How does the low octane 'chip' thing work?

[mr_magicfingers]

Been reading through the Adventure Motorcycling Handbook this weekend and read that the 1150Adv can be switched for low octane and the 1150 standard can be re-chipped.

Done a bit of a search on here and couldn't find anything about it, though perhaps I'm just not finding the right search terms.

I have an 1150 standard and in a couple of years there's a plan to ride to Oz, so just wondered how you actually go about making the change for lower octane.

Cheers,

Justin.

 

[Steptoe]

It's not a chip- it's a cat code plug ( or if you want to get technical, two spade ends linked with a section of wire) .

Not sure if it works on a bike fitted a techlusion etc.

 

[D6]

it still altered things on mine with a techlusion fitted,, although less reason to do it
(tried it on a gas meter at the garage on a bored day )

 

[mr_magicfingers]

It's not a chip- it's a cat code plug ( or if you want to get technical, two spade ends linked with a section of wire) .

Not sure if it works on a bike fitted a techlusion etc.

Ah, thanks, that's useful to know.

Have sold the techlusion, insurance companies were funny about it. Looks like I'm going to have to sell the alloys too, as I can't find anyone to insure me with those for less than an extra £150 per year, might just leave it on knobblies over the winter or if there's a chance I'm going off road, and put tourances on for summer touring etc.

Cheers,

J.

 

[sproggy]

Have sold the techlusion, insurance companies were funny about it.

Sounds as if you're with the wrong company, then. Carole Nash don't bat an eyelid if I fit a PC3 or similar as long as there isn't more than a 10% increase in power, which of course there never would be with any modification I'd do (they don't ask for a dyno printout).

Looks like I'm going to have to sell the alloys too, as I can't find anyone to insure me with those for less than an extra £150 per year

Again, a vote for Carole Nash who I was with when I had alloys on my first 1150GS. No extra charge, on the basis that they were BMW wheels and not aftermarket ones.

Regarding your original query the low octane fuel CCP setting will retard the ignition timing to prevent knocking (and possibly lower the rev limit?) so it would still be compatible with a device that altered the fuelling, even if the fuelling alterations themselves might not be appropriate with the different timing. But if you're doing a long trip it's better not to have extra electronic bits like Teclusions on the bike - it just means more to go wrong, more connectors to get dirt in etc.

A lot of fuel available between here and Oz will not only be lower octane but will probably contain substances (including excess lead) which will kill a catalytic convertor so a Y-piece is a must if you haven't already got one fitted.

 

[mr_magicfingers]

Sproggy:
Sadly Carol Nash were £160 more than Groupama through Adrian Flux. I work in the film industry now which basically doubles your premiums, but 80% of companies simply won't cover anyone in the film industry at all. Doesn't matter that all I do is stand around on set with a notepad and some measuring gear, it's still the same industry. I actually had one broker say 'well you might let one of the stars ride your bike and they might crash it'. When I said, 'well surely then my bike isn't insured because it's not me riding it then, is it?' they just didn't get it.

Bike currently has a y-piece and stock silencer, which sounds like a good set up for the proposed trip, although I do like the idea of a stubby silencer to gain either more pannier room or keep them tucked closer in to the bike.

Steptoe:
Thanks, having the right phrase to search on made a big difference and I've been reading all the threads with interest. Just been down to the garage and looked in the fuse box and found a yellow cat code plug linking pins 2 & 6. I know that the bike had had a remus end can fitted in the past but it was sold and the original put on just before I bought the bike. I've noticed a fair bit of popping and banging on the overrun so perhaps the ccp was put in for the old setup.

I shall take the yellow ccp out and see how it runs with nothing in which, if I understand what I've been reading correctly, is how a y-piece and stock silencer is best configured. If it runs worse, I'll make up a jumper piece and play with other configurations.

J.

 

[sproggy]

I actually had one broker say 'well you might let one of the stars ride your bike and they might crash it'.

That's a pretty crazy attitude. I know people in the film industry - I might let one of them ride my bike and of course the first thing they'd want to do is crash it, isn't it.....? But that didn't stop me getting sensible insurance. If insurance companies judged us all on what we might do no-one would ever get insurance! Come to think of it, if insurance companies knew what we do do, they'd cancel our insurance.

Bike currently has a y-piece and stock silencer, which sounds like a good set up for the proposed trip, although I do like the idea of a stubby silencer to gain either more pannier room or keep them tucked closer in to the bike.

