05 Girly Maintenance and Tuning

[Stitch]

I recently purchased my '05 Girly from a private owner with 17k on the odometer. I did have a few concerns from when I purchased the bike as to the level of maintenance that was performed (chain a bit loose and slightly dry, lack of service records, but overall in decent shape). When "bonding" with the bike to get a feel of how she behaves I noticed some hesitation off idle and some gurgling when decelerating. Drivability was decent through the gears and it had some slight vibration at 65mph. I suspected the vibration at higher speeds could be attributed to the chain. With the lack of service records and the way it was behaving, I felt it wise to verify the 12k service coupled with the 18k items.  

I ordered up some NGK iridium plugs, K&N air filter, acquired an OBDII cable, downloaded TuneECU, service manual, Motion Pro sync tool,   and of course search through TT database for tips on servicing.  

The first phase was to replace the plugs, air filter, and balance the throttle bodies. Tank removal was not too bad and was able to drain off some fuel by propping up the rear of my tank, disconnecting the RH fuel transfer hose(?), and drained some fuel off by using a auto transmission fill funnel directly into my 5 gal fuel can. When removing the airbox, the IAC gasket was not seated properly and off the valve about a 1/4 of an inch. Good and bad. Good since it was evident that someone was in it to perform service, but bad since it was not reassembled correctly. Curious that the manual would say inspect spark plugs at 18k but the "burn" did not see an overly lean or rich condition but were showing wear on the back side of the spark plug tip.

The air filter was not bad at all. I did perform the air box mod since IMO the 2 "venturi" holes in a baffle are a weak attempt for a "venturi" effect for the 3 throttle bodies. Short work with my small body saw and drum sander to smooth/debur the edges. Onto the throttle bodies.

The throttle bodies were gummed (almost a sticky feel) and a significant amount of carbon buildup. A little throttle body cleaner and rag cleaned it up just fine. I positioned my tank to the right of the bike on a cart and had adequate reach for the single fuel line and fuel pump electrical connector. I attached my Motion Pro sync tool per the instructions, calibrated, and found the throttle bodies to be off quite a bit. Not used to the balancing procedure (ok... I havent done it in forever), I lost most of the  blue fluid due to where I kept the rpm and the amount of pressure/vacuum being produced by the TBs. Hind sight being 20/20, I should have gone with the Morgan CarbTune instead of the Motion Pro Sync. Im not fond of the blue fluid and rather have the stability of the older mercury style tubes. This part took me longer since I balanced them by feel due to my blue fluid shortage.

I reassembled everything and cleared my P0463 code (fuel sensor) using TuneEcu. Since I got my chain kit from sprocket center, I put this on too. Very happy with the chain parts from Sprocket center and went with a 19t front/46t rear, 530x oring chain.

The next day I went out for fuel and the test drive. The off idle hesitation was gone as well as the gurgling returning to idle. Vibration is gone too.  Onto the next phase.

I wanted to ensure everything was on par for stock specs and was happy with the balance of the throttle bodies. My review of past posts have left me intrigued to how the TOR map could improve the drivability.  I have already opened up the air box flow and find the stock pipe to be adequate enough (for now) with a little massaging ( I punched about five 1/2 holes in the plug midway down the center of the  pipe).  I would agree the stock map is biased lean based on my recent emissions test by the state and how the plugs looked before I replaced them.  I decided to install the TOR map (10173 for my VIN range) and see how she will do. No issues with the install since I heeded warning and used a car battery for a reserve while pulling the fuses for the lights. At 115200 baud, it did not take long at all. We will see this week how she performs and how much more fuel I will use for the additional performance.

Whew....all that background info and have a couple of questions. I went ahead and performed a 12 second tune after loading TOR tune. During the time of the relearning process the fuel sender seemed to crap out a couple of times (enough to give the P0463 fuel level high input ECU code). I did double check the connector since I had it apart the day before. Any issues with the fuel level sensor that are characteristic to set this DTC?

I have seen a few reviews of the TOR map that states they feel it is too rich. In performing the 12 second tune (probably unneccessary, but I wanted to let it run at idle after I installed the TOR map), I did notice that it is a richer mixture at idle. Is there a map that could be inbetween the stock 10172 and the 10173 TOR?  Any custom recommendations?

Sticky shout out as well.....hell of a lot easier doing the maintenance by  reading them first supplemented with a few key word searches.  :)

[Bixxer Bob]

Fuel sender probs are common; every so often mine decides to play truth or dare. I rely mostly on the trip meter - 200 miles and it's time to fill up.  Of course if you disconnect the battery that clears the trip then you're back to the gauge  :lol:

[Stitch]

Thanks for the tip "BB" and will be using the trip-meter regularly.

UPDATE: Tuning

Its been about a week since I install the TOR tune, performed the air box mod, and opened the exhaust a bit. Overall, I am very happy with the choices in doing the above mods. I did do some additional tweaking though.

