Bimota Forum

[LucasJ]

Good morning experts

2 questions:

1) Is the SM dash shared with any other non-SB8K model?

2) Does your SM have a total of 4 connectors? 2 On bottom, 2 on rear - facing the headlamp assy.

Current mystery: Main fuse was blown I assumed this had something to do with the subframe wires melting but this might be a bigger problem.

I disconnected the SF 5-pin, put a new fuse in, new battery and dash lit up quite nicely but is completely unresponsive to switch inputs. Reads Neutral when in gear, and the bike doesn't respond to a single switch input (horn, starter, lights, blinkers). The fuel pump can be briefly heard (>1 second). The quick disconnects need to be replaced and I'm sure it's not flowing.

Headlamp and front blinkers turn on when ignition is on as well. Gauge cluster responds to panel buttons. Can switch trip and things like that.

Also noticed that for some odd reason, my gauge cluster ONLY has the bottom 2 connectors and judging by the nuts, its been removed previously, unfortunately. I have 2 connectors floating on the back on the gauges (1 large, 1 small) but can't seem to connect them anywhere. I haven't removed the gauges yet but checked with a light. I'll remove them tonight to double check but found this odd.

I have a few hypothesis:

1) ECU might be damaged from post-fire washing or extinguishing (I don't know the full history on this bike)

2) ECU is OK but switch box, behind gauges might have problems.

3) Gauges swapped for another model and 2 floating connectors are the inputs to the ECU. This can't be likely but they are only nuts/bolts on the entire bike that seem to have seen a wrench in the past.

What do you guys think?

[brian]

There are a few Santa Monica owners on here but posts are few and far between. Vort28 or Falcolion might be able to help with your diagnosis
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'99 DB4 #104, '96 SB6 #1165, '94 DB2 J #652, '99 DB4 #088, '08 VTX1800, '93 ZXR750R M1, '95 ZXR750, '95 ZXR750 Race Bike, '94 CBR400rr NC29 Race Bike, '94 CB250, '49 BSA C10 250, '61 BSA A10 650, '89 ZXR750, '91 Ducati 851

[Jaguar]

I think that the SM uses the same dash as the Vdub.

Can look at the connections on mine when I get home.
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Bimota (Tesi 1D 904SR, DB2, DB4, SB6,SB6R, SB8R, SB8K Santa Monica) Ducati (1000SS, Monster S4, 999R) Aprilia (RSV Mille R Haga) Honda (CL125s and 70s Chopper)

[LucasJ]

All great info - thanks guys, greatly appreciated. I’m getting excited about using an aftermarket ECU if necessary. There is an 8k dash on EBay for 1850 Euro but I think it would be awesome to go standalone ECU and try to keep the gauges as gauges. Maybe get rid of the purple wire mess

[LucasJ]

I think 3) is the winner, unfortunately. Somehow, somewhere, someone swapped the SB8K gauge cluster with a VDUE cluster. Bob from Bimota Spirit identified a few key differences between the two designs and lo and behold. Good guy that Bob, spent some time on the phone with him. Anyway, smells like a VDUE cluster unfortunately. So now I am down an ECU.

Anyone need one? I might just sell it for what it's worth.

Interestingly enough, when I removed the VDUE cluster, the bike recovered all switch function (lights, blinkers, starter does something but not start... I think the ECU plays into this). As soon as I plug the 2 bottom connectors in, the gauges light up and the cluster gains basic function but the bike controls become COMPLETELY unresponsive.

Mystery electrical solved.

[vort28]

Sorry I'm late to the party !!!

Dash casing may be the same SM to Vdue but thats were the similarities stop. Vdue has ECU in the dash , SM has some functions in the dash and from memory has another 2 ECU's behind the dash and above the headlight. (I'm getting old so might have to look !!)

On the ECU common question , I don't think so , other than the Gobert rep . The standard 8K was basically a 8R with a different body kit so had 59mm throttle bodies and standard injection.

I might be able to get you a harness/dash/ecu's if you are interested. What bodywork are you after ?

