ECU reprog ?!

[Electrolyse]

Hello everybody ,

As you may know, I bought a 2020 S10, from probably 2016 or 2017 this year.
And I was wondering what could I change to make it better.

One of the solutions was to change/reprog ECU to MAYBE have a better throttle response.
And I found this forum :

OFF-THE-ROAD | ECU Remapping Yamaha XT-1200Z Super Tenere | Online Webshop

ECU Remapping Yamaha XT-1200Z Super Tenere - SPRING OFFER - You save more than 25%! Due to different environment protection laws the Yamaha XT1200Z and XT1200ZE Supere Tenere unfortunatelly is deliver

www.off-the-road.de

So my question is, does anyone already reprog his ECU and what does it change exactly ? Is that reliable ?

Thank you for your answers.

 

[yen_powell]

I had mine done in July and it has really made the bike nice to ride, especially at lower speeds, it was already okay at higher speeds. The throttle now does what I expect when I open it. Previously in T mode I swear the revs used to drop as I was pulling away nearly causing a stall and in S mode I would rev the nuts off the thing pulling away sometimes. I've been riding every day since the early 80s so I was sure it wasn't me.

Now I just leave it in S mode all the time and it pulls away smoothly and is a real pleasure to ride. Mine was done on a rolling road by CJS racing and is totally standard.

 

[Electrolyse]

I had mine done in July and it has really made the bike nice to ride, especially at lower speeds, it was already okay at higher speeds. The throttle now does what I expect when I open it. Previously in T mode I swear the revs used to drop as I was pulling away nearly causing a stall and in S mode I would rev the nuts off the thing pulling away sometimes. I've been riding every day since the early 80s so I was sure it wasn't me.

Now I just leave it in S mode all the time and it pulls away smoothly and is a real pleasure to ride. Mine was done on a rolling road by CJS racing and is totally standard.

thank you for your answer.

What year is yours ?

 

[Highwayman]

Id guess the majority of S10 owners here have had their ECUs reflashed. The mapping on these is aweful and after a long history of bikes, I can honestly say the worst Ive owned. The surging and bucking drove me nuts at low rpm. Especially after an exhaust upgrade. I used a gent on this forum for the reflash.

 

[Longdog Cymru]

Hi Electrolyse, I haven’t had my ECU reprogrammed, but those who have seem very happy. I think it is important to visit a reputable company and I think Off-the-Road have a good reputation. I can’t be certain, but I think bikes in the USA may have different maps to U.K. and Europe due emission laws and so you may get different feed back depending on where the bike owner lives.

 

[Electrolyse]

Hi Electrolyse, I haven’t had my ECU reprogrammed, but those who have seem very happy. I think it is important to visit a reputable company and I think Off-the-Road have a good reputation. I can’t be certain, but I think bikes in the USA may have different maps to U.K. and Europe due emission laws and so you may get different feed back depending on where the bike owner lives.

Thanks for the answer, I'll check that , I just noticed they opened a new ECU reprog company here in Switzerland, not too far from my home, I'll take a look next week !

 

[Lautarooo]

100 percent worth doing it. the difference was night and day for me. more power, less engine breaking. Theres a guy anthony on this forum that did mine and im very happy, mail in the ecu (easy to take out). Theres a company in Seattle (i forget the name but if u dig around here you’ll find it) that has a mail in flash for 300 bucks and it was mapped on a dyno. a few members here sounded very pleased. I may do it there eventually

 

[yen_powell]

thank you for your answer.

What year is yours ?

2020 model.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Anthony flashed my '12 a couple times, good results both times with a much more responsive machine. For my '18 I kept it local and had 2 Wheel DynoWorks add their dyno developed flash. Happy with the '18 too!

