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Fly by Wire Harley Problems

by Steve
Tuesday, April 01, 2008

There's been a lot of skepticism and complaints about the new "fly-by-wire" throttle on the 2008 Harley-Davidson touring models. Well last week, it may have claimed a victim.

Here's a post I found on HDForums today...

My Brother HAMMER was killed today in a bike accident -- He was the President and Chapter Holder for Boozerfighters Chapter 39 in Granburys, Texas. He is also the Owner of Jackhammer Tattoo. his wife Sindi is in serious condition.

Seems that the new electronic throttle on the 08 H.D.'s has a problem they accelerate on their own and you can't shut them down. he had just got his bike back from H.D. for this problem and they told him it was fixed. this time he was in a curve and couldn't pull out of it , ran off the road and threw Sindi off ,then the bike flipped over on him and broke his neck .
And it's corroborated on the Boozefighters Canada website (though it doesn't mention the fly-by-wire).

Of course, I can't yet confirm that the fly-by-wire throttle is what caused the accident, so far, it sounds like it was involved.

Fly-by-wire is not new to motorcycling, but it is new to Harley-Davidson. Thus far, it's been a source of doubt and skepticism among the motor company's loyal following, who look at old world technology as being tried and tested. For Harley, it was a way to shed the company's reputation of being archaic.

The company's official rationale for incorporating the fly-by-wire throttle is that the touring models come with Electronic Cruise Control, and that an electronic throttle actually integrates with it more seamlessly than cables. In other words, it makes things more simple.

But if making things work more seamlessly together is the reason for this, then that would suggest the previous cable-based system was problematic. I'm not aware of problems with the throttle-cable not working with the cruise control, if there were then perhaps readers can post comments.

Otherwise, I'm left wondering if this fly-by-wire throttle was implemented purely for the altruistic pursuit of technology, as opposed to giving motorcycle riders something that works.

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4 Comments:

  • What happened to the "kill switch"? If you can't kill the throttle, kill the engine. It only takes a flick of your thump.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/03/2008 09:30:00 AM  

  • I want to know how they know that TBW caused this wreck. I have not been able to find any info on this accident, not saying that it didn't happen, but seeing a newspaper article would be nice.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/04/2008 12:54:00 PM  

  • Horrible news no matter what the reason for it was...

    And yo, "annonymous", while the kill switch may have helped, if you suddenly accelerate in the middle of a hard turn -- totally unexpectedly, as it sounds like this was -- you certainly aren't gonna have more than .5 seconds to think, before you go off-road. On a straight-way with a lot of room, sure, you've got time to realize that there is a problem -- one where taking your hand off the throttle isn't working.

    Poor guy probably didn't even have enough time to think "What the Hell!?!"

    Hope his wife pulls through...

    It's always a heartbreaker for me when a brother biker gets taken before his time -- especially when it isn't his fault in the least.

    By Anonymous BikerDan, at 4/04/2008 03:51:00 PM  

  • I totally agree with bikerdan. I ride dirtbikes and have had this happen. It's so sudden the usual end result is flying off into the trees.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/04/2008 08:27:00 PM  

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