Performance upgrades - what you chose and why?

[Brian d marge]

. It appears Honda san's IT people must've added too much fuel in the standard map. Another thing I did was stick some 98 octane in, and add some fuel and up to 3 degrees of ignition advance at high revs. It sure extended the top end!

They do

so that when you buy the new bike and throw an aftermarket pipe on it u dont give them a warranty claim ... you wouldnt believe what customers get up to

try fitting chrome clutch levers to a goldwing , slipping the clutch till it welded itself , then trying it on as a warranty claim buy fitting the old levers back on !!!

why am I thinking of Golum now ,,,them trixy them are


Stephen

[soundbeltfarm]

i reckon the best upgrade you could do is the suspension.
power is nothing if you cant get it to the ground properly and it'l make you track better in corners and everywhere.
thats my belief anyway.
a well set up bike with good suspension will make you faster than bolting on mufflers and power commanders and all that other stuff.

[vifferman]

They (PCIII) are continuously variable throughout the rev range aint they?

There's two ways it works - you can adjust the fuelling up/down using three pairs of buttons on the unit, each of which cover one third of the rev range.
The second way is using maps, which you upload from your PC. These are much more finely graduated, and have a table with revs on one axis, and throttle openings on the other. Then there's three options:

1. If you have a Wide Band Commander, you can just ride your bike around collecting info, then it helps you to decide where the fuelling/ignition needs altering.
2. Or, you choose a map that kinda matches your bike (model, airfilter, zorst), load it, and then ride, noting anywhere that feels a bit hesitant and the revs/throttle at that point. Then you look at the map, and decide whether it needs more/less fuel at the point where there's hesitation.
3. Stick it on a dyno and have the EGO measured and use that to adjust the fueling to a near-stoichiometric ratio.

It's tricky using method 2, but if you get a map that's fairly close, it's really just a matter of riding, and (looking at just one area at a time), making an adjustment and deciding whether it's better/worse than before the change. Sometimes, you end up really confused, so you can just save the map, and load either a previous version or a ZERO map (no changes) and seeing how it compares. It's not terribly scientific, but then it's all down to feels. F'rinstance - I spent a lot of time fiddling with fueling in the 3-6k rpm range, small throttle openings. Most of the maps were more concerned with big throttle/big revs, but most of my riding was in this range, so if the fueling wasn't right, it was pharkinannoyink.

And can PCIII or similar take external sensors to adjust maps at altitude, temp,humidity changes? Wouldn't be that hard and adds a whole new level of Fiddlability (tm)

The PCII simply plugs into the ECU wiring (using the OEM plugs for your model of bike) between the ECU and EFI and modifies the signals being sent to the injectors (making them shorter or longer pulses) and to the ignition module (altering timing). The PCIII I think modifies the input signals to the ECU, but I don't think it allows provision for additional inputs. On a VFR800, there's no need for additional inputs anyway, as it already has sensors for barometric pressure, air temp, airbox pressure, engine temp, revs, EGO, cam position, throttle position, injectors, etc etc.

Another way ECUs work (Ducati, Triumph, Aprilia, etc.) is that the manufacturers offer upgrade programs for different pipes etc or for improvements made to the fuel maps and the EPROM on the ECU is either 'flashed' by the shop or a new EPROM chip is fitted. Also aftermarket 'race' chips or programs are available.

[Back Fire]

blah blah blah... engine (could be add-ons like powercommanders, or internal work)

engine... give it a new less chicken wuss gutless one

[imdying]

F'rinstance - I spent a lot of time fiddling with fueling in the 3-6k rpm range, small throttle openings. Most of the maps were more concerned with big throttle/big revs, but most of my riding was in this range, so if the fueling wasn't right, it was pharkinannoyink.

But how satisfying was it when you got it the way you like it

[vifferman]

But how satisfying was it when you got it the way you like it

Why, very, of course. Tempered as it was, with the realisation I had to give the PCII back, just when I'd got everything right. And then aggravated by the owner of said PCII not fitting it for munce and munce and munce, when I could've been using it... Waaahhh!! and all that...
But at least he was kind enough to let me play with it before he'd had a turn himself. Thanx, Alan!

[Cajun]

I have made a number of mods to my bike
full yoshi s/s rs3, bmc, pc3, racetech front springs, ohlins rear to name a few. I have pretty much all these items second hand and @ good prices.

I just pick up deals as i come across them, reason i did them well for example i picked up the yoshi system second hand of a race bike, cheaper than buying a simple bolt on.

[pritch]

i reckon the best upgrade you could do is the suspension.

That is often quoted to be the best upgrade, as are variously: braided brake lines, or Power Commanders.

You'll note that exhaust tinkerings are absent from that short list.

I read a test in a magazine a while back where they tested various bikes before and after exhaust mods. The gains were at best minimal and in some cases the aftermarket cans actually produced less power than standard.

It's fine to upgrade exhaust systems but it has very little to do with performance, it's almost purely about aesthetics; how it looks, how it sounds.
One day I'll buy a bike that comes with only one can and I'll be able to consider it...

Pity my Hornet PC111 USB won't fit the VFR, but by simply(?) adding money my Ohlins will.

New all-singing all-dancing Ohlins due in the next few days...

[moko]

Best performance aid you can get is a bit of professional training.RIDE Magazine ran a feature a couple of years back with a Bike Journo,probably a better rider than most,on a Fireblade against a racer,one of the BSB guys,forget which one,on a Honda CB500,50 bhp sporty/commuter twin favoured by riding schools here,around Brands Hatch.Only place the Blade rider could pull away from a bike half as powerful was down the main straight.You can stick as many expensive parts on your bike as you want,if you can't pick the right lines,brake too early or just generally stuff up then you might as well not have bothered,on the road most of it is pretty much a waste of time anyway in normal use.If you're the kind of bloke who tunes a bike to get places quicker on public roads you're the kind of bloke who's going to get nicked or crash.Get your riding skills tweaked first,then your bike.

[N4CR]

engine... give it a new less chicken wuss gutless one

hell yah! drop an 06 donk in it. that'll make huge gains without wasting zillions in mods on the old crapper, and he can sell the old eggbeater!

speaking of which, i have one lying around somewhere... ho humm...

best mod is the rider. followed by can/exhaust for ego boost and as many aftermarket bolt on 'i don't do jack ****' bits as you can find.

if your valentino rossi then shocks, brakes, ecu/cams/pistons/crank/casings/ and the works, cus you're probably going to use it.

[Bonez]

I lost a few more kgs in weight. The bikes go much better now................

[Storm]

I lost a few more kgs in weight. The bikes go much better now................

What- you washed the mud of them?

[sAsLEX]

What- you washed the mud of them?

Nah he scraped some of the rust off them

[Pwalo]

Best mods. Lose some weight (rider). Get your stock suspension sorted (bike).

Ride a lot.

[pritch]

Best performance aid you can get is a bit of professional training.

Ahh the software upgrade. Good thinking.

One reason I didn't get an after market exhaust for the Hornet was that the desired Sato Racing cans were 14lbs lighter than the standard hornet cans.

That's an important weight reduction because the weight is situated high up on the bike. I couldn't get past the thought, however, that it would be cheaper and healthier for me to lose 14lb, which weight was even higher up on the bike.