Super Tenere Engine Performance At Altitude.

[kgfire]

I have had my bike here in So. Cal. for about 3 months and I have yet to ride at any altitude above 1500'. This summer I'll be taking a trip to Colorado where we will be doing some pretty high altitude riding and I'm wondering how much engine power will be affected. I recall reading in some reviews that power is down at altitudes above 3000'.
One other thing I have noticed is that the bike definitely likes temperatures above 70 degrees ... I can feel a difference in throttle response and seat of the pants power.

 

[MurphCO]

It's because yours is blue

 

[wantajustride]

Brother,,

I live @ 7600'. Ride to 8,500' on regular basis. Never had the bike below 6,000'. The bike runs fine. However, you will more than likely notice a small decrease in power, that's just the way it is at high altitude. But the scenery and riding out here will take your mind off the slight power loss.

::021::

WJR

 

[Firefight911]

Horsepower loss at altitude calculator.....

http://www.wallaceracing.com/braking-hp.php

Yes, the bike runs better as it is lean. Warmer air is thinner so that means there is less air to add in to an already lean mixture which brings your mixture a bit more toward the stoichiometric efficiency numbers.

http://www.randakks.com/TechTip72.htm

::008::

 

[AlsoRan]

I also have a California bike and the highest elevation it's been so far was to the top of Mt Pinos (elev 8,900'). This was two up. Absolutely no problem - the bike just went up the hill no sweat. I was in S mode and TC1 and I did not feel any big loss in power, but was just cruising so did not test it.

 

[Twisties]

The passes in Utah are not generally as high as CO, but I have been over 10k' with it several times. I think about 10,700' on the Mirror Lake Scenic By-Way would be the highest so far. The bike behaves as any electronic engine controlled vehicle will. The management system optimizes performance and controls parameters. No needles and jets to change! I find it as fun to ride at altitude as anywhere else, more so because that is where our most fun and scenic roads are. I would not hesitate to ride it in CO.

In fact, from what I can glean, if anything, the bike works a bit better around here (The bottom of the basin is the great salt lake at 4200', and then everything goes up from there) than at sea level. At least I have never worried about CO adjustment or air screws and I have read that some of the CO owners report the same.

That said, all internal combustion engines lose horsepower at altitude. This is just plain physics. There is a fixed combustion volume and a fixed compression ratio. In other words, the volume of air you intake per firing is fixed. At altitude that volume contains fewer molecules due to the reduced air pressure. Therefore there is less oxygen in the cylinder available for combustion. As a result fuels at higher altitude are lower octane, and the ecu introduces less of it to maintain a proper air/fuel mix. Ultimately then each cycle produces less energy/horsepower because less fuel is burned.

 

[elizilla]

FI really becomes a great thing, at altitude. I remember taking my old carbureted bikes to Colorado and raw gas practically dropped out the end of the tailpipe, they ran so rich up there. The fuel injected machines are about the same amount down on power, but the FI compensates, so at least you get excellent mileage. You can ride more fabulous mountain roads between each gas stop. Wheee! ::012::

 

[MurphCO]

Yeah in all seriousness, I haven't had any issues with any FI bike here going from the lowest parts of NM to the top of Pikes Peak (14,000 feet)

 

[tomatocity]

I have ridden Echo Summit, Monitor Pass, Sonora Pass, Carson Pass, Donner Pass, Ebbetts Pass, Tioga Pass, and Mount Hamilton, Isabella Lake, Kingsbury Grade, Lake Tahoe, Mormon Emigrant Trail, and the Tenere has not given me a reason for concern of power. Surely there is some power loss but additional weight from travel gear should be more of a concern.

 

[Merfman]

One more vote for lower power at altitude but there's still plenty. Rode over Loveland Pass a couple weeks ago. 11990' ASL and the bike performed flawlessly. In Touring mode no less.

 

[MurphCO]

A couple of weeks ago?


You get the requisite snow bank pic of the bike?

 

[stevepsd]

I have had my ST up at some high altitudes for extended periods. Some power loss, but still plenty.

Cottonwood Pass, Colorado: 12, 126ft

Cottonwood Pass, California: 10,071ft

Near Schofiedd Pass, Colordao: 10,856ft

Here are the pics....I did both Cottonwood Passes in the same month. Sept 2011.

 

[Monty]

Hi guys,

Sorry if this is a stupid question. If you get a reflash done that eliminates the O2 sensors, does this affect the ability of the bike to adjust to big changes in altitude? I am guessing not, but it is important to me as I love to head to the pointy bits of Europe as often as possible.

Regards,

Matt

Sent from my phone using Tapatalk. Sorry for spelling mistakes!

 

[Merfman]

A couple of weeks ago?


You get the requisite snow bank pic of the bike?

We were gonna stop but the summit was absolutely packed with lookyloos so we just kept on riding down to Squaw Pass...

PS - gonna hit the road on Sunday for a little day ride if you're interested, PM me...

 

[Hil]

Took my 2012 Super Tenere up Mt. Evans in Colorado with less than 4k miles on it. Highest road in N. America (14k+ ft), higher than Pikes Peak road. No issues.

 

[eemsreno]

That would be "Highest Paved Road"

 

[Rasher]

I saw these reports in early road tests (Yamaha European Launch) and personally reckon it was more to do with restrictions in lower gears.

Our friendly Journo's caned along wide open flowing roads quite happily, then when they hit the mountains discovered the bike suffered pulling out of tight bends - they all do that at sea level, just you don't really notice the huge restriction in 1st - 3rd until the roads get tighter.

On the Dyno with the clutch switch mod my bike has gained 25% power at 40mph in third, power is held back until 5,000 in third (about 50) and even more restricted in second.

Shite power at 10-30mph in second and 20 - 40mph in third - exactly how you ride tight mountain roads. Luckily a 50p fuse will cure this "altitude" problem.

 

[AlsoRan]

No problem with altitude. Barked up to 11K like a homesick eagle (touring mode and 2up)...

 

[tinayafatlard]

Just wanted to keep things nice and well rounded and say the bike runs great down here at 400' above sea level too! LOL!

 

[tpak]

took mine 2up to the top of Mt. Evans (14,000+ feet)a few weeks ago. No problem at all and I run it on 85 octane.

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