~G

 

[kmasa58]

Electrolyse...
ECU reflash is probably the most afforadable way to have the bike run better! Reflash will remove gear restrictions, when the fan comes on for the radiator, adjust amount of engine brake affect and much more. Also if the setting is not to your liking, it can be reversed to OEM setup and start again. There's a ECU programs for many upgrades such as adding after market headers, mufflers, air filters & various combinations. At first, I kept my bike in OEM setup & just had the ECU reflashed to remove all restrictions in first 3 gears, adjusted the radiator fan to kick in about 20 degress earlier, reduced throttle jerkiness quite a bit & reduced engine braking affect. It ran wonderlly with this setup and I was very happy with it. Then I discovered that with a set of Arrow Headers + K&N air filter, I can drop another 10lbs & further improve the performance a bit. Currently, I have the arrow headers/K&N air filter & OEM muffler setup. With the arrow headers & K&N air filter, the bike revs much freely from idle and LESS heat coming up from below when stopped. The throttle on/off jerkiness has been reduced quite a bit, but it's still there, however, MUCH easier to moderate with the wrist now. IF you don't mind mailing in your ECU, I would definitely recommend contacting Nate / 2 Wheel Dynowroks in Kirkland, WA.

 

[Electrolyse]

Kmasa58,

thank you very much for this long review, appreciated.
I have contacted a local dealer, it cost a lot here USD 1100 (everything cost a lot here anyway), I'll try in France maybe they have better options/prices.

In all cases, I'll do it, thanks to everybody !

 

[Sierra1]

Don't the "first gear restrictions" only pertain to Gen 1?

 

[Ric H]

The only way i would do mine is if i saw before and after dyno results with no other modifications.

 

[jbrown]

Don't the "first gear restrictions" only pertain to Gen 1?

I only have a gen 1, but the flash tune throttle maps for the gen 2 still show a limit on the throttle in the first few gears.

 

[pooh and xtine]

The throttle maps on a Gen II are different for each gear, but in Sport, for example, none give 100% at wot until 4k rpm and above. All gears give you 100% above 4k so in that context there are no “restrictions” in the lower gears, although the lower gears are less aggressive below 4k than the higher gears (the maps get more aggressive from 1-6). You don’t really want a throttle that provides 100% at wot before 4k because it would by too aggressive and defeat the objective of smoother low speed throttle control.

 

[Sierra1]

I only have a gen 1, but the flash tune throttle maps for the gen 2 still show a limit on the throttle in the first few gears.

If it's there, then it's good that it is. 'Cuz, if I'm not careful, I'll break the back tire loose on pavement.

EDIT: pooh an xtine's post makes sense. Which in turn make's me wonder why we need more power . . . . if what we have, can't be used to it's full extent. That's one of the main reasons that I went to a 100% street tire; trying to increase my grip. If I had another 50hp, I couldn't use it anywhere except on the highway.

 

[pooh and xtine]

Just to add, there is also an accelerator pump type map (acceleration enrichment) which provides extra fuel in the “high” gears depending on the rate at which you open the throttle (“low” gears have a zero acceleration enrichment map). By default “low” gears are 1-3 and “high” gears 4-6, but you can set all gears to “high” if you want the full accelerator pump enrichment in all gears, but again you’ll end up with a very sensitive throttle at low speeds.

 

[Sierra1]

. . . . but again you’ll end up with a very sensitive throttle at low speeds.

Which is what the "re-flashers" were trying to eliminate in the first place. Something else people might want to work on is clutch control.

 

[pooh and xtine]

It’s all a compromise between the ride by wire throttle maps, fuel maps and ignition maps. Most tuners leave ignition maps for each gear alone on the ST because there is little to be gained without compromising drivability or fuel consumption. Even the fuel maps for each gear (sport and touring), enrichment and acceleration enrichment maps, plus the speed density maps (map sensor) and bias tables between base Alpha N (afr:throttle position / engine speed) and speed density are challenging to get right! Dyno tuning just fuel maps and rbw can take 4 hours, ignition maps as well can take twice that.

 

[kmasa58]

Wow...all new information to me! Where/how do you guys get these data / informations?! Awesome! Soooo, the reflash basiclly did is to change the accelerator pump activation in all gears? That's probably why I still feel the throttle on/off jerkiness...even though it's much less now. My main goal was to reduce the throttle on/off jerkiness and lose some weight. I believe I've accomplished that by swithing to the arrow headers & ECU reflash took care of most of the jerkiness issue. I opted not to dyno tune the bike since I'm not looking for maximum performance. I want to maintain the realiaiblity and rideablity of the bike as it is. The shop advised me that since I've removed the catalytic converter when I switched to arrow headers and replaced OEM filter with the K&N filter, ECU relfash was needed. Appreciate all the new information guys...Thanks!!!