Ditching the cat' and balance pep

[davedyer]

Are there any long term issues with running a 2007 GS1200 without its catalytic converter and balance pipe between the down tubes? (I think I'll be fitting a 'Y' piece?)
Is there sufficient adjustment in the fuelling for the lambda sensors to sort things out, even with a BMW Akrapovic end can?
Is the idling affected by the absence of balance pipe and does it make it harder to balance the carbs come service time?

Thanks.

 

[Wapping]

Your 1200 has carburettors?

Crikey.

 

[davedyer]

Fell into that one! Throttle bodies 

 

[gsbiker]

I changed mine and noticed hesitation when I gave it a hand full through the rev range. Adding an Ackropovic, K&N and even one of those "Accelerators" did not smooth out the hesitation................................... except when I had a Power Commander fitted and custom map.

 

[Wapping]

Fell into that one! Throttle bodies 

Thought so

To answer your question.

I had all of what you describe on my vanilla GS and on my rufty-tufty Adventure version without any short, medium or long term problems..... or idling coughs and splutters.... or anything much else, really.... all without any recourse to re-maps, ECU magic, filter changes....

 

[Dellis]

Thought so

To answer your question.

I had all of what you describe on my vanilla GS and on my rufty-tufty Adventure version without any short, medium or long term problems..... or idling coughs and splutters.... or anything much else, really.... all without any recourse to re-maps, ECU magic, filter changes....

+1 50,000 miles on a standard GS with Y piece and Remus fitted no hassles and 30,000 miles on my GSA with the same Y piece and Remus again with no issues.

Dave

 

[Kremmen]

I'm now convinced more than ever that de-catting it, swapping between standard air filter & BMC, accelerator module or booster plug has IMHO made not real tangible differences to the torque characteristics, mid range pulling or indeed the elimination or those irritable flat spots....

I'm so convinced that the more i've done to improve all the above, has in fact made them worse..... The manufacturers spend as much time implementing euro emission regs as they do putting in place systems that make the running worse when people "tinker"

I have therefore ripped all the tweaks off...and i have to say IMHO my machine runs better, so until i can afford Wunderlich power module, the bits stay in the garage

 

[gsbiker]

Maybe it's the way I ride my bike, I tend to accelerate hard and this is where the SLIGHT hessitation (flat spots) were felt, but thats me being picky, maybe others would not notice, i don't know? But it was there on my 58 plate bike and when you think about it, allowing the engine to breath more will effect fuelling on these lean running bikes.........................which is what caused my hessitation!

I used keiham headers, and upgraded my bike one part at a time so I'm not talking crap! All my performance upgrades including 99RON fuel has increased throttle response and better all round riding.

 

[skywalker]

I think you really need to ask yourself why are you doing it in the first place.
The std exhaust is stainless steel so it ain't going to rust and fall apart.
There's already plenty of power out of the std set up so why alter it and waste money which would be better spent on tyres and servicing as and when reqd.
Given the state of the roads in the UK ,I defy anyone to say that they use the "FULL POTENTAL" of their bike every time they go out on it at all times.
Realistically you'll gain a couple of extra horsepower at the top end whilst scraficing mid range or bottom end.
Its a non entity when all said and done.
The std answer is usually it sounds better -that's hell of an expensive mod for an audio enhancement

 

[gsbiker]

I'm now convinced more than ever that de-catting it, swapping between standard air filter & BMC, accelerator module or booster plug has IMHO made not real tangible differences to the torque characteristics, mid range pulling or indeed the elimination or those irritable flat spots....

I'm so convinced that the more i've done to improve all the above, has in fact made them worse..... The manufacturers spend as much time implementing euro emission regs as they do putting in place systems that make the running worse when people "tinker"

I have therefore ripped all the tweaks off...and i have to say IMHO my machine runs better, so until i can afford Wunderlich power module, the bits stay in the garage

Should have gone the whole hog and fitted a Power Commander with custom map, would have smoothed everything out.

 

[ilkleyal]

Just leave it all as standard and ride it, if you want more fun buy a faster bike or a smaller one.

you will never get it much better than when it left the factory, instead you will just spend loads on shite mods that do f*ck all.

Al

 

[Wapping]

Maybe it's the way I ride my bike, I tend to accelerate hard

That must be a thrill beyond compare on a 1200GS. No wonder they eat sports bikes for lunch

 

[cookie]

Just leave it all as standard and ride it, if you want more fun buy a faster bike or a smaller one.

you will never get it much better than when it left the factory, instead you will just spend loads on shite mods that do f*ck all.

Al

wot he said

 

[gsbiker]

Just leave it all as standard and ride it, if you want more fun buy a faster bike or a smaller one.

you will never get it much better than when it left the factory, instead you will just spend loads on shite mods that do f*ck all.

Al

Well thats not been my experience! My bike now performs better than ever. It's not a rice rocket but it don't hang about either! Mine is way better than stock!

But I do agree with you about leaving it standard if you can, cause it's really expensive buying these mods and the insurance companies love the higher premiums also!

 

[ilkleyal]

Well thats not been my experience! My bike now performs better than ever. It's not a rice rocket but it don't hang about either! Mine is way better than stock!

But I do agree with you about leaving it standard if you can, cause it's really expensive buying these mods and the insurance companies love the higher premiums also!

Of course, I understand there are subtle gains to be made but never worth the amount spent if all you want is performance. I have a very old honda 250 that I take out and chuck around for fun, has about 30% of the torque and power of the GS but is bloody great fun and cheaper than a boat load of mods. Handles like a drunken camel as well for maximum smile value.

GS's are ok as they are, if you want balls out performance its the wrong bike and the mods could buy you a nice 600 bandit or Fazer for high speed thrills. Just my take on the issue

Al

 

[gsbiker]

GS's are ok as they are, if you want balls out performance its the wrong bike and the mods could buy you a nice 600 bandit or Fazer for high speed thrills. Just my take on the issue

Al

I agree although not everyone can afford two bikes or store them. What winds me up is how insurance company load your premium higher when they are informed of the mods fitted and sniff a power boost. All my mods have not made much bhp difference but it feels and rides so much better than a stock GSA.

 

[davedyer]

The only reason I'm doing it is because my chromed standard system has started to suffer corrosion on the finish. I've sourced a polished stainless Y piece for £150. I'm after a fit and forget solution without any hassles with running or remapping. Any ideas why some have problems and others don't?

 

[Doberman]

I am also interested in such a de-cat mod. However, when I fitted the Remus can the bike lost all its torque in the low revs and I had to change back to the stock can.
It was such an obvious difference that I didn't even keep the can for more than 24 hours. The torque improved over the 5k range, but I spend most of the time between 1500-4000 revs. So it was a no-go for me at least.

What kind of difference do the de-cat headers offer? Do they improve the whole range?

 

[Rasher]

I fitted De-Cat Y-Piece and it did make a noticeable improvement, as did adding an accelerator module.

Improving on what the factory do is not hard, the things have to run so piss weak to pass some namby pamby emmisions bollox that they run quite poor and cats really do take away power (and if you look at one you will see why, they cannot flow much more than a pipe with a spud up the end.

Fit a de-cat, then maybe a remap of the ECU or custom mapped power commander is the best way forward, but an accelerator module type jobbie will help with running and richen it up a little for a measly £30 - maybe not perfect but I doubt you will be dissapointed at the results.

 

[cookie]

What winds me up is how insurance company load your premium higher when they are informed of the mods fitted and sniff a power boost.

oddly enough, my insurance company have never loaded my premium for mods, even increasing cc.