So I have received our test ECU about a week or maybe two ago, dumped the contents and have had a good look over it. This post, at this time, pertains to the USA version of the ECU. I am expecting the Philippines version of the ECU to be dumped soon as well as which I can then compare that ECU to the US market ECU. As other bikes are released in other markets, I will be able to see that data as well when we read them out. So it will be interesting to see the differences between the different markets. In the future I may expand this post to include differences seen and found between the few markets out there getting the 4R/4RR.
Also this is not a total, all access peek - just sharing with you guys some interesting info that I have found thus far.
Ignition Timing
These days compared to even 10 years ago, timing maps on bikes are very much more optimized than they once were. Additionally timing maps aren't being as used as much as they once were as a way for a bike to sneak through emissions testing by cutting the timing here limiting the power output in the US compared to say EU or AU markets. Additionally on some older bikes, timing would be cut to help with traction and some models even had two maps the bike's ECU would switch through depending on RPM and TPS input which would switch to another timing map on the fly (unbeknownst to the rider) to help with traction. Thankfully this is 2023 and we have wheel speed sensors, IMUs and very good algorithms.
I do see some areas for timing cuts, possibly, but until we have our bike in house I will not be able to spin it up on the dyno establishing the baseline, make changes to the timing tables and observe the output stay the same, go up, go down and continue to adjust to suit finding a balance between engine safety and performance.
Rev Limiter
Sorry fellow Americans, and friendly hockey friends to our North, our revs are held to ~15,200 RPMs in the ECU. (The ECU I have is the same ECU used in the US and Canadian markets as defined in the service manual by it's part number.) One may be able to see a few more revs perhaps by way of mechanical over-rev if you stayed on the throttle, but you will always run into this RPM limiter and the bike won't go anywhere. Luckily we have the ability to adjust this and raise the rev limit.
Fuel Trim or Injector Balancing
On some other makes/models I have seen power been pulled in these areas by either cutting fuel trims by not letting the injectors spray the full amount of fuel or shifting the injector balancing between the injector sets favoring one over the other to limit power output - I do not see that to be a factor here.
Electronic Throttle
Or commonly known as Ride By Wire. Basically how much throttle is the ride by wire system letting me actually have despite what I manually put into the physical throttle. Here is where we will see (in my opinion) the biggest restriction. Good news - and of course, bad news.
The good news, the bike does let you have full throttle! The bad news, not for long. From full on throttle at 100% throttle input from 11,000 to 11,500 you are allowed full throttle. After that, it gets choked down more and more the more revs increase. This also goes beyond just 100% wide open throttle (which is the easiest to see/explain for these types of demonstration purposes). There are restrictions even if you have the throttle just half opened where they are limiting the relation between physical and electronic throttle. Also this is just sport mode, but there are still smaller restrictions in the other ride modes though as well. Below is just one example of one map table where the ETV restrictions are in play.
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KTRC and KEBC
Kawasaki Traction Control (KTRC), at least from the wheelie control standpoint, will be able to edited within the ECU. We will work to identify further traction control maps within the ECU.
Kawasaki Engine Braking Control (KEBC), from memory I don't think was announced for this model. I don't recall it being mentioned in the owner's manual, I don't see it in the service manual and no mention of it on Kawi's website or dealer materials. But this map still exists in the ECU. So, we may have a way to adjust the engine braking characteristics. Once our bike arrives I can start editing this map and I will be able to see if there are any observable changes or not.
Multiple Maps in the same ECU
Yep, should be no problem housing multiple maps with no extra hardware needed. By my count we should be able to have at least three - maybe four. Will know for certain once our bike is here and able to do testing in house. But this will let you run multiple fuel and timing maps in the same ECU with no additional piggy backs required. No plugs, jumpers or anything required. Simply drain, flush and fill the fuel of the day and select the appropriate power map/ride mode from the clip ons. You could run pump gas, VP MGP and VP MR12 maps (or any combination of fuel maps for fuels of your choice) all from your stock ECU. Or if you want just one map that is the same for a specific fuel, but have different throttle characteristics depending on whatever characteristics/requirements/environmental conditions you may have is doable.
To GP or not to GP - that is the question
Yes, you can flip the OEM QS so switching to GP shift won't require any kind of work arounds. Simply set that setting, properly complete the needed mechanical changes to accomplish GP shift and your OEM sensor will work in GP shift.
