EFI ECU Self Recalibration

tpelle · 08-30-2023, 03:54 PM

I'm wondering how everyone's experience with modern ECU-equipped motorcycles has been after modifications.

I'm an old carburetor guy, so if I changed air filters or did a CAT elimination or installed an aftermarket muffler, whatever, pretty much all you had to do was go for a ride holding a constant speed, then, when the coast was clear, just close the throttle, pull in the clutch, and switch the engine off. Then coast to the side of the road, get out your tool kit, pull out the spark plug and "read" it. Depending on the color you saw on the electrode, you just changed the main jet up or down a size - a 15-minute operation at most - and you likely would be OK.

ECUs up to Euro 4 included a recalibration mode. Generally it went like this: Start the engine but make sure to leave your mitts OFF of the throttle. Don't blip the throttle. Just leave it idle. The ECU would sense if the mixture was "off", and then it would go into an automatic recalibration mode. After it was done, just go for another ride and you would likely find that all was now good, as the ECU would have re-mapped your fueling for you.

Since about 2021, when Euro 5 was mandated, everything has been different. They have an anti-tamper mode built into the software, and if it senses that you have done ANYTHING to diddle with the intake or exhaust system, it would drop into a "limp home" mode until you put all of the factory parts back on.

Maybe Chinabikes aren't in compliance with Euro 5, or maybe they are in compliance in only certain countries. But most manufacturers want to make one model that can be exported to anywhere in the world, instead of making "special" versions for "special" markets.

So, getting around to my big question, has anyone in the last year or so made any mods such as changing to a Pod filter, or removed the catalytic converter, or anything like that? Has their ECU "adjusted" itself automatically?

Do I have to be tied to carburetors for the rest of my life?

08-30-2023, 03:54 PM	#1
tpelle Join Date: Mar 2022 Posts: 45	EFI ECU Self Recalibration I'm wondering how everyone's experience with modern ECU-equipped motorcycles has been after modifications. I'm an old carburetor guy, so if I changed air filters or did a CAT elimination or installed an aftermarket muffler, whatever, pretty much all you had to do was go for a ride holding a constant speed, then, when the coast was clear, just close the throttle, pull in the clutch, and switch the engine off. Then coast to the side of the road, get out your tool kit, pull out the spark plug and "read" it. Depending on the color you saw on the electrode, you just changed the main jet up or down a size - a 15-minute operation at most - and you likely would be OK. ECUs up to Euro 4 included a recalibration mode. Generally it went like this: Start the engine but make sure to leave your mitts OFF of the throttle. Don't blip the throttle. Just leave it idle. The ECU would sense if the mixture was "off", and then it would go into an automatic recalibration mode. After it was done, just go for another ride and you would likely find that all was now good, as the ECU would have re-mapped your fueling for you. Since about 2021, when Euro 5 was mandated, everything has been different. They have an anti-tamper mode built into the software, and if it senses that you have done ANYTHING to diddle with the intake or exhaust system, it would drop into a "limp home" mode until you put all of the factory parts back on. Maybe Chinabikes aren't in compliance with Euro 5, or maybe they are in compliance in only certain countries. But most manufacturers want to make one model that can be exported to anywhere in the world, instead of making "special" versions for "special" markets. So, getting around to my big question, has anyone in the last year or so made any mods such as changing to a Pod filter, or removed the catalytic converter, or anything like that? Has their ECU "adjusted" itself automatically? Do I have to be tied to carburetors for the rest of my life?
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