What to do with my dumb broken motorcycle (I broke it)

I've started this post about four times and I've come down to either begging for assistance from the hive for how to make my not-really-running motorcycle disappear properly or begging for assistance on the ground in the Kansas City area.  I'm hopefully moving to KC by the end of June and I would like a working motorcycle again.  Open to suggestions.

This is the bike where I spent time in 2014 trying to Beef Things Up in the electrical system and somehow caused a fault in the ECU wiring which causes the ECU to ignore the throttle position sensor.  The bike idles but has no interest in what position the throttle body blades are in, so the blades open up, more air goes in, and the bike leans out and eventually dies.  I replaced the main wiring harness, swapped to a different ECU, and tried a replacement TPS as well as a complete throttle body assembly.  

The bike has 56k miles on it and the fairing panels got all scratched up in the move from CT back to KS last winter.  Street value in good condition (with good paint) is probably $2k at most.  With all current issues it's probably of no real monetary value.  

What's my best solution here?  

Light it on fire?

Okay I did that and now I have a charred VFR800.  What now, what comes next?

You are going to have to start tracking the signals. I would start by seeing that proper voltage is at the tps and that the proper signal is coming out. Next get a pin diagram and make sure that the signal from the tps is present at the correct pin going to the ecu. 

You could just go micro-squirt but that has its own set of things that need sorting. My gut is thinking you have the wrong plug plugged in to the tps or some other place or there is a ground issue or the ecu is not getting a good reference so it has no clue. 

Are you getting temp and rpm?  

I've done that.   Traced wiring back to the ECU, and using t-pins, probed the pins that feed voltage to the ECU.  Changes like it should, generally speaking, it was within a few 1/10th of a volt per spec.  I've got the bike's wiring diagram and the manual printed out for troubleshooting.  I haven't tried to do anything to it for almost two years as I was at a total loss as to why this wasn't working.  I started flat out throwing parts at it like the main harness due to frustration.  And lo, no solution was found that way, either.

Only fault flagged by the ECU was in this part of the bike.  I don't know what the ECU thinks about temp or RPM as there's no way to view that information directly.  

Once upon a time I considered Microsquirt and backed away due to the "if you can't get the factory ECU to work, why would Microsquirt be easier?" aspect, coupled with no one that I have found actually having done this on a VFR before.  It seems like a good way to reduce reliability while going insane.

Trade-in?

Apart from that, I think along Dean's line, there's something wrong which is probably simple in nature, but difficult to diagnose. A $2k-minus-scuffs value for complete and running probably means that it's not a great investment of your time from a purely monetary standpoint... But it'll certainly be easier to get rid of.

If you just want to wash your hands of it, I'd look into trading it in if you can find a dealership who'll give you a tiny amount of money in exchange for selling you something else and hoping they can fix it cost effectively. OR try a bike recycler and see if they'll give you anything for it as a parts source. OR donate it, take the tax deduction and your clean conscience and start looking for your next bike.

Here's an awesome video I made where I show off my problems!  You can hear my voice and see my watch!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNZyZxzLYlM

I hadn't considered donating it.  Hrm.  Hrm hrm.  I can't imagine a dealer taking it on trade and giving me any money.

In reply to pres589 :

I'm not a bike mechanic and it's been months since I've stayed at a holiday inn express.  But:

what does google tell you re the definition of 8 flashes of the light?

What ground have you effed up to cause the TPS signal to not return to ~0 volts as installed?

are there any sensors on the bike that are supplied +3v by the ECU and, if so, how/where has that +3v become shorted to your TPS output?  Could be internal to ECU.

what is it about the TPS installed position that makes it test differently than when it's up over the frame?  Straining a wire or dislodging a connector pin or something similar?

Just watched the video. That's a fascinating set of symptoms. If I didn't need to head out, I'd probably be googling VFR wiring diagrams... 

watched your video. What is applying voltage to the throttle body where it should be applying ground?

i.e. I think you have a short going from power to TB to TPS to TPS signal wire.

Goddamn that's some serious brainpower, 3 responses pretty much simultaneously.

You you've replaced the ECU, the TPS, and the wiring between them, and nothing's changed? That suggests the problem is somewhere else. Is there a MAP or AFM sensor?

When the TPS was in open air, just wired up but not mechanically installed on the throttle body, the voltages were good.  Engaging the TPS with the throttle plate shaft required rotation of the TPS slightly.  The other throttle body doing the exact same thing electrically (I only removed the TPS from the bike's original throttle body assembly) makes me think this is somehow normal?  It's quite odd.

I cannot remember if I also replaced the sub-harness that controls the injectors and sensors that are on the throttle body assembly.  I want to say I did but I don't have proof of that at my disposal currently.  For giggles, this is what the throttle body assembly looks like on these bikes;

GameboyRMH said:

You you've replaced the ECU, the TPS, and the wiring between them, and nothing's changed? That suggests the problem is somewhere else. Is there a MAP or AFM sensor?

There is a MAP sensor.  I know I've checked for different symptoms with the MAP unplugged.  The bike can tell the difference, as I recall, but I don't know how.  Maybe a no-start condition.  It's been a while since I worked on this.  I've been walking past this motorcycle for at least 18 months just shaking my head and pretending it isn't there.

When you moved the replacement TPS it looked like the voltage jumped from .1V to about 3V.  If that's really what's happening then that's not correct.  It should smoothly go from the base voltage to max without jumping around.

I can try to get things back together enough to actually test this thing.  I am a bit curious about that as well. 

This has to be a wiring issue. 

Is the tps scale in volts or ohms?  I have not watched the vid but if it is volts and the reference is suppose to be zero but is getting three and the tps is doing nothing and then going to three as it opens the ecu is seeing no change even though the throttle  plate is opening.

Just because noone has mentioned it yet, Are all the ground wires intact and properly grounded? Is there a Honda dealer somewhere you could get their input? Beyond that, without being able to see the wiring and verify everything is still intact, I got nothing. Loose or broken connectors can be a bitch if you can't find it. All fuses and/or relays in proper working condition?

dean, the TPS is a voltage divider, the reference voltage is 5VDC, the output seen at the ECU ranges from .1VDC to 4.75ishVDC.  Watch the video, it helps show and explain a lot.

ncjay, I believe all of the ground wires are intact.  As shown in the video, the TPS sitting in my hand is operating/dividing the voltage properly, and the bike is still flashing the FI light at me.  All fuses are good, and there's very few fuses on these bikes.  If there was a real issue with a ground or a feed wire/fuse, I don't think the TPS would be acting as properly as it does with it off the bike.

I don't see a shop, Honda dealer or otherwise, being able to toss out good ideas any better than this group.  I am/was a member of a large VFR owner's forum and when I posed this, I got very little feedback that I would consider useful.  GRM is probably the best group I can think to ask because voodoo nonsense is generally not believed in around here.  And it's the same as a car's system, right down to the sensor itself.  My fear with taking it to a dealership is that it will just get parts thrown at it with markup on the prices and $100/hr for a technician to keep it not working.

Sell it to me so I can make an electric bike. I'm just over in Columbia.

Gah, now I'm thinking about how to fix it, and you want to electrify it?  Come over from Como and help me fix it post-move.  I'm sure it'll be a fun time.

I might be able to make that happen.

pres589 said:

Okay I did that and now I have a charred VFR800.  What now, what comes next?

First you’re supposed to call it in stolen then drop it in an industrial park after dark, then light it on fire.  Sorry i left those details out.  Good luck with your hunk of charred bike