performance mods to my connie

[kwb377]

The New ZX14r is selling like hotcakes everywhere......only because it puts out about 195 HP stock, all the guys who have the older ZX14's are selling and trying to move up to the 2012 unit...

Not me...and check the ZX14 forums, eBay, Cycle Trader, etc....not a whole lot of Gen1/2 ZX14's for sale.  

[spd2918]

[garry]

I had to post this. I have a 2011 concours 14 abs. I love the bike, but it seemed to be lacking power down low.

Jumping in a bit late here...

I totally agree. I just demo'd a 2012 C14 at the Kawi factory demo truck. I normally ride a KTM 950 Supermoto (95 HP more or less). I immediately noticed how soft the power delivery was down low. I certainly don't have an addiction to power, but the stock C14 sure doesn't feel like 1400cc below 5K... I would be looking at a remap or pulling the flies if I owned one.

I really liked the bike though. Handled quite well for such a heavy bike. Felt very planted in the corners. I found a buzz through the tank to be annoying at 5K or so.

[dan88z]

So what has the remapping done to your fuel economy?

[Andrew]

So what has the remapping done to your fuel economy?

 

[Cablebandit]

So what has the remapping done to your fuel economy?

Not sure who this was aimed at.  You can remap for performance or economy.  The factory map is pretty rich.  In the end it will come down to your wrist.  

[dan88z]

It was aimed at the OP. If you reflash you are telling the guy doing it to remap for economy? Doesn't that take away the low end power you are going after by having the flies open up sooner?

The reason I asked is I'm curious. If you had a stock bike that got, say, 40mpg average, remapped it, didn't change your riding habits, is it now 30mpg? 35, 38? Those would be factors I'd have to consider to pick up some low end power. Losing a couple mpg is ok, losing 5-10 isn't. Granted the Connie isn't purchased for fuel economy, but on a long trip having a 200+ mile range is nice. To me getting 40mpg out of a bike with this power is nice. I'm getting that and I'm not easy on the throttle. It's nice to be able to go out and rip it up and fill up the tank and see you still got pretty good economy. My old Vulcan got 37mpg when I took it easy, less if I got on it a lot, and had half the power. My wife gets about 35 out of hers after doing intake, fuel processor, pipes and dyno. She lost 5-6mpg for performance increases, though the increase was pretty substantial for her bike. But if that were my bike I wouldn't have made the change, I'd rather get the 42mpg and have a top speed that is 10-15mph less, and a little less seat of the pants dyno pulling power.  

[tomek]

It is  often misunderstood subject but it is  possible to achieve  the best possible fuel economy without hurting the overall performance of the bike.

Fuel economy if effected by mapping in the lower 30-50 % of rpm range and about 0-25 % of throttle opening ( load ) . Obviously the more powerful the bike less throttle you`ll be using to maintain speed so that is very general guidance .
Generally speaking this era needs to be tuned lean as much as possible without going into a driveability issues like hesitation and surging .  It is impossible to get this kind of tune on typical industry standard acceleration dyno . Rpm and load have to hold steady and AFRs ( air to fuel ratio ) checked and adjusted .
The only practical way to do it is by hooking up wideband AFR meter to some sort of data logging device and going for the  ride . You `ll never duplicate nuances of entire spectrum of engine operation on your typical dynojet , mustang , etc dealer level dyno so the  road test is way to do it.
 
Many afr meters have datalog capabilities , Innovate LM2 is one of them . Once you collect enough data you can analyze it , make changes and retest , and then repeat it couple of more times .

I went thru this process on my XX , internet supplied map was ridiculously rich in low rpm/part throttle areas , high 11`s and low 12`s AFRs .
I leaned out the map below 5000 rpm and 0-20 % range and consequently  gained true and honest 5 mpg .
My new " fuel economy " map has not reduced so called performance  of the bike whatsoever .

Finding the right tuner willing to do it without charging you arm and leg would be rather difficult , it is very time consuming process .

Vast majority of maps circulating on www are done by tuning to 12.5-14.0  AFR . It is easy , quick and safe way to tune the bike . The engine will run great , power will be great but fuel economy is usually missing on those maps .
 
   

[Cablebandit]

It is  often misunderstood subject but it is  possible to achieve  the best possible fuel economy without hurting the overall performance of the bike.

Fuel economy if effected by mapping in the lower 30-50 % of rpm range and about 0-25 % of throttle opening ( load ) . Obviously the more powerful the bike less throttle you`ll be using to maintain speed so that is very general guidance .
Generally speaking this era needs to be tuned lean as much as possible without going into a driveability issues like hesitation and surging .  It is impossible to get this kind of tune on typical industry standard acceleration dyno . Rpm and load have to hold steady and AFRs ( air to fuel ratio ) checked and adjusted .
The only practical way to do it is by hooking up wideband AFR meter to some sort of data logging device and going for the  ride . You `ll never duplicate nuances of entire spectrum of engine operation on your typical dynojet , mustang , etc dealer level dyno so the  road test is way to do it.
 
