Hilltop 18th April 2015

[Toddmeister]

As I lay in bed this morning I was thinking about bikes( what else?) particularly my visit to hilltop tuning.
Some people have said that it is not possible that Geoff can achieve up to 20% increase without any mechanical tuning and therefore he must be massaging the figures in some way, it has been said by some of these people that 10% could be possible with a full system and careful fettling, a little ignition advance where needed ,balance the injectors and remove all the tree hugger stuff that makes it run so lean.
To me it would seem that the 'not possibles' and Geoff are both right.
Geoff says that he thinks the GS loses a bout 20 bhp through its drive train.
I you work the figures from the top down instead from the bottom up.

125 bhp BMW say
12.5 bhp Full system and good set up. 10%
137.5 bhp
20 bhp Drive train losses
117.5 bhp


That number is within 2 bhp of most of the reports of Hilltop tune ups I have seen on various forums for the GS LC.

I've got a full system on a 2013 bike and had a Hilltop remap just over a year ago.

I recently had the bike tested at another Dyno set up which is at a Yamaha dealer just up the road from me and the figures they got were within 5% of those I got from Geoff.

More importantly (to me anyway) the tuning guru at the Yamaha dealer reckoned my bike's fuelling was set up perfectly and the torque curve was "spot on"! In his words "whoever set this bike up knows what they are doing"

So my view is that Geoff doesn't massage his figures and is bloody good at what he does, and the remap isn't affected by software updates at the BMW dealership.

 

[Blackal]

I've got a full system on a 2013 bike and had a Hilltop remap just over a year ago.

I recently had the bike tested at another Dyno set up which is at a Yamaha dealer just up the road from me and the figures they got were within 5% of those I got from Geoff.

More importantly (to me anyway) the tuning guru at the Yamaha dealer reckoned my bike's fuelling was set up perfectly and the torque curve was "spot on"! In his words "whoever set this bike up knows what they are doing"

So my view is that Geoff doesn't massage his figures and is bloody good at what he does, and the remap isn't affected by software updates at the BMW dealership.

That - is very interesting confirmation .

Until now - I hadn't heard of anyone getting their bike checked at another rolling road - subsequent to a Hilltop remap.

Al

 

[iPeteL]

Does a remap affect the bike's average MPG?

 

[CPJS]

I f you ride your bike the same way as before the theory is your mpg should improve slightly, as always, it is down to the rider holding the throttle.

 

[Toddmeister]

I f you ride your bike the same way as before the theory is your mpg should improve slightly, as always, it is down to the rider holding the throttle.

Yep that's what happened after my remap, but only went up by 1-2mpg

 

[(RIP) Miff]

That - is very interesting confirmation .

Until now - I hadn't heard of anyone getting their bike checked at another rolling road - subsequent to a Hilltop remap.

Al

I offered to get mine Dyno'd before and after the remap at a different Dyno house, but the doubters would have to pay for it (£35 per run) as there was no way I could afford it.
Strangely, nobody took me up on this offer.

 

[Titto]

Anyone have any experience of an f800 s/st/gt remap there? My cousin has a GT and we are both seriously looking at going there to have our bikes done. Rode a mates gs lc which had been remapped at hilltop and it's a stock one, and it completely destroys mine in every way as mentioned on here, and to be honest, every other webpage on the net! I can't find any biker on any type of bike being dissatisfied after going there!
So any f800 info would be good please, I can't find any via Google

 

[xantamisch]

cpjs - were the pre figures without full system and post with full system?

My '15 seems to run fine, but if there's 15 odd bhp and 10 off torque's hidden away, I'm in....

 

[Deleted account 200502001]

ill be booking next week, is the price £360 still?

Yes. But I arranged a group buy on here and Geoff gave a discount.

Why not organise your own group buy? Get 6 bikes together and have another chat with Geof.

 

[Nutty]

Yes. But I arranged a group buy on here and Geoff gave a discount.

Why not organise your own group buy? Get 6 bikes together and have another chat with Geof.

The only problem with that is you'll need him for the whole day with that many bikes, I'm guessing, so it could be a while to wait.

 

[Deleted account 200502001]

The only problem with that is you'll need him for the whole day with that many bikes, I'm guessing, so it could be a while to wait.

Not necessarily. You all arrive there at 9am and decide who goes first. If you organise it then you can put your bike in first. Takes about 1hr which gives time for a breakfast down the road.

 

[Blackal]

Sorry to disagree Dave, but the dealer DEFINITELY can see it. A good friend of mine is one of the top BMW mechanics, and he said they can see it. Most dealers choose to keep quiet though.

More ANECDOTAL than DEFINITE, I reckon.

I'm not convinced, unless they guess - by seeing a better A/F ratio.

Al

 

[DING-DONG]

Sorry to disagree Dave, but the dealer DEFINITELY can see it. A good friend of mine is one of the top BMW mechanics, and he said they can see it. Most dealers choose to keep quiet though.

I don't believe him 'sorry' for 2 reasons Geoff guarantees BMW cannot see the mapping he flashes and 2 my bike was inspected by BMW head tech and I was asked if my bike was mapped due to the headers and NO was my answer, and trust me it was there get out of jail card so if they found such thing they would have pulled the plug because they wanted rid of me

I think they may guess as Blackal suggests and by taking a look at the bike, fully Akro and purrs like a cat when they ride it ! Rather than the iffy fuelling stock bike . So tell em nowt and act stupid .

 

[DING-DONG]

The only problem with that is you'll need him for the whole day with that many bikes, I'm guessing, so it could be a while to wait.

May I suggest the bod whom travels the furthest goes first and so on ! and by the time you've talked bollox with everyone, the day would be nearly over, I'm calling into Geoff's tomorrow and will get some numbers and costs for ya .

 

[Skid06]

So tell em nowt and act stupid .

comes natural to me that

 

[xantamisch]

so - update??

 

[Sideshow Bob]

Update
Really pleased
Geoff identified same problem as others with a sticking inlet valve, after he had pointed the noise out, you could hear it
I had heard the tinkling noise before but didn't realise what it was - the bike had been running too lean

Tinkling noise is still there because apparently crud has built up around the valve stem because of the heat
I was wondering if some additive in the petrol might help with this like Wynns or something?

The difference is very noticeable - basically you need less effort and revs to move up quickly through the gears
I drove up to the Lake District up the M1 and then a great route through Weatherby and Harrogate (still up there now)
The power is much more useable and you can feel the extra torque - the Dyno says mine is 115bhp at the back wheel and 140 at the crank

 

[pistole]

Group buy doesn't mean everyone has to go in together at the blinkin same time. Hello

 

[Beemerman59]

- the Dyno says mine is 115bhp at the back wheel and 140 at the crank

How can the dyno tell you what the power output is at the crank? My Hilltop dyno charts don't.

 

[Sideshow Bob]

How can the dyno tell you what the power output is at the crank? My Hilltop dyno charts don't.

Slip of the finger - yes you are correct in that it wasn't on the printout - it was Geoff who told me that