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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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11 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  

  • I ride a 04 Roadglide and it has wired cruise control. I have 60,000 miles on it and use the cruise control all the time. I have never had any problems with it. If its not broke, don't fix it!!!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5/19/2008 05:32:00 AM  

  • I had the same thing happen to me with my 08 road king. Was using cruise control, came in to a flat curve. I used the rear brake to slow down. Cruise did not disengage. I flew off the bike at 70 miles an hour,fortunately living to tell about it. No there was not enough time to hit the kill switch. By the time you realize what is happening it is to late. I am very lucky, I hope we can get more people aware of this before someone else gets hurt or killed.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5/29/2008 07:42:00 PM  

  • Here is the link to local paper, but it will not tell the cause and most likely will never be known to the public.

    http://www.hcnews.com/obits/index.asp?id=13471

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6/11/2008 02:25:00 PM  

  • I have worked in the electronics field my entire adult life since graduating from tech school. And while it has made our life simpler, and perhaps mopre fun, it can also be dangerous. While noone yet knows the "fly-by-wire" throttle caused this accident I can assure you it is possible. And it is sad, like the EFI on new Harley's, you don't have an option for an old tried and true cable throttle, nor a carburetor. So I will not buy a new Harley until I have those options. As far as hitting the "kill" switch. Sometimes when things go wrong fast you don't have time to think, just react. And if you are already accellerating madly, killing the motor will not save you in a curve you are going to fast in. Leave my Harley's old school with cables and carbs....PLEASE!?!?!?!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10/17/2008 05:32:00 AM  

  • my boyfriend and i had the misfortune to have wreacked becouse of this fly by wire my question is why not change it back or fix it so others aren't hurt or killed had i known about this problem or that others had been killed and hurt i would have never gotten on that bike i don't know if i will ever enjoy riding again i hope people get educated about this fly by wire and know the risk they are taking riding a bike with this kind of trottle how many people have to die before the problem gets fixed i think one death is to many

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11/10/2008 06:07:00 PM  

  • Had a similar problem wth my "07 Ultra Classic which still has the steel throtle cables. I was getting ready to move my bike when the engine suddenly raced wide open. I twisted the throtle back to idle; the RPM went down but then went wide open again. Five seconds later I was on the ground with multiple broken bones waching my bike twisting on it's side 25 feet away, still at full throttle. I had left the cruise control switch in the "on" position but hadn't touched the "set" button. Sitting still with my feet on the ground there is no reason for the cruise control to energize itself. The problem is in that electronic module not necesarily the TBY.

    By Blogger dirtyred, at 6/10/2009 10:54:00 AM  

  • hello everyone i am having a problem with the fly by i installed new bars and everything is correctly installed but all of a sunned i start the bike it runs but as i attempt to give it gas i slowlt accelerates slowly and ive replaced it twice at the trottle still same thing im ready to go back to cables problem is its 3200 to do so

    By Blogger JADA LAI, at 8/13/2009 12:03:00 AM  

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