Admittedly the flash does provide a substantial performance boost and I'm happy with it. However, it's not perfect, or at least mine isn't. Nothing dramatic but sometimes I get momentary hesitation in 1st or 2d when I just crack the throttle slowly in the mid 2K RPM range. And that's not consistent. I like the flash enough to overlook this slight flaw though. I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that of all those who have had their ECU's flashed, that mine is the only one with this little tic.
I have that tic in third gear when I get down to around 25. Occasionally. I also have pinging in 5th and 6th when I really crack the throttle. That said, the performance is soooooo much better, I am very happy with the flash. I don't NEED to crack the throttle all the way to the wall with the flash except very occasionally, and then usually in lower gears, where I don't get pinging.
Well I suspect in a couple months there will be a flood of the snow bound crowd saying how good the Ivan's flash work. I can not wait to get back on the bike and have that awesome power under my seat.
Okay, I pulled what I believe to be the ECU from my Nomad. As soon as I have confirmation I have in hand what I need to send to Ivan, I can get it shipped off to him. This is the ECU?
When you get it back, it's going to look pretty much the same... There will be a label and some etching on the outside, and the inside will be filled with Magic!
Question for the people that already has the Ivan's flash: I saw in a youtube video a guy in a white 2015 vaquero with the flash, showing that while cold the RPM go up and down, something that I've read in other threads. But he also says that the cruise control is "jerky". Could you elaborate on this? Is this true? How jerky is it? I use the cruise control a lot for long distance riding and for me this is a deal breaker.
I have a 2015 Vaquero...the white one in the video must be a 2016 as that was the colour for them in North America (unless the colours were different elsewhere in the world). My RPMs jump around a bit when the bike first starts...it lasts for a minute or so and then it settles down. This appears to be common across the board. However, I have never had a problem with my cruise control. I've put 10,000 miles on mine since the flash.
But he also says that the cruise control is "jerky". Could you elaborate on this? Is this true? How jerky is it? I use the cruise control a lot for long distance riding and for me this is a deal breaker.
I just filled out the form to send my ECU in and Now ?? Not sure, never heard the Cruise would be jerky. I understand the throttle is the way it is to make the cruise work, so ...The Flash takes that away? Is that what it is?
Same here--absolutely no problem with cruise about 10,000 miles into the flash. I LOVE the flash. Way more pep up through the gears. Cold idle RPMs do fluctuate a bit, but so what. It settles as soon as it's warm. Bike runs significantly cooler. Get a bit of pinging when going to the wall in 5th or 6th if too slow. No biggie. I LOVE the flash.
Pardon my ignorance, but what is "going to the wall in 5th or 6th if too slow"?
On the original topic: My bike's ECU is stock and I still find the cruise control to be jerky ... when you press "SET/-", the bike seems to rev a bit. Overall, not too bad.
I'm looking forward to my warranty expiring so I can send my ECU to Ivan's
Finally got around to putting ECU back in.. and I'm a believer now.
70 out here in MI set the PCV to all 0's first and ran 20 miles.
Tisis what the bike should be doing from the factory.. Significant boost.
I did not see any real difference in engine temps but need to wait until we get some warm days...
When I get bored enough I'll pull the PCV and sell it..
$350 for issues, regardless of how slight, all different gears on different bikes .... I thought this was fool proof. For 350 bucks I couldn't overlook anything, regardless of what it was or who did it.
Finally got the reflashed ECU in. (Was waiting on a new battery, and a day that was not thirty degrees below absolute zero outside.) This is what she sounded like when I fired it up after.
And yes, I did follow the procedure of turning the key on for five seconds, then turn of and disconnect battery for 5 seconds, the reconnecting said battery.
Not certain if it is because the bike had been sitting since winter started, or if the bike now needs higher octane than 91 now... but this doesn't sound good to me. Also, I am wondering about that electronic whine sound. You can hear it after I turn the key to run before I fire the bike up, and after I stop the engine.
Curious which issues you're concerned about in the recording. The whine when the ignition is on has always been there on my Nomad. The small RPM surge in a cold start is a known issue with the flash. It doesn't bother me, and it goes away as the bike warms up. Not sure what the noticeable clicking is -- I've had it at times before and after the flash, and someone told me it's a valve issue (valve lash?). One guy said it might go away with newer oil and some riding, and its gone now, so I don't worry about it any more. I wouldn't think that would have anything to do with the flash anyway, but I don't know.
After 10,000 miles with the flash, I am still very happy. The performance increase is large. In 3rd or 4th, I can get out of trouble in no time, which is why I wouldn't go back. Now I'm spoiled enough that I'll never have another bike tuned as poorly as the stock 1700 (or the stock 900, my previous bike).
My biggest complaint I guess is pinging when going full throttle if going too slow in 5th (say 45-50) or 6th (say 55-60) I've learned not to do that. I down shift if I want to pass fast at highway speeds. 4th is a good gear to accelerate from low highway speeds to well beyond beyond 60, and the acceleration that way is wayyyy better that before the flash. I haven't had pinging in 4th.
I agree with whiting57 that it would be nice to not have these issues. But the tune is still a big improvement over stock. I found the flash to add a bigger bump to my 1700 than the Cobra power pro added to my 900, but thats not an apples to apples comparison. I liked the Powerpro, too.
I'm no expert on effects the flash might have in the long run. I've read that revving an engine while cold is not the greatest thing for it, so I guess I wonder whether the small amount of surging on cold starts is a negative. Any experts out there on this?
THe whining sound is something I never noticed before. Could it be that the reason I noticed it was because I was in an enclosed space (8x12 storage unit) when normally, I'm out with traffic going by and other background noises.
The RPM surge is something I expected.
What I was most concerned about is that knocking sound.
Hi Biker Dash, I recalled a thread on the ticking noise and it turns out it's on the Vulcanbagger forum. She this thread over there: Engine ticking noise - Vulcan Bagger Forums. The person with the problem posted a video with loud clicking, louder than yours. I've had clicking as loud as yours before after not riding the bike for awhile (rare for me), but it then goes away after riding, and one time an oil change helped (I dunno, fresh oil gets to the valves better?). Anyway, when you get the oil changed and ride it regularly (have you been), see if it goes away. Also, someone on the thread said sea foam might make it go away. Just passing that on.
I don't think this has a think to do with the flash, BTW.
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