AF-XIED for R1200 LC

Roger 04 RT

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For the past couple years, since BMW snuck in a new test of the O2 sensor on R1200 LCs, the AF-XIED hasn’t been offered for sale on those models because the new test caused bikes with AF-XIEDs to throw error codes. It took almost a year but a few riders in the USA helped Nightrider and they now have a working solution which is going on sale in limited quantities. Nightrider will ramp production over the coming weeks.

BACKGROUND AND PERFORMANCE for the R1200 LC
Those who followed the Wideband O2 thread I wrote on other forums know that there was extensive testing on LC-1s and AF-XIEDs on R1150s, R1100s and R1200s through the Camhead. On my R1150RT, the Innovate Motorsports LC-1 brought performance benefits and gave me extensive AFR datalogging capability, which allowed measurement and documenting of many of the Motronic’s and BMSK’s features which had long been unknown. Wideband O2 Testing on the R1150RT

In short, lambda-shifting technology (AF-XIED or LC-1 or LC-2) modifies the O2 sensor signal in such a way that the Motronic, BMSK or BMSX (in the Wethead) is persuaded to richen the mixture by 2-8% (user selectable). Because of long term trims which are in all BMW fueling computers, the fueling gains which are “learned” in Closed Loop during lambda-shifting get applied to the entire fueling map. This means there is a richer mixture from idle right up through WOT.

I’ve been riding a 2017 R1200RTW now for several months and like everything about the bike, including its performance and fueling. I was surprised that compared to my 2004 R1150RT with 8% richer mixture, the stock RTW required higher RPMs before up-shifting but the engine is really smooth so it wasn’t an issue that needed to be “fixed”. I have also noticed that compared to my 1150, the RTW needs more throttle from a stop to get going—but that too, I adapted to.

The problem that caused the AF-XIED to be pulled from new water cooled bikes is that BMW added a new O2 Sensor test in 2016 that caused its BMSX to generate an error code, which kept the engine from entering Closed Loop operation, defeating the function of the AF-XIED. Worse yet, BMW added that test to older bikes’ software updates so bikes which had been running fine with AF-XIEDs stopped working. To my knowledge, no one has yet added LC-2s to a water-cooled bike, but they wouldn’t have worked either.

Over the last year, a couple of us have been helping Steve at Nightrider to figure out what the new O2 was doing and find a way around it. The first software solution to the AF-XIED (Rev G Software) looked promising initially but didn’t work. Then we generated a better model for what the test was doing and came up with a hardware Relay Adapter Module (RAM) that has been through Beta testing, Pre-Production units on various RTWs and GSAWs and now a couple dozen units as a first production release.

Since I finally had an RTW, I became one of the the Beta testers. The bottom line is that the RAM functions to allow the new O2 to pass. The add-on RAM will work for all existing AF-XIEDs, rev F or rev G.

Because of the RTW's generally good manners and strong performance, I didn’t expect to notice a dramatic improvement from the AF-XIEDs . Boy was I wrong!

Setting 7 on the AF-XIED produced much better performance off the line, much better torque response between 1500 and 3000 RPM, and to my great surprise much better gearshift-pro performance. Off the line, the bike requires much less throttle to get going without stalling, even allowing starts easily in 2nd gear. At riding speeds, just as with my R1150RT, I’m generally riding one gear higher (e.g. 6th instead of 5th) when acceleration isn’t the objective. The bike accelerates much more eagerly at 2000 RPM and less downshifting is required. I’m not saying I always ride like a poke—far from it—but when I’m cruising or in traffic, the bike needs a lot less downshifting to feel comfortable.

The operation of Gearshift-Pro has changed noticeably, especially from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. It’s smoother, with less tendency to lurch. And the effect is true for up and downshifts. I now use Gearshift-Pro most of the time—light and heavy throttle.

For those of you interested, keep in touch with Beemerboneyard and Nightrider. They will have some units soon.
 
For the past couple years, since BMW snuck in a new test of the O2 sensor on R1200 LCs, the AF-XIED hasn’t been offered for sale on those models because the new test caused bikes with AF-XIEDs to throw error codes. It took almost a year but a few riders in the USA helped Nightrider and they now have a working solution which is going on sale in limited quantities. Nightrider will ramp production over the coming weeks.

