ECU reflash

ECU of Streetfighter S, a photo by Speedy Chung on Flickr.

After 250 miles of break-in run, I concluded that I must fix the both the flat spot and power surge issues. These issues are nothing new to Streetfighter owners - same topics had been bought up in the forum many times without any total fix. Most of the solutions are expensive and yet not very reliable. The root of the problem is the Euro3 Emission Standard - the standard is so high that in order to meet the requirements, the bike has to be running at extremely lean condition at lower RPM - as high as 14.5 AFR. To make the matter worse, anything below 5200 RPM is locked - meaning the bike has to run in close loop with the narrow band oxygen sensors' input. It makes the bike run very sluggish in respond to throttle input; and the power delivery is far from smooth because of 'on-off' input from the oxygen sensors (Detail here). The only way fix these problems without any third party deceive is reflash the ECU and put a new map on it. However it is a lot easier to say than done. After more than a year, the after market solution finally finger out a way creak down the locked ECU. However not everyone done well... some are OK, some just work for few hundred miles. After many research and many success stories, I decided to give Redline Performance Motorsports a try. Spoke with Dave over the phone, and he told me they will remove the power restriction for the first 3 gears, disable the O2 sensors inputs, and put a map that would work with my exhaust. Sounds like a plan to me - just sent it out today, and hopefully it will solve all of my ECU issues when I get it back!

Run around the block..

Run around the block.. a video by Speedy Chung on Flickr.

Yip... nothing better an annoy my neighbor when I have nothing to do.... just kdding =)

Back in business!

Back in business! First ride today!, a photo by Speedy Chung on Flickr.

Today is the day! Finally have time to ride her - she was still 0 mile this morning. Went to Catalyst Reaction to have suspension tuned (once again, it was day & night different!); stopped at Half Moon bay for lunch, and met a few riding buddies at the junction of Redwood and Pinehurst. It was a great day for sure....

Let's talk about the bike and all the major modifications. I was surprised everything worked relatively well; consider the fact that I had to deal with multiple changes in one ride (new mirrors, new clutch slave, new leaver position, rearsets..so and so). I brought some tools with me for possible 'on-the-go' adjustment; end up I didn't touch any of them. Following is a detail breakdowns and reviews:

Rearsets &amp & Riding Postion
It works surprisingly well! I was pretty impressed by this cheap rearsets. Pegs are SUPER GRIPPY, and both the shift paddle and rear break paddle works well. Pegs were set to the lowest and most forward; while some other user complain it's too aggressive; it works really well for me. What I like the most is hanging out at curve - a lot easier without worry slipping off from the bike. But... it is not exactly perfect. With my leg positioned at about 1" rearward, it forced my upper body move forward; the gap between my man's part and gas tank was much narrower - as you can imagine, there were a few painful moments during the ride. I guess I will have to get use to it.

Custom Cut CF Heat Shield & Heat Issue
It works really well conjunction with the tiny boot guard. With about 15% of CF removed from the original shape, I didn't notice any increase in heat level.

STM 30mm Slave Cylinder & Clutch
Work fairly well with Motowheels' SS spring set. Odd thing was the clutch pull was lighter with the stock clutch leaver. Once I replaced the stock leaver with ASV C5, somehow the pull was heavier - not as bad as the complete stock setting; but for sure I noticed the different. The new clutch somehow didn't get the linear feel that I was looking for, and unlike my first SF, it's harder to find Neutral too... Not sure it's because of the slave or just simply the bike was still fairly new.

ECU & Exhaust 
The new SF is a lot more sluggish at lower RPM! It's really surprised me - it has the exact same setting like my old bike; but somehow the 3500 RPM flat spot (in my case it's at 2500RPM) seems to be a lot more noticeable. I was hardly able to do a single smooth launch. Also, the Akrapovic carbon fiber slip-on pops a lot more - basically it pops everything time I down shift at speed. I just hope the back-fire won't do a lot of damage. I will for sure send the ECU out for reflash ASAP- hopefully it will improve the fueling issue.

Throttle Input
The free-play was a bit too much - it's always take a moment before the SF-S responds! Need to adjust the cable for sure...

In general all the modifications are working well; but for sure more fine tunings, especially related to ECU, are coming ahead. Will keep you guys posted for sure. Stay tune!

She is finally ready!

She is finally ready!, a photo by Speedy Chung on Flickr.

After a week of hard work (and pissed my wife a few times), the new Streetfighter is finally ready to ride. There will be phase 2 to add more things on it... stay tune!

New rearsets and custom cut heat shield

All done! 

View without heel guard...

Close but clear off...

Quite a bit of material removed from the original shape

Work in progress

New rearsets and custom cut heat shield, a photo by Speedy Chung on Flickr.

For the past 2 weeks I have been working on my new SF-S and try to bring her to the point where I wanted. On top of what I have done on the older SF-S, this time I decided to add a new rearsets. There isn't much of the options out there (mainly Sato Racing and Rizoma), and the worst part is none of them offers a good heat shield solution - in some extreme case, the hot pipe melts the right boot!!! Not to mention it costs well over $600. So after some research on the Ducati MS, The 'Gas-cap-dude' quickly got my attention. They located in Fremont, and selling rearsets by Ebay. I met with the seller, and after inspected the item in person, I decided to give it a try. For $230, the quality was surprisingly good! I would recommend to anyone who don't want to spend ton of $ on rearsets...

The installation went smoothly until the right side. Just like any other other lower-priced rearsets out there, it hits the heat shield - which I know it will happen anyway. Some SF-S owner decided not to use the stock heat shield at all; but after a few sitting tests, I decided leave both heat shield and heel guard on. So it's time to do some customizations. After playing with rotary tool in on my Classic, I'm pretty familiar with the tool. The operation when nicely, and I have custom cut CF shield ready for refinish in about 30mins. It looks and works MUCH better now...

Stay tune for field test! =)

She's home!

Finally, the wait is over!

Let's the fun begins!

She's here!, a photo by Speedy Chung on Flickr.

Yip, she's here! After a week of waiting finally she is in my garage. Thank you for Ace Motorsports once again for their fast and 'to-the-point' dealer service. I have a long list of things I need to add on her - anything from reflash ECU all the way to foot and hand controls. In fact, I just got myself a new 60" work bench from Costco to make my job a bit more enjoyable - btw, it's one of the best deal in town. So let's the work begins!

Crash site re-visit

Poor piece of broken headlight fairing...

Crash site re-visit, a photo by Speedy Chung on Flickr.

It has been exactly one month since the deer hit me, and I rode down to the crash site this morning - I just have to do it. We all have to walk again starting from where we fell. So today I finished the unfinished route. A bit sad to see the old body work still lied down helplessly on the side of the road after one month... but we all have to move on. The ride went really well - I was smooth, fast, and confidence. Feeling great after I am done - not only it was a great Spring ride, I proofed to myself that I am ready for the roads again.