Wanted: ECU re-map, Power Commander, or similar for '09 GSA.

[Nick V]

As per subject line.

I must elaborate on a few things...

1. Although the bike is an '09 Adventure, it uses an R1200S engine and - I suspect - a pre-'08 R1200GS engine ECU. (Yes... it's a bitsa.)
The existing rev limiter cuts in at 7 800 RPM, which means that the power curve of the R1200S engine - meant to rev to 8 500 - is still on the way up as it hits the limiter.
I've had the bike up to an indicated 225 Km/h a few times - at which point, it hits the limiter in sixth gear. The extra 700 RPM, coupled with better fuel mapping, would make all the difference...

2. Because of the engine/ECU mismatch, fuelling is currently all over the shop. The bike feels starved of fuel under acceleration, is sluggish off the line from a standing start, and mid-range torque is sub-par.
I've installed the Accelerator module with remote 'temperature sensor'. It has helped the problem, but by no means cured it.

3. I am based in South Africa, which means that having the bike worked on by Hilltop Motorcycles is not a realistic option for me.
If I can start by pointing a local engine tuner in (vaguely) the right direction, it would be most helpful. What is actually involved in the Hilltop ECU reworking? Is it an EEPROM re-flash? If not, what?

4. I suspect that re-mapping the ECU might give better results than a PC, because although a PC would cure the fuelling problems, it will do nothing for the restrictive rev limit.
Is this true, or have I underestimated the PC's capabilities?

5. If I decide to go for a PC, I'd be most interested to see if anyone in the greater UK has a suitable specimen for sale at a reasonable price.
New, PCs are stupidly expensive here, and second-hand, they are hen's teeth...

Thank you, all!

 

[BBB61]

A bloke from the US sent his ecu off to Hilltop and they remapped it. Have you thought of doing that?

 

[Nick V]

A bloke from the US sent his ecu off to Hilltop and they remapped it. Have you thought of doing that?

I have indeed. But it would be foolish for me to do that without wondering aloud whether someone, somewhere doesn't have the resources to do the same job, locally.

SA engineering talent ranks among the very best in the world - this has been proven to me time and again. All I need to know is what method is used by Hilltop to change the 'way of thinking' used by the BMS-K ECU (1: Piggyback module, such as PC? 2: Stand-alone module, such as Perfect Power or Gotech? 3: re-flashing the existing EEPROM chips?), and I can find the most suitable party to undertake the job.

 

[Schtum]

Hilltop reflash the EPROM, as I understand it. They seem to be the only place that chooses to do so. I says "chooses" because, from what I've seen, alternative maps for motorcycles seem to come with the package that most car remapping companies buy into. Both my local VAG Specialist www.starperformance.co.uk and Angel Tuning http://www.angeltuning.co.uk who I just had remap my Golf tell me that they can remap bikes but choose not to do so. That was confirmed by the guy from Angel Tuning who showed me the maps on his laptop.

On that basis, it might be worth contacting your local car tuners and see if any of them are willing to flash your EPROM with an R1200S map.

Other than that, you might want to investigate the Dimsport Rapid Bike system.... http://www.dimsport.com/rapidbike/rapidbikeindex.php

 

[(RIP) Miff]

Could you not use an R1200S ECU?

 

[Pukmeister]

I know one owner said they had Geoff at Hilltop lower the rev limiter, so I assume it is a user definable variable in the ecu that can be raised as well. How far it can be raised could be within predefined limits so it could be worth emailing Geoff (AKA Neoviper) and asking the question?

I'd be tempted to send him my ECU by international post for "repair" if I wanted a better fuel map and custom rev limit. I know you won't get the final dyno tune which optimises your fuelling perfectly but it must be way better than stock.

 

[Nick V]

Could you not use an R1200S ECU?

This was actually the first question I asked my contact when he sold me the bike. He said no - to his understanding, the GS ASC functionality would have been lost, as ASC is controlled by the engine ECU (and the R1200S didn't have ASC).
Thinking about this, I know little enough about whether ASC is an engine-ECU or ZFE function that I can't realistically hazard a guess.

Another possibility was that when the bike was built, my contact didn't have the R1200S's keys, and didn't want to order new ones.
Either way, it can't currently be done without ordering a brand-new R1200S ECU from BMW. And I'd be insane to do that on the 'off-chance' that it would work...

I know one owner said they had Geoff at Hilltop lower the rev limiter, so I assume it is a user definable variable in the ecu that can be raised as well. How far it can be raised could be within predefined limits so it could be worth emailing Geoff (AKA Neoviper) and asking the question?

I'd be tempted to send him my ECU by international post for "repair" if I wanted a better fuel map and custom rev limit. I know you won't get the final dyno tune which optimises your fuelling perfectly but it must be way better than stock.

? Why would anyone want to lower the limiter? Strange...

One SA option I'd overlooked was a company I last dealt with when I was still tinkering with Lotus Seven replicas: Perfect Power. (Back then, they didn't do piggyback systems - only stand-alone.)
I'm busy trawling through their site at the moment... I'll feed back if anything looks promising.

If I were installing a standalone system, I'd use Gotech (another SA company, and the works are very close to where I live - their systems are rated very highly in the USA).

 

[Nick V]

I got in contact with Garth of Perfect Power SA. Looks promising so far... he admits that they haven't done too many bikes, but seems intrigued by the challenge - which is a good sign!

At this point, I need some help from the engine tuners and tuning enthusiasts here. Since they don't currently have access to the bike, PP need to know:

1. Are the standard Lambda sensors wide-band or narrow-band (How many wires do they have? What colour are the wires?)

2. What kind of crankshaft pickup pattern does the R1200S engine use? (How many teeth on the pickup wheel, and how many of them are 'trigger' teeth?)

3. Does the engine use camshaft-position sensors?

 

[Schtum]

1) The lambda sensors are narrow band. I can't think of any bike that comes fitted with wide band as stock. Power Commander V Autotune module would be the only commercially available wide band system for your bike.

 

[Nick V]

1) The lambda sensors are narrow band. I can't think of any bike that comes fitted with wide band as stock. Power Commander V Autotune module would be the only commercially available wide band system for your bike.

Given a few days' eggheadery and juggling of possibilities, that option is looking more and more compelling...

I'm going to have a chat with the local importer in two days' time. It turns out that the PC V is not quite as expensive here as I thought it was.
I'm also in contact with Perfect Power, who seem to offer a range of solutions that are very competitive, indeed.