You can't use a stubby with a y-piece - you'll deafen people, yourself included. A stubby works only in conjunction with a cat because the cat itself does a lot of 'silencing'. If you want to hear what it'll sound like with a stubby and y-piece just take your stock silencer off and give it a few revs

 

[Timolgra]

Been reading through the Adventure Motorcycling Handbook this weekend and read that the 1150Adv can be switched for low octane and the 1150 standard can be re-chipped.

Done a bit of a search on here and couldn't find anything about it, though perhaps I'm just not finding the right search terms.

I have an 1150 standard and in a couple of years there's a plan to ride to Oz, so just wondered how you actually go about making the change for lower octane.

Cheers,

Justin.

We used poor fuel (mid to low 70's octane at times) in Mongolia and parts of Central Asia with no change to the Cat code plug, just take it easy on accelaration.
I took a bottle of octane booster but didn't use it. When you get chance fill up with some high octane and it feels like the bike's supercharged

 

[David Nimrod]

..I work in the film industry now which basically doubles your premiums, but 80% of companies simply won't cover anyone in the film industry at all...

I've had huge problems with getting insurance for bikes, and for my Defender, because I work in the 'Media'.

I've heard the same rubbish over and over again - "You may have (insert witless celebrity here) on the back of your bike/in the Land Rover"

But more sinister is the fact that rates are loaded against me because someone somewhere has determined that the type of person who would work in the Media (whatever that is) is more likely in their eyes to be 'reckless' or whatever...

You couldn't make it up

Unless it's statistically true of course

 

[sproggy]

You couldn't make it up

Unless it's statistically true of course

I wonder whether anyone has ever challenged the legality of discriminating against someone in this way on the grounds of their profession? I would imagine that they must have statistics to back up their position otherwise they'd be on very thin ice.

You know, the sort of thin ice that you media lot obviously take great delight in walking on, while us more sensible types steer clear of it. That's why we're a better risk

 

[davegs]

Fuel

I wouldent worry about it I've run my 1150 on all sorts from 80 to 97 and all is well, loose abit of power with crap fuel but all ok otherwise. Ridden at 16,000 ft and the good old motronic lets it tick over as normal so don't get
into armchair adventuring mode as is prevalent on here just ride the thing and enjoy it!.
Dave gs ( 2001 1150 87000 still going strong!).

 

[gbpot]

Been reading through the Adventure

I have an 1150 standard and in a couple of years there's a plan to ride to Oz, so just wondered how you actually go about making the change for lower octane.

Justin.

Sounds fab. I've a son living in Melbourne, and I keep kidding the wife that I'm taking a year out etc etc blah blah blah.
Fabulous to even think of something like that.
Has anyone done a thread on the planning from idea stage, through to "off I go"? I've no experience of long trips, and to read some of the diaries on this site........................
Good luck in advance.
Gavin

 

[mr_magicfingers]

I wouldent worry about it I've run my 1150 on all sorts from 80 to 97 and all is well, loose abit of power with crap fuel but all ok otherwise. Ridden at 16,000 ft and the good old motronic lets it tick over as normal so don't get
into armchair adventuring mode as is prevalent on here just ride the thing and enjoy it!.
Dave gs ( 2001 1150 87000 still going strong!).

Great to hear that, thanks, one less thing to worry about. did you use any sort of prefilter for fuel in the out of the way places?

Sounds fab. I've a son living in Melbourne, and I keep kidding the wife that I'm taking a year out etc etc blah blah blah.
Fabulous to even think of something like that.
Has anyone done a thread on the planning from idea stage, through to "off I go"? I've no experience of long trips, and to read some of the diaries on this site........................
Good luck in advance.
Gavin

When I was 19 I told someone I knew who did a lot of travelling that I wanted to ride round the world one day. They told me someone had done that and before they left on their next trip they sent me both of Ted Simon's books. In '89 someone I knew then rode an r80gs to Oz, I've wanted a GS ever since.

My girlfriend is planning to take a year off in a couple of years and has releatives she's never seen in Oz. She just passed her CBT and is learning to ride a bike in preparation for our trip. She doesn't want to do the ruffty tuffty off road stuff, so we're looking at a mostly roads route. I just spent the weekend reading the Adventure Motorcycling handbook and reckon it's reasonably doable.

Europe down to Turkey, then turkey - iran - pakistan - india - nepal, airfreight to Bangkok, thailand - laos - vietnam- cambodia - malaysia - java - sumatra - bali - east timor - Oz.

Who knows after that, maybe home, maybe over to Buenos Aires, down to ushuia and up that way.

