Technical Service Bulletins (TSB)

[allesad]

With changes coming it would be great to keep everyone aware of them. As a new owner who lives 6 hrs from a dealer... I have questions. I would like to maintain my own bike. Any insights are appreciated. Can you please post the TSB's that you are aware of and their costs, tools, skills, impact to the bike, ect. This should help those with older - out of warranty bikes.

 

[Judaslefourbe]

My dealer called and told me. No letter from Alta.

From speaking to Marc some weeks ago I don't think it's the MXR upgrade. He mentioned yes, harnesses are involved. However, there were several involved. Harness to battery, harness to inverter, etc. The fix wasn't reverse compatible (in their minds) as some interface connectors were changed and some terminations went from pinned to solder joints to reduce resistance. The entire electrical system was impacted to some extent and the amount of work to incorporate or even make "as good as" would have been prohibitive.

No, for something like this it must be safety or warranty (reputation) related. Like one of their test bikes almost burned down a garage while charging or they got a bad batch of cells that degrade too quickly (I'm speculating). Of course, one can create the other. A charging schedule that's too aggressive can lead to overloading supply power circuits and cause cells to degrade faster than normal. Once the cells are damaged the only corrective action is to replace them. Better to do it now than to receive customer criticism a few years down the line about how their battery pack barely made 500 cycles before it went kaput! That's the death knoll for a young company.

Hi Mark,
The TSBs (Technical Service Bulletins) for your bikes are not recalls. There is no safety concern, therefore they are only service campaigns. It also explains why this is going through the dealers as opposed to Alta Motors reaching out to you directly.
As you pointed out, those upgrades are meant to improve the overall customer experience over the lifetime of the motorcycle:
TSB 17-001: software upgrade to make sure the charger does not pull more electricity from the wall than it can handle to prevent long term damage
TSB 17-002: pack swap to make sure you get the best performing pack as we noticed some early ones might have some early-onset issues we have not caught at end-of-line.
TSB 17-003: DCCP harness swap as we noticed some early harnesses were allowing water to wick through the wires all the way to the DCCP module making for an expensive repair. The new harness is potted and uses anti-capillary wires to minimize the chances of wicking.
As I said, none of those failures represents a safety concern. We're merely aiming at making you happy so you can tell all your friends to purchase our motorcycles.

 

[Mark911]

Hi Mark
As I said, none of those failures represents a safety concern. We're merely aiming at making you happy so you can tell all your friends to purchase our motorcycles.

That's very reassuring to hear. As Oded mentioned, dealer knowledge is very important when one is faced with such issues. In this regard, dealers are not created equal.
Your descriptions of the issues, however, beg additional questions (at least for me).

TSB 17-001. -001 suggests this is the first bulletin, is this correct? What's the release date on -001? Is the concern the charger, the supply power or the pack? Can you describe what the long term damage is or how it manifests itself over time?
TSB 17-002 What's the release date on -002? Can you describe what "some early-onset issues" means?
TSB 17-003 What's the release date on -003? Sounds like a good fix. Is there an inspection procedure at the DCCP connector to verify that water hasn't migrated already?

Note: My 2017 (sn 049) has yet to be re-flashed for anything to date. I've been told for many months that there were outstanding updates but my local dealer never notified me, until now. Are there any other updates I should be asking about?

 

[Judaslefourbe]

All the TSBs in 2017 were issued at the same time. If memory serves, it was around October last year.

TSB 17-001. -001 suggests this is the first bulletin, is this correct? Correct. What's the release date on -001? See above. Is the concern the charger, the supply power or the pack? The Charger mainly. Can you describe what the long term damage is or how it manifests itself over time? In the worst scenario, the charger could stop working.
TSB 17-002 What's the release date on -002? See above. Can you describe what "some early-onset issues" means? Infant failures of the pack is all I can say.
TSB 17-003 What's the release date on -003? See above. Sounds like a good fix. Is there an inspection procedure at the DCCP connector to verify that water hasn't migrated already? If water was in the DCCP, you would not be able to charge. If you still can, then your DCCP is fine.

Note: My 2017 (sn 049) has yet to be re-flashed for anything to date. I've been told for many months that there were outstanding updates but my local dealer never notified me, until now. Are there any other updates I should be asking about? If you still have the same FW from when your bike left the factory, you will end up with mildly different maps and a slight range improvement. Mostly your bike will have better onboard diagnostics.

 

[Happy Neighbors]

That's very reassuring to hear. As Oded mentioned, dealer knowledge is very important when one is faced with such issues. In this regard, dealers are not created equal.
Your descriptions of the issues, however, beg additional questions (at least for me).

