Long time no see!
Thought will pin what's been happening with the Zuki...
Quick update!
The bike has done 5300 strong kms. “Touchwood”. Barring the horn giving up on me, the Jap is moving like a graceful Geisha!!
As you know from the previous posts I have the GSXR-A. Which does not come with the fancy suspension or the light battery or the Quickshifter and Blipper. I had to change that.
I started looking up for options available for the QS and Blipper. The following were available,
Translogic UK
A solid product from the UK. They have some really good components and their product scream quality. Wrote to them and was informed that they only have a QS unit for the model and no blipper. Kept that as an option.
IRC
Decent quality and they do have a unit which allows for a QS and Blipper. But then thought Italians and Electronics, thoda stress hain.
The other option is / was a flash. Which basically lets you play with everything.
Flashing the ECU is an intricate process and you really need someone sorted to get that done. If done wrong, it’s a pandoras box of problems. However decided to look into it and see what’s available and easy to maintain and with some sort of service / help back up. Options were,
Option 1
Woolich Racing
This company out of Australia knows what they doing. And every-time that I have written to them, they’ve been super responsive and prompt with their responses. Their bench harness is the route to take and comes with everything that you need to have the ECU flashed.
There are 2 things that you need to get from them,
Unit 1 - For $715
Denso / Log box
A Harness
Wideband O2 sensor with it’s bung.
This is the unit which allows you to flash the stock ECU through the Wollich website and get into the fuel maps, ignition timing, remove restrictions etc.
Unit 2 - For $445
Once flashed you can use this plug and play QS and Auto Blipper unit.
Package includes
Shift Rod
Cordona sensor with an integrated harness.
Unit 3 - For $95
For the extra bling, is the Pit Speed Limiter.
Total cost without installation charges in India - Rs 87,098 plus shipping. Also if I get some dealer to import it for me, this number will jump up as I’d have to include his margin as well.
Option 2
Flashtune ECU
Well known company based out of the US. Their kit includes,
Unit 1 - For $460
FTdataLink ECU Interface USB Cable
Bench Flashing Harness to flash your ECU outside of the bike
Power Supply for Bench flashing (Compatible with International power outlets)
FT ECU License to allow unlimited flashes for a single ECU
Unit 2 - For $310
Retrofit QS and Auto Blipper
1 PUSH/PULL Type Shift Sensor
1 Type A shift rod
1 Type C shift rod
QSS/Blipper Harness to connect your new sensors to your ECU.
However the site does not tell you which sensor do they use, like the Woolich uses a Cordona sensor. Wrote to them but dis not get a proper response.
Total Cost without installation charges in India - Rs 53,438 plus shipping and whatever the importer will charge me.
While evaluating these 2 flashes, apart from money it was important to figure ease of installation and any service back up. Especially considering in our country manufacturers void warranty just for using an aftermarket exhaust. But if you buy the same from them, the bike is covered!! Go figure.. We’ll leave that rant for another day.
Coming back to the flashes, as far as instructions and videos available on the internet goes are pretty easy. Any mechanic / technician with decent knowledge of electrical should be in a position to fix this. Problem starts with error codes, which if one comes up, I’d have to take the bike in to the service station. And then considering the lack of a scanner there and I’d be stuck with trying to figure the next steps.
The other thing to consider is maps. Though the Woolich system does come with a data logger accessing the details and working on the same would have been a task for me. Have tried this with a Bazzaz unit on the Speed Triple and it never worked out. It just kept getting worse, may be i was doing something wrong or the Triumph was just being cranky.
I am extremely finicky with my bikes. Even the slightest niggle bothers me. This would’ve been a big step without any tech help at hand. And I genuinely did not want to screw around with the motorcycle to a point of no return.
Kept looking for possible alternatives and it seemed like the only option was to get a Translogic or Healtech Quickshifter or the IRC unit. It’s a simple plug and play unit and I would not have to flash the bike for the same. This meant, no Blipper though or Pit Limiter or removing any restrictions etc ..
I get my bike serviced either at the Suzuki Dealership which is close to my place, if they are busy I call upon a trusted technician home, Ganesh. Luckily I have an open basement parking and it has room to spread the body work around and get the necessary work done in peace. On one of these escapades of service, Ganesh mentioned Mantra Racing from Bangalore. He asked me to check them up and see if they’d be in a position to help. A quick search on internet and a Facebook page lead to a number.
Called Mantra racing. Spoke to Nitin who is their front for calls, queries etc. Had a lengthy chat and explained what I was looking for. We decided on a call back.
In the meantime I thought I should read up on them. Which I did. And it clearly shows these guys have the pedigree and know how as far as technical wizardry is concerned.
Got a call back from Sharan at Mantra Racing. And I was impressed with the simplicity of how he explained the entire process to flash the ECU and what all do I get with the same.
Decided to go with them. Their break up is as below.
Mantra Racing
Stage 2 Flash
Cordona sensor for the Quickshifter and Blipper. The same which you get with the Woolich kit and the same which MM93 uses on his GP bike. Ok that works.
Top Speed Limiter removed
Better fuelling map.
Engine Temp fan comes on at 85 degrees. Keeping the bike cooler.
All this hopefully also lends itself to better power. But more so a smoother nicer ride with the right fuelling.
Some changes which I had to do on the bike are as follows,
- New Air filter. Sharan wanted to get the Sprint but that wasn’t available hence got the BMC filter.
The stock shift rod has to change. Mantra racing makes one for you, just that you need to send them the exact measurements keeping.
- Block off plates. This is optional for now. Will ad this later.
My bike had the Arrow GP Pro Titanium slip on. With the Cat and stock headers.
Sent pictures of the stock shift rod and ECU. A date was decided when Sharan will be in Bombay. His technicians would come over and get the wok started.
Shift Rod
The bike is finally flashed.
The Quickshifter is just sublime. For better performance Sharan asked me to use it post 5000 RPM. Use it like a race tool not for traffic. And it sounds terrific!
Changes noticed from the stock fuelling are as follows,
The Mid range improved tremendously. Thought with the VVT she did have a decent package to begin with, but the difference is in the way she pulls.
Fuelling improved. The bike was a tad richer.
The snatch throttle in the first 2 gears was gone. The bike felt linear when climbing the rev range and super eager to leap ahead.
No false neutrals on the upshift
On the Blipper though I noticed sometimes the bike would lunge forward when going down a gear. Spoke to Sharan and he mentioned he will look into it on his next visit to Bombay.
All in all I was absolutely pleased with this purchase.
Cost for Mantra Racing Flash - I would have to ask him if I can disclose the figures. If yes, I will add the same here in the next post.