The whole thing about ESD protection is that you ensure that the item being worked on, the item being fitted and the person doing the fitting are all at the same potential.
Just because the bike is earthed (to what??) doesn't mean its safe... if you are at 2.5KV of static charge holding a chip, when you insert it into the ECU you will short that 2.5KV through the chip & ECU possibly damaging it without knowing.....
The quick method is to earth yourself by touching an earth point on the bike before you start to fit the chip.
I know it's 18 years since I worked in the electronics field, but I think physics still work the same as when I were a lad!
When you feel a static shock, you are experiencing a minimum of 3,000 volts of electricity.
This "shock" known as Electrostatic Discharge or ESD also may be responsible for damaging many of the rejected electronic components in your company.
While you can feel electrostatic discharges of 3,000 volts, smaller charges are below the threshold of human sensation. Unfortunately, smaller charges can and do damage semiconductor devices. Many of the CMOS technology components used in ECU's can be damaged by charges of less than 1,000 volts. Some of the more sophisticated components can be damaged by charges as low as 10 volts. You should be aware of the relative sensitivity to ESD damage of devices you may be working with.
As electronic technology advances, electronic components tend to become smaller and smaller. As the size of the components is reduced, so is the microscopic spacing of insulators and circuits within them, increasing their sensitivity to ESD. As you can predict, the need of proper ESD protection increases everyday.
[Edited on 15-9-2005 by Rushjob]