Many afr meters have datalog capabilities , Innovate LM2 is one of them . Once you collect enough data you can analyze it , make changes and retest , and then repeat it couple of more times .

I went thru this process on my XX , internet supplied map was ridiculously rich in low rpm/part throttle areas , high 11`s and low 12`s AFRs .
I leaned out the map below 5000 rpm and 0-20 % range and consequently  gained true and honest 5 mpg .
My new " fuel economy " map has not reduced so called performance  of the bike whatsoever .

Finding the right tuner willing to do it without charging you arm and leg would be rather difficult , it is very time consuming process .

Vast majority of maps circulating on www are done by tuning to 12.5-14.0  AFR . It is easy , quick and safe way to tune the bike . The engine will run great , power will be great but fuel economy is usually missing on those maps .
  
  

Isn't this essentially what the Auto Tune on the Power Commander does.  Read the O² sensor while you ride along, then you accept the trim tables once you have collected enough real world data?

[tomek]

Pretty much yep , although you need to know what your target AFRs should be .
Target AFR will depend on the load and RPM although I`ve seen tutorial suggested to tune to 13.0 everywhere .

Generally speaking AFR should be on normally aspirated engines   in high 12`s -13.0 during WOT operations but you can cruise in 15.0 - 15.5 range . Usually . Aircooled engines need to be tuned more conservatively .

The tricky part is this whole on/off throttle issue , to tune it right it takes considerable experience , generally speaking engine operation in low throttle opening - like 0-5% range  - requires quite rich mixtures or you get hesitation , surging , jerking , etc .

Power Commander V has Auto Tune option , older units (PC 2 and PC3 ) don`t . Many newer bikes work in the closed loop , it needs to be bypassed one way or another .

Don`t expect to finish your tune after one road session , due to things like linearization and interlooping  of map cells it takes numbers of tries to get the map where you want it to be , although every round of corrections brings it closer to your target .  

[tjhess74]

i have almost 70k on my c14, and ive never been lacking for power.  its really much more than ill ever need (but it is fun!).  however, i rode a friends c14 after he pulled his secondary butterflies and i must say the difference was night and day. the stock connie is not quite all there in the lower rpms, but his was enough to cause shoulder damage!  

ill be interested in this remap when i get back stateside, as i was always leary of pulling the flies out.  thanks for the info!

[cornercarver]

The fuel mileage went from 41.5 stock to 44.1 mpg. That is two up and not riding it easy. Lots of hard accelerations out of turns. What fun! The lag down low is gone, it pulls real hard from idle up to red line. Thank you Joe at dynotronic's!

[dan88z]

The fuel mileage went from 41.5 stock to 44.1 mpg. That is two up and not riding it easy. Lots of hard accelerations out of turns. What fun! The lag down low is gone, it pulls real hard from idle up to red line. Thank you Joe at dynotronic's!

Wow, so you actually increased your mpg with the remap, cool! I just got back from a 2400 mile trip and averaged 47.4 which totally surprised me. I might look into the reflash if I can stay off the bike long enough to send the ECU out!

[Carbonero]

Those are surprising MPG numbers.  

[Cablebandit]

The factory map is WAY rich.  The remap / power commander option will take away fuel most places along the map.

[dan88z]

Those are surprising MPG numbers.  

I know, it blew me away, I was really happy with it. I'd been averaging around 40 before I left on the trip and figured I'd get about the same. Lots of miles on state highways where I was rolling at 60-65 in 6th gear around 3k rpm let it be pretty thrifty. My worst day on the trip was "Dragon Day" where I got 39mpg, lots of 2nd gear action that day.  

[Cablebandit]

The best I've done on a tank was 51 MPG coming up 220 through WV on the way home from ESTN 2010.  That was loaded for a week on the road and 2-up.

I always get better mileage when riding two-up.  I think that "responsible riding" has everything to do with that.  Just dump the beast in 6th gear and cruise.

[Carbonero]

I always get better mileage when riding two-up.  I think that "responsible riding" has everything to do with that.  Just dump the beast in 6th gear and cruise.

+1

Smooth throttle and keeping it under the point where the aerodynamics start to get in the way goes a long way.  

[Cablebandit]

+1

Smooth throttle and keeping it under the point where the aerodynamics start to get in the way goes a long way.  

Yup, when I put on the "winter screen" MPG drops quite a bit.

[dan88z]

I was loaded up too, but riding solo. Tour pack and both saddlebags packed. I have a V-Stream windshield.

My 1st day, going down 301 to Petersburg VA, I got 51mpg. Once I got to the Charleston area with all the traffic, it dropped off, and any interstate riding at 80mph took some off the mpg as well.