Hello everyone,
A couple months back, I was riding back home from a taco shop here in LA (it was a warm day and the bike was warmed up) and when I hit the throttle the engine bogged down above 5-6k RPMs. I pulled over, and shut the bike down. I initially suspected a vacuum leak at the throttle bodies or crankcase breather hose, but ruled that out (Also, all of my vacuum lines, hoses, and even the rubber intake manifolds are new on my bike). This process probably took me about 3-5 minutes. The bike fired right back up, and I started riding again. After a couple blocks the same problem happened. I shut it down again for a few minutes and contemplated what it could be. I fired it up again, and rode home without any problem.
I thought maybe it was an electronic fluke - I have been having intermittent issues with my speed sensor in my bike, and thought maybe I was having electronic issues in general. The shutting down and restarting seemed to cure the issue, and I went about life. I haven't been riding my K100 much, and instead I've been daily riding my Multistrada just because it's a bit more practical for everyday commuting.
Fast forward a couple months, and I take my K100 out for a ride on Angeles Crest Highway with a couple friends. After riding 20-30 miles, stopping for gas, giving the bike plenty of time to get up to temperature the same problem pops up. Only happens when I'm on the throttle, and while the bike is hot. At this point I realize that it's probably a bad coil or bad coils - because it idles fine, starts fine, and the issue only presents itself at higher RPM. I figure the bike (and coils) are hot, and unable to produce spark. So I let the bike cool down for a while, and ride back home. I make it home without further incident (again, a 20 mile or so ride at freeway speeds).
When I get home, I fire up the laptop and start searching and reading motobrick for other people with similar issues. Lots of good info. I learn all about the problematic HES sensor, how to diagnose it, how to fix it, where to get cheap sensors online and make the budget repair... all of that. I haven't tested anything yet because I haven't had the time to work on the bike because of my work schedule lately. That being said, I'm 95% convinced it's the HES, and 5% leaning towards bad coil(s) or plug wires.
My question is this - what is the best possible replacement for the HES?
I've read elsewhere that the real culprit is insufficient wiring insulation between the sensors and the harness plug. I'd like to fix this issue in the most bulletproof way possible. That likely means not going with an OEM HES assembly, since the insulation is likely to fail again in the future at some point - right?
I've found this, and it seems like it might be the best option - as well as being significantly less expensive than the OEM HES assembly. What are the collective thoughts on this unit?
http://www.euromotoelectrics.com/product-p/boignsen-k033edl.htmAny advice would be appreciated. Also, most of the threads dealing with this issue and the replacement individual sensors are several years old at this point, so it might be appropriate to have a more current thread dealing with this.