TSB 17-001. -001 suggests this is the first bulletin, is this correct? What's the release date on -001? Is the concern the charger, the supply power or the pack? Can you describe what the long term damage is or how it manifests itself over time?
TSB 17-002 What's the release date on -002? Can you describe what "some early-onset issues" means?
TSB 17-003 What's the release date on -003? Sounds like a good fix. Is there an inspection procedure at the DCCP connector to verify that water hasn't migrated already?

Note: My 2017 (sn 049) has yet to be re-flashed for anything to date. I've been told for many months that there were outstanding updates but my local dealer never notified me, until now. Are there any other updates I should be asking about?

Hi Mark, I'm curious how the work went with the service bulletins, I have (SN 051) and they did the DCCP connector and the software upgrade last weekend,( I did not have a service bulletin for the pack swap) and now my bike will not recognize the charger being connected. Alta is in contact with me trying to diagnose the issue, but the dealer does not have an open technician for awhile to look at it. If you have not had the work done already, I would suggest bringing your charger and the bike with you, and verify everything is working correctly before you leave your dealer. I would have to say that Alta has been great with me for over a year now on any questions and problems that I have had, and I hope they can resolve my issue quickly, the weather is finally great in Oregon and now I cant ride

 

[Happy Neighbors]

Hi Mark, I'm curious how the work went with the service bulletins, I have (SN 051) and they did the DCCP connector and the software upgrade last weekend,( I did not have a service bulletin for the pack swap) and now my bike will not recognize the charger being connected. Alta is in contact with me trying to diagnose the issue, but the dealer does not have an open technician for awhile to look at it. If you have not had the work done already, I would suggest bringing your charger and the bike with you, and verify everything is working correctly before you leave your dealer. I would have to say that Alta has been great with me for over a year now on any questions and problems that I have had, and I hope they can resolve my issue quickly, the weather is finally great in Oregon and now I cant ride

Thank you Alta Motors, was lucky to have a rep that lives some what close to me and he was able to come to my house and fix the connector today, it had a broken connector lock and was not seated properly, he had it fixed in 10 minutes and was able to connect his lap top up to run some tests to make sure all was good. It would have been at least a week before the dealer had time to look at it. Went for a ride after he left and all is good, now I will still have happy neighbors, I was about to break out my 2000 YZ 250 2 stroke, for this 3 day weekend, and I'm sure I would have had to change my username. I really appreciate the support I have gotten from Alta.

 

[Mark911]

So the dealer damaged the harness/connector (or it was already damaged) during the TSB update?

 

[Happy Neighbors]

So the dealer damaged the harness/connector (or it was already damaged) during the TSB update?

I think it was the DCCP connector, so I think the dealer probably had a oops (I will have to admit that I have broken a connector lock on a Ford electric power steering module before, that looked very similar in design) accidents happen, it was not good timing with Memorial day weekend coming, the dealer had no available techs to look at it.

 

[WoodsWeapon]

I dont understand some of these dealer service dept stories of waiting several days to even look at the bike. I wouldnt expect to have it looked at within seconds of bringing it in, but Alta seems pretty simple and quick to diagnose issues via software, so why not throw a tech on it for 15 minutes and get any needed parts on the way? Just seems like good customer service to me.
Maybe since Ive only brought one bike in for service in 35 years, I just dont know the process.

 

[snydes]

Thank you Alta Motors, was lucky to have a rep that lives some what close to me and he was able to come to my house and fix the connector today, it had a broken connector lock and was not seated properly, he had it fixed in 10 minutes and was able to connect his lap top up to run some tests to make sure all was good. It would have been at least a week before the dealer had time to look at it. Went for a ride after he left and all is good, now I will still have happy neighbors, I was about to break out my 2000 YZ 250 2 stroke, for this 3 day weekend, and I'm sure I would have had to change my username. I really appreciate the support I have gotten from Alta.

I really enjoy hearing these stories where Alta goes above and beyond for customer service. Sure there are going to be some unfortunate situations that come up but they are certainly trying to keep everyone happy it seems.

 

[Ireek]

I've called my dealer 3 times trying to get with service on the update for faster charging on my SM and have yet to get thru, ended up calling a dealer in Birmingham Alabama so they'll get my money in the future. If I have to depend on my dealer reaching out to me, I'm screwed. Also, I took a buddy with me to pick my bike up and he signed up for a demo ride on the MX, after over an hour of waiting, he gave up and we left. Not good... KTM World in North Georgia is my dealer where I bought my bike.

 

[Redwolf]

So I was on the owner portal and noticed my machine was flagged for tsb -004, anyone know what is supposed to be done for that? Otherwise it says the machine is up to date....

 

[Judaslefourbe]

So I was on the owner portal and noticed my machine was flagged for tsb -004, anyone know what is supposed to be done for that? Otherwise it says the machine is up to date....

If the FW is up-to-date, that just means the dealer has not done the paperwork to remove the flag on your VIN.