a new member and a new BD owner I came here to learn more about the bikes. I read all the trouble shooting threads and 90% of them recommended the Wire-plus. I didn't see anything on the RIP until after I installed the Wire-Plus.

Now I just saw a post that said the RIP kit supports Harley controls and that may be so but I don't think the same unit can do both the Harley and BD controls because they are very different so you would have to buy the kit you want. If you bought the Harley kit then you would have to change bars and controls as well.

I just said the "Kit for Harley rewire was around $400" (with NO computer or module) and I have a link if someone wants it and of course you would have to buy Harley controls. If you like your bars then just have the 1" piece inserted and welded on to your current bars. A complete Harley control kit with the harness is under $300 if you know where to buy it. So $400 and $300 plus mis parts might add up to $800 - $900 BUT I spent $1000 on the WP kit installed and my bike now sits in the garage because WP can't figure out why my turn signals come on (all of them) and the bike dies. They are now trying to blame it on my BD controls which are impossible to find and I really don't wish to replace them with more BD controls even if I could find them.

BD had a good idea with the controls but the rest of the industry didn't go along with them so now we are stuck praying the controls or EHC don't go bad. I love my BD bike and intend to keep it the rest of my life (I'm 62) but I want to be able to ride it and not be wondering if it will make it home. In the 6 weeks I've had the bike I only got to ride it 5 times and 3 of those times it left me on the side of the road.

The last bike I sold I built in 1996 Harley style and it went over 200k with only 3 times leaving me on the side of the road. (1 was my fault) so having this bike sit in the garage with 4k on it and not being able to ride it really pisses me off and my buddy who bought my old bike is out riding today....

 

[pauly]

The owners manual for thunder heart micro controller say's there are only two controllers.
One for separate center brake light and the other for one without one. So it looks like the same unit for BD and HD controls. If concerned give them a call.
The PCB- hand control switches are still available as well.

Paul

 

[KaptinAmerika]

I probably shouldn't put this up here but I can't help myself.
The E-Pak, when its ready, will be programmable to work either way.
With latch switching or momentary switching.
I know....I know....I'm working on it I swear.