I think BMW's have had the CANBUS system for a while. I heard Harley went to it this year. Can anyone give a brief explanation of what it is and what the benefit of this system is? The only thing I have heard is CANBUS uses really thin wires in their electrical systems and adding electrical accessories or circuits can be difficult.

 

Just on the softail for 2011. It's a 2 wire system that sends messages rather than current. It uses 2 wire sytem. It uses a body control module to replace most of the fuse, relays, TSM or HSFM. It looks to have some pretty neat features. Don't know about adding to it.

 

A can system is a two wire system used to communicate between contollers much like a phone line. It uses 2.5 volts in this system. It is not used to add accessories to the bike as this is a digital signal.

 

BMW's CANbus system is high tech stuff. I own my Harley because I wanted something LOW tech. (I don't like smartphones either).

 

I would be surprised if they incorporate CanBus in a Harley soon because it will not have the weight saving advantage that it has in many other vehicles. I once read how much just the old wiring harness weighed in a typical automobile, can't remember now but I was surprised. Then again, when I pull my outer fairing and look at it jammed full of wires, maybe CanBus is needed.

 

Well prepared to be shocked then cause it's here for 2011 in Softails.

 

I am shocked! shocked! shocked! Again I made the mistake of trying to use logic, if HD needs it on anything, I would think it would be on the Ultras first, see, there I go again.

 

The CAN bus is a serial low voltage (differential = +/-) bus, much like the ubiquitious RS232 and others. It has a defined architecture, but I don't know enough about it to know how much a user can "propritary-ize" it.
The CAN bus is daisy chained between all the audio add on accesories: NAV, XM module, CB, IPOD interface, and like someone mentioned eliminates the need for multiple wires controlling one seperate function each.
I'm exploring compatability between the HD/HK CAN bus and aftermarket pieces like Delphi XM modules in an effort to not pay $500 at the dealer when a generic $50 module would work (or a used one for $20 off ebay if I can swing that). nDitto the IPOD and CB components.

Ride Safe