Why is it so difficult to add tach to 2018 Road King?

[BillyO00769]

All the 2017,18,19 Milwaukee Eight touring bikes' wiring diagrams are the same. Same wires going to the same BCU, ECU terminal numbers. Same colored wires going to the same numbered connections. The only difference? Amps, Speakers, Police lights and Radios.
Why is it so difficult to add a tachometer to these Road Kings?
It should be like adding a chassis fan or a CVO rear fender.
Take to the dealer and they plug into the data port and allow the extra device, right??
The 3 dealers in the Sacramento area say things like:

1.Can't do it. The BCU and the ECU and blah, blah, blah.
2. We don't know enough about the new can bus systems yet. (What?? Are you kidding me??)
3. Can't add anything to the new can bus systems. (Of course you can, right?)

Well, I added the Harley can bus tachometer to my road king and everything works for a while then the tach reads 700-1000 rpms higher than the actual rpms. I have to reset the system (DIAG) to get the tach back to zero. Also, there is a U0157 SPDO (speedometer) error code which means that the 2 devices (tach and speedo) aren't communicating properly with each other.

It seems to me that the dealer should be able to add the extra device to the system. After all, my RK is wired the same as the police version of the same model with the same tach and speedometer.
Is there anyone out there that knows the can bus system on these Milwaukee 8's to rectify this problem?
It's a tachometer! This shouldn't be rocket science.

 

[BillyO00769]

An addendum to my post above: ECU- no error codes, BCU- no error codes, Tach- no error codes, SPDO U0157 error code.

 

[Breeze3at]

I wish I could help you, but as soon as I read "can bus", my brain throws a code.

 

[BillyO00769]

I wish I could help you, but as soon as I read "can bus", my brain throws a code.

Yeah. I can see this site is not for help but just talking.

 

[Jeff Klarich]

Yeah. I can see this site is not for help but just talking.

I think most members would disagree with your post, Maybe you would be happier elsewhere.

 

[BillyO00769]

I think most members would disagree with your post, Maybe you would be happier elsewhere.

You know. You're absolutely right. I expected out of thousands of people, someone would be able to help. The Harley dealers seem to be right. These forums are useless, filled with people who don't know what they are talking about. What was I thinking? That there might be ONE person out of thousands that would be able to help?? I will delete my profile immediately! Thanks for your wonderful insight.

 

[Jeff Klarich]

Bye, thanks for stopping by.

 

[jamesearl]

sounded like he shoulda got a batwing or sharknose if he didn't wanna look down to see gauges.Had all the patience of a boiling teakettle

 

[SilverFoXD]

He was here for less than 21 hours, and didn't get a reply. Agree, he will be happier elsewhere. Saw a guy like this years ago on a Honda site who expected there to be a full time expert on staff and on line to immediately answer every question, and for free. When he didn't get his reply within 15 minutes he ripped the site, and promptly was deleted.

But looking at the Parts and Accessories catalog and the Additions catalogs, I don't find speedos or tachometers that match to what he has. Close, but not the same. May have just missed them, but if they are Harley they would specify what years they work with and would have come with installation instructions, instructions loaded with cautions.

And, the speedo mount on the riser really doesn't look Harleyish, not with the grey finish that screws down to the chrome with Phillips head screws and the swivel mount exposed. The instruments do say Harley-Davidson, but could they be after-market? The numbers are slanted, not typical Harley style.

My 2¢.

 

[SledDog]

Too bad you didn't wait longer before doing a self delete. I have an answer to your issue. Oh well.