Electric shock from front brake, Yamaha WR

[DavidMember]

Thanks for coming back to me Mate, not seeing a green flash is understandable,and I think if it flashed blue you might see it, but orange you would definitely not miss it :laugh:

[Eric SmithMember]

Getting back to the topic at hand, the problem is DEFINATELY the front switch for the brake light. I unplugged mine yesterday and vóila, no shocks! Until I could be bothered taking the bike in to be fixed, this will solve my problem.

[BillMember]

Hey seen this in the latest ADB advice with Dr Ross column
Complaint
I’ve recently bought an 08 WR450F and when I go to brake into a corner and pull the clutch lever and then the front brake lever, the brake lever zaps me in the hand! Kim
Reply
Kim, this problem is fairly rare and caused by the front brake light switch on newer WR’s with painted Pro Taper bars not earthing properly. This fix is very simple. Scrape off a little paint where the brake lever perch clamps onto the bars to earth it to the frame

Hope this helps it is worth a try

[JasonMember]

KTM Bull wrote:

Quote:

Hey seen this in the latest ADB advice with Dr Ross column
Complaint
I’ve recently bought an 08 WR450F and when I go to brake into a corner and pull the clutch lever and then the front brake lever, the brake lever zaps me in the hand! Kim
Reply
Kim, this problem is fairly rare and caused by the front brake light switch on newer WR’s with painted Pro Taper bars not earthing properly. This fix is very simple. Scrape off a little paint where the brake lever perch clamps onto the bars to earth it to the frame

Hope this helps it is worth a try

Instead of scraping the bar, I would run an earth wire from the brake perch to the frame.

[Eric SmithMember]

Painted Pro Taper bars? Mine are Pro Taper but no paint that I can see, just alloy? I think the problem will be more to do with the earth wire for the brake light switch having a break somewhere. If I could be bothered I might replace the earth wire, but more likely it will stay unplugged until I can get some $$ together and put the bike in to Grandey’s for him to fix. Couldn’t be fagged trying to sort it out myself. As of right now it doesn’t zap me, being unplugged, which is the cheapest “fix” I can do!

[DavidMember]

Rubber gloves under your normal ones, it will work:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[Anonymous]

I agree with JRD, if that’s the cause run a seperate earth wire to the frame.

On a side note ECKS, whilst riding at Wauchope at the weekend I placed my knees tight against the plastic shroud surrounding the radiators on the KTM and felt my knee get all warm in exactly the same place that you got burnt. The heat was radiating through the holes in the plastic. It was definately hot enough that it would burn from prolonged exposure in that position.

The only thing though is I don’t see how you could fail to notice that your leg was getting that hot! I don’t ride with my kness like that normally so have never noticed it before.

[GregMember]

Point here is that Yamaha knew about it, Chris’s dealer knew about it and no one has done anything which is poor by Yamaha and by the dealers like Chris’s!

[Eric SmithMember]

I think that many dealers know about it and will sort it out under warranty. The problem here is that many others know about it and choose not to help. It is piss poor, I think that if the problem shows up on a Yamaha, a dealer should fix it, at no cost to the owner. Full stop, no ifs no buts. As TB says, being a known problem it should be a recall.

Interesting about the knee thing Moto. I couldn’t notice the heat from the holes in the shroud when I was riding. Then again, it was probably hotter on the Hill End ride than it was the other weekend? Could be just a combination of ambient temp with the heat from the shroud?

[Anonymous]

I think it must have been ECKS. It wasn’t as hot this weekend and only notice at higher speeds (like Hillend) where there was a good flow through the radiator. Still surprised you didn’t notice your leg burning though, we’ll have to keep an eye on around camp fires

[Eric SmithMember]

True that mate, true that!

I’d better not mention my old habit of surrepticiously chucking a .22 bullet into the fire when nobody was looking then! :blink:

Honestly it has me at a loss as to how I didn’t feel any heat – but I didn’t. It was sore after the first day, but it cleared up and wasn’t even red the next morning. It was bloody sore when we finished though. I think it has to be chalked up as “one of those weird things that may never happen again but if it does we will know what it was!”

[Author]

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