BACKGROUND AND PERFORMANCE for the R1200 LC
Those who followed the Wideband O2 thread I wrote on other forums know that there was extensive testing on LC-1s and AF-XIEDs on R1150s, R1100s and R1200s through the Camhead. On my R1150RT, the Innovate Motorsports LC-1 brought performance benefits and gave me extensive AFR datalogging capability, which allowed measurement and documenting of many of the Motronic’s and BMSK’s features which had long been unknown. Wideband O2 Testing on the R1150RT

In short, lambda-shifting technology (AF-XIED or LC-1 or LC-2) modifies the O2 sensor signal in such a way that the Motronic, BMSK or BMSX (in the Wethead) is persuaded to richen the mixture by 2-8% (user selectable). Because of long term trims which are in all BMW fueling computers, the fueling gains which are “learned” in Closed Loop during lambda-shifting get applied to the entire fueling map. This means there is a richer mixture from idle right up through WOT.

I’ve been riding a 2017 R1200RTW now for several months and like everything about the bike, including its performance and fueling. I was surprised that compared to my 2004 R1150RT with 8% richer mixture, the stock RTW required higher RPMs before up-shifting but the engine is really smooth so it wasn’t an issue that needed to be “fixed”. I have also noticed that compared to my 1150, the RTW needs more throttle from a stop to get going—but that too, I adapted to.

The problem that caused the AF-XIED to be pulled from new water cooled bikes is that BMW added a new O2 Sensor test in 2016 that caused its BMSX to generate an error code, which kept the engine from entering Closed Loop operation, defeating the function of the AF-XIED. Worse yet, BMW added that test to older bikes’ software updates so bikes which had been running fine with AF-XIEDs stopped working. To my knowledge, no one has yet added LC-2s to a water-cooled bike, but they wouldn’t have worked either.

Over the last year, a couple of us have been helping Steve at Nightrider to figure out what the new O2 was doing and find a way around it. The first software solution to the AF-XIED (Rev G Software) looked promising initially but didn’t work. Then we generated a better model for what the test was doing and came up with a hardware Relay Adapter Module (RAM) that has been through Beta testing, Pre-Production units on various RTWs and GSAWs and now a couple dozen units as a first production release.

Since I finally had an RTW, I became one of the the Beta testers. The bottom line is that the RAM functions to allow the new O2 to pass. The add-on RAM will work for all existing AF-XIEDs, rev F or rev G.

Because of the RTW's generally good manners and strong performance, I didn’t expect to notice a dramatic improvement from the AF-XIEDs . Boy was I wrong!

Setting 7 on the AF-XIED produced much better performance off the line, much better torque response between 1500 and 3000 RPM, and to my great surprise much better gearshift-pro performance. Off the line, the bike requires much less throttle to get going without stalling, even allowing starts easily in 2nd gear. At riding speeds, just as with my R1150RT, I’m generally riding one gear higher (e.g. 6th instead of 5th) when acceleration isn’t the objective. The bike accelerates much more eagerly at 2000 RPM and less downshifting is required. I’m not saying I always ride like a poke—far from it—but when I’m cruising or in traffic, the bike needs a lot less downshifting to feel comfortable.

The operation of Gearshift-Pro has changed noticeably, especially from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd. It’s smoother, with less tendency to lurch. And the effect is true for up and downshifts. I now use Gearshift-Pro most of the time—light and heavy throttle.

For those of you interested, keep in touch with Beemerboneyard and Nightrider. They will have some units soon.
Thank you for this interesting update,

Is there any qualitative figures for the performance increases ?

It'd be useful to have some idea of the difference in performance (before/after) as it will enable everyone to understand the level of extra performance/flexibility that this modification can make.

Tia

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk
 
... Is there any qualitative figures for the performance increases ?

It'd be useful to have some idea of the difference in performance (before/after) as it will enable everyone to understand the level of extra performance/flexibility that this modification can make. ...

The measureable improvement you can expect is a richer AFR (air fuel ratio) throughout the fueling range of the motorcycle. You’ll immediately see lower AFRs in the Closed Loop area of fueling (where we spend about 70% of our time riding. After a period of adaptation—1/2 to several tanks of fuel depending on riding style—you’ll get richer AFRs at and near WOT. You will also see a reduction in exhaust temperature and catalytic converter temperature (because there’s less O2 to support oxidation).

Because BMW motorcycles are already rich enough at WOT, you should not see much change in peak torque or HP. Since Dyno plots always show curves with the throttle at WOT (usually only about 6 cells out of the 300 or so in usual fuel maps), you shouldn’t expect the plots to look different. Said differently, since there is no more air being added by the AF-XIED, you should expect more power at WOT.

