| Author | Message | ||
     Mountainstorm |
I have to say it works pretty damn well  . I've been running the (revision 1? lol) E B R Race ECM (Pump Gas, O2 On, HMF)since about November and have logged maybe 8K with it and have been singing it's praises, but I gotta admit the stock ECM gets the job done pretty well. I swapped in the stock unit because I am going in for service...sure it probably wouldn't matter...but I returned the bike to bone stock anyway. I also swapped in the stock airfilter and a while back I reverted to the OEM muffler instead of the HMF. Funny thing is now that the bike is basically back to square one I actually can appreciate just how good it is. Before I did all the mods I was always thinking that if I just did "this" or tweaked "that" I'd unchain the beast...but looking back on it the beast is pretty much off the hook without any mods at all. Nonetheless after service I think I'll be trying out a different exhaust and getting a reflash on the E B R Race ECM just because I can't stop messing with perfection  Now nothing against the Race ECM but riding back to back runs on the same road the stock ECM has more power from about 5-7K than the Race ECM. It's evident. I attribute that to me using the stock muffler. With the HMF it was exactly the opposite. Just saying that it's clear that gains could be made with the Race ECM if it were correctly calibrated for the stock muffler. The giant improvement off idle to about 4500 I see with the Race ECM married to the "v-tech kicking in yo" rush of the Stock ECM from 5-7K would be a beautiful thing. As a side note I removed the side fairing kit just to give the Buell Mechanic one less thing to deal with and ya know the lobster claws are looking pretty good...it's been almost a year I've had the fairings on and I kind of forgot how unique and muscular the naked 1112r looks. Stock...it's not that bad  | ||
| Metalrabbit |
well La Dee Frickin' Da! lol I was wonderin' that very thing for quite a while now since I still haven't changed a thing on mine. Thanks for the honesty, it's refreshing! | ||
| Dannybuell |
Mountainstorm - I feel the same way I just converted friday and drove all over this weekend. The stock IAC sure gives great engine braking. The IAC setup in the E-B-R ECM softens the drop throttle oversteer (DTO). I have missed that part of the bike. With 4000 miles I am now trying to find the perfect front preload stiffness for DTO and trail braking with the stock ECM. (Message edited by dannybuell on July 28, 2010) | ||
| Jng1226 |
Interesting review, thanks for posting in great detail. I also suffer from the constant tweaking "bug". I think for people like us, the old adage "the grass is always greener" truly applies... Jeff | ||
| Avc8130 |
I think the old adage of "reset AFVs always feel best". ac | ||
| Ysracer |
I recently did a similar comparison due to my FMF pipe needing to come off for a bit, for a re-pack and strengthening of the hanger bracket. However, I have the Oh Ess Bee map. I put the stock muffler on, loaded the stock map and took a 50 mile ride. Ugghhhh........ Significant loss of power and low rpm driveability. Needless to say, the FMF pipe and Oh-Hi-Oh tune are back on now  | ||
| Mountainstorm |
I had an excuse to run the twisties this morning for about 100 miles and one thing I can verify is the off idle to 4500 tune on the race ECM is far superior to the stock one. I found myself adapting to the lack of torque and precision by keeping the revs up. Which is fine unless it's a 15 MPH corkscrew uphill...then the extra whatever the Race ECM provides is sorely missed. No problem at all with power from 5 to redline...there the stock ECM seems stronger. Once the service is out of the way I'm sure I'll keep tinkering. But for the next few days I'm making a mental recording of how the bike performs...just to have an honest baseline in memory. | ||
| Avalaugh |
Is there still not a dyno test with just stock bike and stoc$k ECM compared to stock bike with Erik Buell Racing ECM ? I will be getting mine dynod soon to test the differences in just the ecu's but my bike has a few other mods too, but will still be a good comparison | ||
| Avc8130 |
There have been dynos, but they were chastised heavily and basically stricken from record. ac | ||
| Zac4mac |