[LucasJ]

Hey Vort,

You are correct - Learned a lot since I first brought the bike home. The VDue and 8K dashes are very close to the unsavvy, like myself. Differences to the naked eye are mainly the redline & RPM band. Other than that, they look a like and connect/power on perfectly fine. Obviously the ECU is a huge miss on my end upon initial inspection. I expected it to have issues, but not missing. Oh well.

Behind the headlight is a switch box. Main controls & some light functions operate via the switch box. Oh yeah, a couple of purple wires......

Gobert is the sole other ECU but parts seem even more limited.

As far as parts, I'm currently after the Dash assy and seat.
I have the tail section, subframe, tail light and exhaust.

Dash and seat are all I need for now, but you know how that goes. I haven't put much time into the purple monster of the harness. That is TBD but wouldn't be opposed to picking up a second, just in case.

PM me if you have any of the above.

Thanks!

[vort28]

Got to ask , if the bike suffered a rear end fire , why has the dash disappeared ?

This are Santamonica dash , as you say visibly not dissimilar to Vdue


Switch box ( as you call it ) is Pegaso unit behind dash

[vort28]

LucusJ , sent PM about dash/wiring loom.

[LucasJ]

Vort,

Thank you for the support and pictures.
I’ve only heard of the grey box referred to as a switch unit. Do you have any additional insight on what this actually is?

From the seller (auction unfortunately) the dash was taken to Bimota to have work done and was left there. This took place 9 years ago and honestly I’m not sure what to make of it.

I have a theory. Rear wires are gone as a result of the fire of course. I picked up a battery, replaced the main fuse and surprisingly, most things work. Blinkers, incorrect dash, etc. I hit the brake and the wires heated up very quickly. I disconnected the subframe harness and that stopped. My guess is since there are no fuses for this bike, the melted brake wires shorted something in the dash/ECU. I’m obviously not too savvy on these bikes yet, so that could flop and fall on its face relatively quickly. Not sure why they bothered putting a VDue dash in its place. Probably for the insurance company. They might have put a blown fuse in the main just to avoid questions. No other bolts look like they’ve been tampered with at all. I should’ve caught this when inspecting the bike but I never saw a dash/ECU combination coming my way. I probably would’ve bought the bike anyway to be honest with you.

[vort28]

TBH it takes a bit of getting your head around all the purple wires !!!! and only 1 main fuse
The Santa is a lovely bike and IMHO is one of those bikes that has all the right proportions to make it a timeless design .
That is before you get around to all the carbon , pressurised airbox and fancy F1 injection system.
So I can see why you went for it , but got to admire you for biting off such a big job .
There are only a handful of Santa's in the world so they are rare , but spare parts are even harder to find.

As far as the unit in front of the clocks goes , I believe it runs the fuel injection and injector position servo and as you can see from the photo's is not vary water tight .

I'm assuming yours is an alloy tank model as your in the US ?

[LucasJ]

They are amazing looking bikes and I look forward to seeing how it handles a few laps next season (I hope!).

Tank is carbon - Sounds like Bob from Bimota Spirit ordered this bike when it came into the US. Structurally it seems fine, I have yet to open it to see what I find.

Thanks for the info on the box, yet a lot to learn about the purple monstrosity![/i]

[vort28]

I've got carbon tank also. I was a bit concerned when I got my Santa , had heard horror stories so much so that I got a spare alloy tank , but after about 5/6 years that I have owned it , I have never had any leakage issues.
Carbon is quite rare as the manufacture went bust and the tool was lost , also I believe they were not allowed into US due to homologation issues.

[LucasJ]

Hopefully these tools didn't end up being used as ship anchors (like Delorean's DMC tools).. Would be a shame. Now if we could just find the SB8K molds.. we could definitely reincarnate this lost line... Time to storm some supplier's storage facilities.

I'm a bit concerned for my tank as it was exposed to heat but it doesn't look damaged to me. Fingers crossed but not expecting much!