Again at WOT, if you somehow get more air into the cylinder through exhaust and intake changes (I’m a skeptic), richening the mixture with an AF-XIED (or LC-2) would restore richness and add power.

In the 50-70% of the map that is running Closed Loop you can expect a 4-5% increase in torque (and therefore HP) from the added fuel. This is because Power always increases when you richen an engine’s mixture from 14.7 to something in the 13s (e.g. 13.8:1). This power increase isn’t easy to measure because you have to set up very precise conditions on a brake Dyno. Luckily the torque improvement and its benefits are very apparent when riding—some of which I mentioned in the first post.

Many of us have real world experience adjusting engines from too lean to best power mixture. My old lawn mower had a needle valve on the bottom of the carburetor. Turn it in too much and the engine ran rough and was anemic as you pushed it into the grass. Turn it out too much and the engine bigger and belched black smoke. Our bikes are the same. The sweet spot for emissions and the catalytic converter is the equivalent of the needle being turned in a bit too much. The AF-XIED allows you to “turn the needle out a bit”.

Someday I’ll rig a switch to switch the AF-XIED in and out. Then I’ll set the cruise control for 70 mph and use the GS-911 to record throttle angle. That will show a bit less throttle required to hold speed with the AF-XIED switched in. I won’t get to it till later this year but if anyone wants to try it and record a CSV Log I’ll plot and post the results.
 
WOT = Wide Open Throttle

Roger is there a UK supplier or do we get these from the fellas in the States?

Nin
 
Hi Roger
Thanks very much for posting this illuminating info.
Have read much of your stuff on this subject here and elsewhere, and have even understood a little!
Nice to know its "not just me" that feels that something should be done to improve running.
Regards.
Brian
 
Hi Roger

Thanks for taking the time to post this interesting information up. I for one would be interested in knowing more about the new RAM fix as an add on.

Best Regards. Ian.
 
Hi Roger

Thanks for taking the time to post this interesting information up. I for one would be interested in knowing more about the new RAM fix as an add on.

Best Regards. Ian.
Ian, Let me know if this helps.

As you know, the R1200 LC has two O2 sensors, each plugging into the motorcycle harness, one O2 for each cylinder.

Once AF-XIEDs are installed, each O2 plugs into an AF-XIED which uses a small computer to modify the O2 signal, and then each AF-XIED plugs into the motorcycle harness to deliver the modified signal.

Because of the new test that bmw added to water-cooled boxers, to make sure nothing was “attached” to its O2 inputs that shouldn’t be attached, it became necessary for Nightrider to build the RAM module.

Now on water cooled boxers, the O2 sensor plugs into an AF-XIED, which then plugs into a RAM device, which then plugs into the motorcycles harness. The RAM—which is backwards compatible to all earlier AF-XIED devices—isolates the AF-XIED so that the bmw ECU can’t “see” it at the critical time of the bmw test.

In some ways the RAM is very simple but knowing just when to have the RAM do its thing took a while to work out. It also took several months to figure out just what conditions the RAM had to present to the ECU during the test window. Lastly, because the bmw test only occurs after the water cooled boxer has been turned off for several hours, the RAM test team could only make about one check each day—so it was slow going.

It’s all done and working and availability will improve over the coming weeks.
 
Hi Roger,

Yes, that explains things a lot better, now I see the reasoning behind the RAM, and why it is necessary. Please keep us informed as to when they will be available for general sale.

Once again thank you for your prompt, and detailed response, it is very much appreciated.

Best Regards Ian.
 
Goes to show, no matter how you choose to modify, that it takes a lot more time and effort to resolve the "simple" problem than first appears.

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk
 
Just got mine through from Nightrider yesterday. The quality of the build looks excellent and in principle it’s a dead easy fit and simple to adjust.

I couldn’t find many tips on ‘tinternet about fitting and cable runs, but managed to work it out.

A quick “round the block” last night didn’t throw any error codes so I must have got it right. Off to get it run in and adapting, initial setting on 8.



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At the visa exchange rate for the day it was £326 for the units and postage, £60 for duty and VAT.

It took about a week from ordering to collect from the local parcelforce depot.


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Hi Roger - yes I got the full set as I didn’t have the AF-XiED units before now.

Just back in from a couple of hundred miles, they’re still adapting so the Bikes character is changing almost mile by mile.

Early impressions are positive- the low Revs manners are much improved, and roll-on is much smoother, so I find myself riding in a higher gear. There are fewer vibes, and I don’t get the hesitation around 4k rpm I had before, and fuel consumption (on the tft at least) is about 7% better. All in all I’m happy so far.


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