I'm planning on keeping the current gs and get a 650 dakar for the girlfriend later this year which she'll use. Do it cheaply, simply, and I don't think we'll need too much extra. Need to get back into doing my own spannering (learned to change tyres last week .

Will certainly be blogging the plans and trip when we get closer to actually making decisions etc. There's so much info out there on the various sites like this, adv rider and hubb.

 

[Timolgra]

I'm planning on keeping the current gs and get a 650 dakar for the girlfriend later this year which she'll use. Do it cheaply, simply, and I don't think we'll need too much extra. Need to get back into doing my own spannering (learned to change tyres last week .

Will certainly be blogging the plans and trip when we get closer to actually making decisions etc. There's so much info out there on the various sites like this, adv rider and hubb.

Keep us informed

 

[mr_magicfingers]

Keep us informed

Will do, it's a way off yet, but planning has started slowly.

 

[sproggy]

I'm planning on keeping the current gs and get a 650 dakar for the girlfriend later this year which she'll use.

I had a 650 Dakar a few years back and regretted buying it rather than the standard 650GS - it was taller than I really wanted for ease of touching the ground. If you're doing mainly road work, and even if you're not, she might be better off with with the lower seat and centre of gravity of the standard GS unless she's particularly long in the leg.

A short test ride isn't enough to realise this, or it wasn't for me anyway. By the time I realised it was already mine and I had to live with it.

 

[Timolgra]

I had a 650 Dakar a few years back and regretted buying it rather than the standard 650GS - it was taller than I really wanted for ease of touching the ground. If you're doing mainly road work, and even if you're not, she might be better off with with the lower seat and centre of gravity of the standard GS unless she's particularly long in the leg.

A short test ride isn't enough to realise this, or it wasn't for me anyway. By the time I realised it was already mine and I had to live with it.

Or simply fit a Kouba lowering link and drop the forks.
My girlfriend has recently got a 650 Dakar but she's 6' tall...even then I know there'll be times when it'll be a tad tall for her.

 

[davegs]

Fuel

Great to hear that, thanks, one less thing to worry about. did you use any sort of prefilter for fuel in the out of the way places?




When I was 19 I told someone I knew who did a lot of travelling that I wanted to ride round the world one day. They told me someone had done that and before they left on their next trip they sent me both of Ted Simon's books. In '89 someone I knew then rode an r80gs to Oz, I've wanted a GS ever since.

My girlfriend is planning to take a year off in a couple of years and has releatives she's never seen in Oz. She just passed her CBT and is learning to ride a bike in preparation for our trip. She doesn't want to do the ruffty tuffty off road stuff, so we're looking at a mostly roads route. I just spent the weekend reading the Adventure Motorcycling handbook and reckon it's reasonably doable.

Europe down to Turkey, then turkey - iran - pakistan - india - nepal, airfreight to Bangkok, thailand - laos - vietnam- cambodia - malaysia - java - sumatra - bali - east timor - Oz.

Who knows after that, maybe home, maybe over to Buenos Aires, down to ushuia and up that way.

I'm planning on keeping the current gs and get a 650 dakar for the girlfriend later this year which she'll use. Do it cheaply, simply, and I don't think we'll need too much extra. Need to get back into doing my own spannering (learned to change tyres last week .

Will certainly be blogging the plans and trip when we get closer to actually making decisions etc. There's so much info out there on the various sites like this, adv rider and hubb.

As regards filters never, change it before you set off and take a spare 80 octain is available in the US most of their petrol is below 95 anyway but never had a prob. Don't get bogged now with unecessary "mods" just ride it and enjoy.
Dave GS.

 

[AndrewD]

Bike currently has a y-piece and stock silencer, which sounds like a good set up for the proposed trip, although I do like the idea of a stubby silencer to gain either more pannier room or keep them tucked closer in to the bike.

Fitted a stubby to the CAT on my 1150 so I could have bigger/closer panniers, works well and sounds nice and grunty, in the picture you can see the fastest loaf of bread to cross the Alps!

 

[mr_magicfingers]

I had a 650 Dakar a few years back and regretted buying it rather than the standard 650GS - it was taller than I really wanted for ease of touching the ground. If you're doing mainly road work, and even if you're not, she might be better off with with the lower seat and centre of gravity of the standard GS unless she's particularly long in the leg.

A short test ride isn't enough to realise this, or it wasn't for me anyway. By the time I realised it was already mine and I had to live with it.

She's 5'11 and most of it's legs We'll see how she feels on them both and let her make that call.