Other Fancy Stuff
Also have the ability to turn off fault codes for many commonly removed items from the bike. Will add more as we go based on ours and customers needs.
Well, that is about all for now - back to work!
Also this is not a total, all access peek - just sharing with you guys some interesting info that I have found thus far.
Ignition Timing
These days compared to even 10 years ago, timing maps on bikes are very much more optimized than they once were. Additionally timing maps aren't being as used as much as they once were as a way for a bike to sneak through emissions testing by cutting the timing here limiting the power output in the US compared to say EU or AU markets. Additionally on some older bikes, timing would be cut to help with traction and some models even had two maps the bike's ECU would switch through depending on RPM and TPS input which would switch to another timing map on the fly (unbeknownst to the rider) to help with traction. Thankfully this is 2023 and we have wheel speed sensors, IMUs and very good algorithms.
I do see some areas for timing cuts, possibly, but until we have our bike in house I will not be able to spin it up on the dyno establishing the baseline, make changes to the timing tables and observe the output stay the same, go up, go down and continue to adjust to suit finding a balance between engine safety and performance.
Rev Limiter
Sorry fellow Americans, and friendly hockey friends to our North, our revs are held to ~15,200 RPMs in the ECU. (The ECU I have is the same ECU used in the US and Canadian markets as defined in the service manual by it's part number.) One may be able to see a few more revs perhaps by way of mechanical over-rev if you stayed on the throttle, but you will always run into this RPM limiter and the bike won't go anywhere. Luckily we have the ability to adjust this and raise the rev limit.
Fuel Trim or Injector Balancing
On some other makes/models I have seen power been pulled in these areas by either cutting fuel trims by not letting the injectors spray the full amount of fuel or shifting the injector balancing between the injector sets favoring one over the other to limit power output - I do not see that to be a factor here.
Electronic Throttle
Or commonly known as Ride By Wire. Basically how much throttle is the ride by wire system letting me actually have despite what I manually put into the physical throttle. Here is where we will see (in my opinion) the biggest restriction. Good news - and of course, bad news.
The good news, the bike does let you have full throttle! The bad news, not for long. From full on throttle at 100% throttle input from 11,000 to 11,500 you are allowed full throttle. After that, it gets choked down more and more the more revs increase. This also goes beyond just 100% wide open throttle (which is the easiest to see/explain for these types of demonstration purposes). There are restrictions even if you have the throttle just half opened where they are limiting the relation between physical and electronic throttle. Also this is just sport mode, but there are still smaller restrictions in the other ride modes though as well. Below is just one example of one map table where the ETV restrictions are in play.
KTRC and KEBC
Kawasaki Traction Control (KTRC), at least from the wheelie control standpoint, will be able to edited within the ECU. We will work to identify further traction control maps within the ECU.
Kawasaki Engine Braking Control (KEBC), from memory I don't think was announced for this model. I don't recall it being mentioned in the owner's manual, I don't see it in the service manual and no mention of it on Kawi's website or dealer materials. But this map still exists in the ECU. So, we may have a way to adjust the engine braking characteristics. Once our bike arrives I can start editing this map and I will be able to see if there are any observable changes or not.
Multiple Maps in the same ECU
Yep, should be no problem housing multiple maps with no extra hardware needed. By my count we should be able to have at least three - maybe four. Will know for certain once our bike is here and able to do testing in house. But this will let you run multiple fuel and timing maps in the same ECU with no additional piggy backs required. No plugs, jumpers or anything required. Simply drain, flush and fill the fuel of the day and select the appropriate power map/ride mode from the clip ons. You could run pump gas, VP MGP and VP MR12 maps (or any combination of fuel maps for fuels of your choice) all from your stock ECU. Or if you want just one map that is the same for a specific fuel, but have different throttle characteristics depending on whatever characteristics/requirements/environmental conditions you may have is doable.
To GP or not to GP - that is the question
Yes, you can flip the OEM QS so switching to GP shift won't require any kind of work arounds. Simply set that setting, properly complete the needed mechanical changes to accomplish GP shift and your OEM sensor will work in GP shift.
Other Fancy Stuff
Also have the ability to turn off fault codes for many commonly removed items from the bike. Will add more as we go based on ours and customers needs.
Well, that is about all for now - back to work!
