RXX Posted July 25 Posted July 25 Among the spares available to me for my next trip I have an ECU from Redbird's '99 (I think it was his, not 100%) Along with a new FPR and regulator I think I will have the 3 items that are life-or-death to keeping the bike running. (I am of course open to suggestions) I am getting a new timing chain tensioner but many replace it prior to the trip. I have toured on a bird at least every other year since 2004 and none of these 3 have gone tits up, but odds, mileage, my abysmal mechanical aptitude and time make the possibility greater. Will the ECU work just swapping it out or is there a bunch of work involved? I have had flats, had to have tires replaced, batteries replaced, mirrors borrowed, wires uncrossed, and a new chain in BF Canada and all that sucked, but at least the parts were somewhat readily available. These 3 parts would require finding, ordering, and waiting. I have always thought that at some point I will break down in Timbuktu and just stay fuck it. I got my $1800 out of this girl and walk away. I'm not there yet. Quote
Zero Knievel Posted July 25 Posted July 25 If it’s the same model year, I would expect it to work. The XX was before the CANbus systems where everything has a unique ID that the ECU has to be programmed to accept a new bike. Quote
fizzy Posted July 25 Posted July 25 Analog dash 99,00 are different from digital dash 01+ models, and are not interchangeable. Otherwise, just plug it in, battery disconnected to be safe. Also, I would add a spare CCT, cam chain tensioner, to the tool kit. Quote
poida Posted July 25 Posted July 25 i carry a spare reg rec on my bike . it doesn't take up much room . with the other parts can you leave them with someone who can express post them to you wherever you need them ? Quote
poida Posted July 25 Posted July 25 just remembered, about 10 years ago i did a trip across aus. before i went i replaced cct as a preventative measure and it failed on my way home. had to keep the revs low as the chain was making a lot of noise for the next 2500 or so klms must have been a faulty cct as once i got home i put the old one back in and got a few more years out of it. so as fizzy said carry a spare. Quote
RXX Posted July 25 Author Posted July 25 55 minutes ago, fizzy said: Also, I would add a spare CCT, cam chain tensioner, to the tool kit. 3 hours ago, RXX said: I am getting a new timing chain tensioner but many replace it prior to the trip. 57 minutes ago, fizzy said: Analog dash 99,00 are different from digital dash 01+ models, and are not interchangeable. Otherwise, just plug it in, battery disconnected to be safe. Same model year, analog dash. GTG!! Quote
superhawk996 Posted July 26 Posted July 26 On 7/25/2026 at 7:17 AM, RXX said: Same model year, analog dash. GTG!! Yup, plug & play. If it hasn't been done, you should do the test connector fix as that's more likely to give a bad surprise than the ECU. 1 Quote
ironmike Posted July 26 Posted July 26 FWIW, back in 2002, before we generally had a handle on the compromised FPR diaphragm & ethanol-laced fuel issues, my '99 XX was one of the first to experience the problem, and at the time was extremely frustrating in successfully diagnosing. Finally solved by a savvy tech at the local dealership shop, who took to replacing a host of NOS or NIB parts in sequence until the issue was resolved. One of those parts swapped early on was an '03 XX ECM (from a new '03 XX on the showroom floor); while it didn't fix the problem, it did function as well as the stock '99 ECM in all respects. So, at least in this instance the '03 and '99 ECMs were interchangable and worked as intended as a diagnostic tool. I don't remember the tech saying anything about the analogue vs digital dash function; but, I know he did test-ride the bike in the process. Quote
RXX Posted July 26 Author Posted July 26 5 hours ago, superhawk996 said: Yup, plug & play. If it hasn't been done, you should do the test connector fix as that's more likely to give a bad surprise than the ECU. I am pretty sure Mike did the loom fix. He’s that kind of guy. Thanks for the responses guys. Quote
Zero Knievel Posted July 26 Posted July 26 2 hours ago, RXX said: I am pretty sure Mike did the loom fix. He’s that kind of guy. Thanks for the responses guys. Yes. What’s wrong on my old bike that it needs a new ECU? Quote
RXX Posted July 27 Author Posted July 27 6 hours ago, Zero Knievel said: Yes. What’s wrong on my old bike that it needs a new ECU? Among the spares available to me for my next trip I have an ECU from Redbird's '99 (I think it was his, not 100%) Along with a new FPR and regulator I think I will have the 3 items that are life-or-death to keeping the bike running. (I am of course open to suggestions) I am getti Quote
Zero Knievel Posted July 27 Posted July 27 4 hours ago, RXX said: Among the spares available to me for my next trip I have an ECU from Redbird's '99 (I think it was his, not 100%) Along with a new FPR and regulator I think I will have the 3 items that are life-or-death to keeping the bike running. (I am of course open to suggestions) I am getti Almost as bad as me on my first cross country trip with the XX. I packed spare chain and sprockets. Quote
RXX Posted July 27 Author Posted July 27 3 hours ago, Zero Knievel said: Almost as bad as me on my first cross country trip with the XX. I packed spare chain and sprockets. If I had carried a spare chain with me on my trip to Manic-5 I would not have spent a whole day in Bumfuck New Brunswick getting the only chain in town that even remotely fit and barely made it home on it, so your preparation may have been prudent. Come to think of it, I HAVE carried a new chain on long trips a couple of times. Quote
fizzy Posted July 27 Posted July 27 Taking it with you is a sure fire way to guarantee you wont need it. Quote
SwampNut Posted July 27 Posted July 27 Of all of the stupid/unprepared long trips I've done, now, I can't come up with a time I was actually stranded. Huh. I've had three plugs in a tire, but that was in town. Oh, the R/R *and* stator ended my trip with Mac, Jerry, and Chris a bit short, yet I rode 80 miles home. But who carries a stator? I did find myself sort of arrested at 2am in Hazelhurst, MS, trying to find oil for my RD350. Quote
Zero Knievel Posted July 27 Posted July 27 5 hours ago, fizzy said: Taking it with you is a sure fire way to guarantee you wont need it. It's called the Murphy's Law corollary. Quote
rockmeupto125 Posted July 28 Posted July 28 Just to throw my two cents in, yes, you can swap the ecu"s. Quote
RXX Posted July 28 Author Posted July 28 8 hours ago, rockmeupto125 said: Just to throw my two cents in, yes, you can swap the ecu"s. Speaking of monetary idioms, a pretty worthless one now is ”dollars to donuts” Quote
RXX Posted August 13 Author Posted August 13 I found a NIB factory CCT in my Rockme starter kit. Score! Quote
SwampNut Posted August 13 Posted August 13 And I can't even get an owner's manual bag from him... Quote
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