I baselined Loretta the day my Race ECM arrived. K&N, Drummer and 062 flash made 128HP and 69 ft-lbs IIRC. I will be running the Race ECM thru the dyno very soon. Z | ||
| Stirz007 |
Avalaugh - yes there is, and more than a couple. This one, unfortunately, is not stock bike with race ECM. I also swapped out exhaust. Mid-range dip mentioned by MStorm is borne out on my runs. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/384 2/421969.html?1279862771 | ||
| Mountainstorm |
Hey Stirz thanks for the link. I have a dealer dyno baseline with the stock ECM but don't want to run the Race ECM at the dealer dyno (I'm paranoid). The graph does correspond to what I am feeling (and what Easy Rider has said a million times) and it's pretty clear that the best tune is not going to be "canned" but created specific to one set up. Still and all your graph shows clear gains in torque and top end with the E B R unit installed. It just needs fiddling to optimize it for street use. | ||
| Stirz007 |
Both my runs were at the H-D dealership (which is no longer a Buell dealer). I paid for an hour of shop time for the dyno (80 bucks) each time. They could care less about the mods - I wouldn't worry about the ECM unless you are doing warranty work, and I even question whether that would be an issue for a non-ECM related warranty issue (like rerouting a brake line, for example). Still - I'd hate to see some mean-spirited dealer use that as an excuse to rat you out. Remember, the dealer is reimbursed by H-D for warranty work. It really isn't in his best interest to lose the H-D bucks. | ||
| Jion |
After studying the 1125 Exhaust Shootout (thanks to everyone @ American SportBike) I purchased a Barkers and the matching tuned ECM from E B R. I am puzzled by some of the comments in this post, but I think if one looks at the data from the Shootout, it is clear that there is no "lack" of torque between 4500 to 7000rpm. The FMF "only" adds about 5 to 7 lb-ft of torque, but it is an addition over stock. The same is true of horsepower - with the least amount of gain seen by D&D, Jardine then FMF. I can say that my Cali 1125CR runs significantly better from idle all the way to redline. If you want to fiddle around, I suggest you try a different ECM/pipe combo first - like the Barkers/Erik Buell Racing ECM that I am running. The power delivery is silky smooth and predictable, unlike the surge of the stock pipe and tune. A look at the torque curves provided in the Shootout match exactly what I am trying to describe. | ||
| Stirz007 |
Jion - I agree that the bike pulls better across the range with new ECM - and much better at the low end, in my experience. In the case of my dyno runs (which are not gospel by any stretch), it only gives me a relative evaluation of mods. Corrected for temperature, the mid-range 'dip' would probably still exceed stock across the range. Pipes then become the question of performance versus cost versus looks, etc., ... I was slobbering over the HPE until the EB pipe/can became available just as I got my tax return. The craftsmanship is excellent and it has a nice bark useful for scaring the neighbors. | ||
| Jion |
Stirz - I am jealous of your EB pipe. I really wanted the KEDA RT-4 (sorry Dean), but when I looked at the test data vs. cost - just like yourself... I decided the to be nicer (slightly) to the neighbors and go with the Barkers. Interesting point about pipe design - the Barkers is 10dB lower in noise, but only 1-2 horsepower difference in performance. The increasing diameter helps more than mid-range, it seems. | ||
| Mountainstorm |
Jion I am in the same boat. I love Dean's work but with money as hard to come by as it is these days I can't see a better deal than Tim's slip on exhaust. If I don't get wallet-raped by the dealer for the valve lash service I've got $400.50 set aside that will purchase a Barker and 1.5" Quiet Core, and $25 for the recalibration from Erik Buell Racing. The minute I heard Erik Buell Racing had started developing calibrations for some of the aftermarket pipes I began setting aside some coinage. My only complaint was with the stock muffler and my current Pump Gas, O2 on, HMF tune...they are a good match...but far from optimized. Hoping the Barker can and the Erik Buell Racing Barker cal will be even better. But like I said in the OP: stock, it's not so bad |
