Tuning advice

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chiech65

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Hello Everyone,
I am new to the boards, I am a former Marine living in Japan. I recently purchased a Canadian spec 2006 FZ-1. I am told the local Japanese bikes have been detuned. I love the bike, it feels very poised and balanced.

The previous owner did work on the bike and I am continuing his unfinished work.

He had installed:
Ivan's FCE (surprised as hell to see this here in Japan)
Matris Rear suspension
Front Brake lines

I think he modified the forks, but I cannot be sure, they seem stiff and I can feel the road very well. But I am still a beginner on a liter bike. I haven't been able to check since the local shops all shrug once they find out it's an import.

Since I have had the bike I have installed the full Yoshimura carbon exhaust, sliders, SW Motech engine guard and new windscreen.

The question is where do I go from here?

I would really like to improve the gas mileage if at all possible, I heard the Power Commander with Ignition module can help with that. Gas prices here can be pretty bad and when riding in the mountains on Sundays many of the countryside gas stations are closed. No idea why they close on sundays, but I guess in the boonies you plan ahead.

So my primary goals are to improve MPG and smoothness.

-Can I install a K&N Or BMC air filter first as I save up for the Power Commander? (my hesitation with swapping the filter is that all the local tuning shops keep telling me that stock is best and do not mess with the filter)

-Once I get the Power Commander what maps should I run since the Japanese gas seems to be measured using different octane ratings?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
To get a smoother and yet more powerful FZ1, remove the ECU and send it to Ivan at Rockland County Cycle in New York and have him reprogram the ECU. This gives you a true liter bike. You will need a power commander as well which you can buy from Ivan. His original post flash map gave me better fuel mileage.
 
You can put more fuel into the tank, which will increase your range. The shape of the tank and the filler neck cause an air pocket at the top of the tank. You can really pack it if you want to. You can also remove the tank, and remove (cut out) the filler neck. Or, you can take a hammer and punch and poke a hole in the side of the filler neck to let the air vent.

IVAN's ECU mod is the way to go. You will have more power and torque. You wont need to rev it as much.
 
Thanks for the advice on Ivan's flash.
I am still actively riding on the weekends so I cannot afford to have the ECU sent in just yet. Based on the mail it will take about a 2-3 week turnaround time.
So should I go ahead and install a power commander until it gets truly cold and my bike becomes a garage queen for a month?
 
chiech65 said:
Thanks for the advice on Ivan's flash.
I am still actively riding on the weekends so I cannot afford to have the ECU sent in just yet. Based on the mail it will take about a 2-3 week turnaround time.
So should I go ahead and install a power commander until it gets truly cold and my bike becomes a garage queen for a month?
Click to expand...

a power commander without having it dyno tuned is a waste of money.
 
[QUOTEa power commander without having it dyno tuned is a waste of money.][/QUOTE

I disagree.

The dyno is just 1 part of it. Theres more to this than what a computer says. And the maps that are shared on the site are very good, and for all you know, have been dynod. And just because you had someone with a dyno make your map, doesnt mean that its a good one...

I bought a PC3 to go with my slip on, LARS, BMC. I could see a noticeable difference by changeing maps that are freely available on this and other sites. JONDADDYS map was the best for me.

My bud has an 06 and had a tuner make him a custom map. The difference between our 2 bikes was enough to make him shake his head. He felt that he got ripped off.

I hope that your gonna do the LARS & AIR FLITER. Get the PC and your pipe and get a taste of whats to come.
 
terdog said:
a power commander without having it dyno tuned is a waste of money.][/QUOTE

I disagree.

The dyno is just 1 part of it. Theres more to this than what a computer says. And the maps that are shared on the site are very good, and for all you know, have been dynod. And just because you had someone with a dyno make your map, doesnt mean that its a good one...

I bought a PC3 to go with my slip on, LARS, BMC. I could see a noticeable difference by changing maps that are freely available on this and other sites. JONDADDYS map was the best for me.

My bud has an 06 and had a tuner make him a custom map. The difference between our 2 bikes was enough to make him shake his head. He felt that he got ripped off.

I hope that your gonna do the LARS & AIR FLITER. Get the PC and your pipe and get a taste of whats to come.
Click to expand...

since my second job is working with a dyno tuner for the last 4 years i can assure you i know about what it takes to get a bike to run correctly. yes, you can luck out with downloaded maps, i'm glad you have had success with that. 99.99% of downloaded maps i've seen have been garbage. we do over 1000 bikes a year. i've seen a lotta maps. i can also tell you that each bike needs its own fuel map as each bike is individual. if you get a canned map thats 90% good, then cool, thats great, however that's not usually the case. i can also tell you that seat of the pants dynos are not very accurate, the computer is what tells you exactly whats going on with the AFR and ignition timetables etc which is how you can determine efficiency. honestly until you have your bike properly dialed in, you won't understand. and if you found the golden map thats 100% for your bike, then that's awesome. i just know that finding that is almost impossible

Hellgate said:
Or just get a flash and be done with it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

ivan himself says that you need a pc and tune for fueling on a dyno to go with his flash for a proper efficient tune.
Click to expand...
 
jared p said:
terdog said:
ivan himself says that you need a pc and tune for fueling on a dyno to go with his flash for a proper efficient tune.
Click to expand...

I disagree with Ivan, and one is not limited to his flash. It is completely possible to flash a nice fuel map. He simply chooses not to.

Why do I disagree? I did this (with ECUnleashed) about 2 years before he did, and it was successful.

And I've flashed two other bikes; '12 Tuono V4R APRC, and a '13 Moto Guzzi Stelvio with outstanding results.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Hellgate said:
I disagree with Ivan, and one is not limited to his flash. It is completely possible to flash a nice fuel map. He simply chooses not to.

Why do I disagree? I did this (with ECUnleashed) about 2 years before he did, and it was successful.

And I've flashed two other bikes; '12 Tuono V4R APRC, and a '13 Moto Guzzi Stelvio with outstanding results.
Click to expand...

You are correct, it is doable, and as a ecunleashed dealer and one of their 4 r&d dyno's worldwide, it is 100% you can flash in fueling. However if you need to tweak anything it's a pain in the ass to adjust fueling via flashing, hence we still do pc's with flashes to get perfect fueling. ECUnleashed does fantastic work on some bikes which is why we use them, but we also use woolich, flashtune, tuneecu and others because every bike is different. for a fz1, ivans flash and a pc is the best way to go though.
 
jared p said:
You are correct, it is doable, and as a ecunleashed dealer and one of their 4 r&d dyno's worldwide, it is 100% you can flash in fueling. However if you need to tweak anything it's a pain in the ass to adjust fueling via flashing, hence we still do pc's with flashes to get perfect fueling. ECUnleashed does fantastic work on some bikes which is why we use them, but we also use woolich, flashtune, tuneecu and others because every bike is different. for a fz1, ivans flash and a pc is the best way to go though.
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I still disagree. Ivan is a sharp dude, however his solution is not the best way to go.

He went this route because he didn't want to tackle the fuel map. In fact, if you read the painful thread on "the other place" Ivan admits he gave up. The other dude bailed him out, but he couldn't correct the fuel map either.

(I'm sure Ivan will now come and tell me I'm a douche-bag.)
 
Actually I think in the other "painful" thread you mention (which actually has more in depth info than anything you will find here) Ivan stopped his development for a while because the "other guy" was simultaneously working on a DIY flash product that might have put a hurting on his potential market. Eventually there appeared to be collaboration between Ivan and Uno to bring plug and play product to market. . . .

Overall the lack of fueling changes in Ivan's flash don't seem to be hurting the end result (which requires a Power Commander to adjust the fueling). The fact that Ivan knows the FZ1 in and out and put in big big hours to develop the flash probably explains the overwhelmingly positive reports.

The reports from other Flash suppliers weren't nearly as unanimous. For instance it never was clear if the the ECU unleashed flash actually removed the decel fuel cut. Yes it was supposed to, but some testing of the product showed otherwise. . . .
 
I've said it a number of times now, and without anyone across the pond being able to ride my bike its damn difficult to prove to some skeptics, but I will say it again.... ECU re-flash is the way forward! Ideally in addition with dyno time, if done correctly like my bike was then there is no need for tweaking anything, no need for a PC, this debate with re-flashing will no doubt rage on, I just know its the better way to go IF keeping your Yam long term. My FZ is a totally different beast since the ECU re-map!
 
Seabass said:
I've said it a number of times now, and without anyone across the pond being able to ride my bike its damn difficult to prove to some skeptics, but I will say it again.... ECU re-flash is the way forward! Ideally in addition with dyno time, if done correctly like my bike was then there is no need for tweaking anything, no need for a PC, this debate with re-flashing will no doubt rage on, I just know its the better way to go IF keeping your Yam long term. My FZ is a totally different beast since the ECU re-map!
Click to expand...
Who did your re-flash?
 
OK, what we have here are 2 ways to get basically the same result.

Ivans's way:

Pros- it works and nobody has complained on forum
-if you already had Ivan's previous mods, you have fuel controller already
-fueling changes are simple as changing map in PC3/5
-Ivan personally owns and rides FZ1, so you know it was teated in the real world

Cons - requires PC


EC Unleashed way:

Pros- no fuel controller needed

Cons - small # of people with flash
- some not satisfied with results
- changes require removal of ECU for flash or addition of a PC.
 
Seabass said:
I've said it a number of times now, and without anyone across the pond being able to ride my bike its damn difficult to prove to some skeptics, but I will say it again.... ECU re-flash is the way forward! Ideally in addition with dyno time, if done correctly like my bike was then there is no need for tweaking anything, no need for a PC, this debate with re-flashing will no doubt rage on, I just know its the better way to go IF keeping your Yam long term. My FZ is a totally different beast since the ECU re-map!
Click to expand...

Yes, we all seem to be saying that the best way to address the multifaceted performance issues with the stock bike (ignition parameters, deceleration fuel cut, secondary throttle plate opening characteristics, first and second gear power limitations etc) is through the ECU. Ivan's approach is to leave the fueling tweaks to a Power Commander map that can be adjusted by your average tuner or updated by him via email without need for removing and shipping the ECU. . . .I would be satisfied to have him adjust the fueling within the ecu for my fz1 which has the intake and exhaust mods that he helped to develop and has had on the dyno countless times. As of yet he is sticking to his guns and not offering this as an option. I do already own a Power Commander so it is no big deal to keep it hooked up. . .
How does your flash compare to Ivan's? Find someone on your side of the pond with one and let us know. Like I already said, I do know that Ivan's has put a huge amount time into the GenII Fz1 that I doubt has been matched by any other tuner for this particular bike. No doubt your bike runs worlds better than it did stock but my guess is that it would run even better with the I flash.
 
My take on it is if your going/is to mod, Ivan`s most likely is the way to go,but if you want to keep the bike basicially stock than someone like ecunleashed may be the preferred way?
 
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