After a couple of days, it seemed the bike was loading up.... almost too fat a fuel curve. After flashing the TOR, the LTFT was set a 5.0 which at this point didnt know if this was bad or good. A little TT research suggested 4.6 so I dropped to 4.6. I rode another day and decided to rebalance the throttle bodies again. I decided to use ATF in the Motion Pro Sync P.O.S. I have, but I was able to get it to perform better and was able to balance them without losing fluid. Took it out tonight and it made a world of difference....very crisp. Ill give it go for another week and see where it leads me.

[Chris Canning]

Chain a bit loose!! on a 955!! that'll be a first,show us a photo.

[Bixxer Bob]

Chain a bit loose!! on a 955!! that'll be a first,show us a photo.

Thought I'd leave that one for you Chris   :lol:

[Bixxer Bob]

.... Took it out tonight and it made a world of difference....very crisp. Ill give it go for another week and see where it leads me.....

Just be aware that she'll trim herself as you ride so that edge might go off a little.  If it does there are ways of preventing the self-trim happening just read some more.  Don't be  tempted to do anything you don't need to though, the Girly Golden Rule is if it's running right don't eff with it.  These ladies can be fickle..... :lol:

[metalguru]

Strange as that fault code always comes up when playing around with the map or settings.
The wear pattern on the plugs is correct as seen many like this.
4:6 for LTFT sounds a tad high for a STD TOR tune, can back it off a bit more but may get the dreaded surging and on-off throttle response. IACV adjusment is also critical when playing with LTFT. Best way is to set LTFT lean and F map increase, knocking out the Co sensor in the lower rev range (smooth idle) and keep active on higher for economic cruise even at 90mph!

[Stitch]

Sorry Chris, no photo fodder to be had for the loose chain. Since it wasn't maintained properly, exceeded the "stretch test" spec in the manual, and showed sprocket wear I replaced the entire assembly with a 19t Front/46t back/530x oring chain. Adjustment was set with me and a passenger on board. I was able to reach down (with the chain guard off) to ensure I did the proper adjustment. With the suspension travel of the 955i, I can see how easy it is to set the chain too tight and would agree the service manual specs are too tight  (if I were to set the static adjustment of the chain off the side stand).

Bixxer Bob/metalguru: Points/advice well received. I have followed a few of each of your posts with regards to TuneEcu settings. I will look at the advantages of locking down an open loop sequence for the lower rev range and sense a custom tune is probably in my future for her. With my last ride, it appears I have the basics covered of balanced TBs, adequate air/exhaust flow, and a baseline to start with for additional tweaks to the map.

[Stitch]

Tune Update:

Bixxer Bob called it....the lil' fickle tart backed of her LTFT mid-week to 4.2 and ran rough. This also reinforced metalguru's point of the surging and off throttle response (since both occurred when she re-learned her LTFT to 4.2).  I suspect it happened coming home and blipped the throttle a couple of times in heavy traffic (re-learn with out a chance for recovery).

So I will focus on the minor rough spots for her "custom tune":

Take out the O2 sensor at/above idle rpms (to prevent the relearn at low rpms), lean out the warm up A/F table (runs a bit fat in the TOR sequence for my ambient temps), and  trim the 2000/3000 range (to prevent some minor occasional surging). Standard Tuneecu idle trim/tuning after that and leave  the 4.6 LTFT.  

In digesting the info to decide the best values to input in my custom map, I realized that my year Tiger is a USA California model and has a purge canister which is tied into the IAC vacuum circuit. May or may not be of issue with the tune since the purge solenoid pulses during unspecified parameters in the manual. I understand what it does and how it affects vacuum/mixture but don't know under what series of events it allows the pulsing to occur (i.e. closed loop, this range of ambient temp, etc.) Could throw a wrench in the map values I input since some stored fuel vapor could be sucked in and throw the A/F off a bit (due to not understanding when the purge cycle occurs).

 Any experiences or advice for a purge canister equipped "custom tune"  ?

[Bixxer Bob]

Eeeeerrrrrrrrmmmmmm............. no!

Quite a rare beast so you're probably on your own.  Keep us up to date though, it'll make a change to watch somebody else going through the pain :lol:

[metalguru]

Not sure about these evap systems, as just scrapped them when came across them.
As you are not residing in Cali, would it be possible to remove the evap system from your bike? Only needs a perished pipe to mess up the balance/tune.

[Stitch]

I could remove it since we test tailpipe emissions only in my state. However it  may set a code if the ECU is programmed to handle the system which means I still can remove the evap but I will need another ECU to "custom tune" since I cant disable that portion of the original ECU programming (?) I noticed the Sagem is stamped with the VIN of the bike so this may be indeed true.

I guess I'm weighing options before I attack it ......

[Bixxer Bob]

Can't remember whether the evap system actually has any components controlled or sensed by the ECU.  If it does, unplug and see what happens; if it doesn't you're free and clear.

I read your post again and I note that she trimmed down to 4.2 LTFT from 4.6 and that you "dropped" it to 4.6 from whatever it was initially.  What was the first figure?

[metalguru]

Looking at the diagram it seems the purge valve (#9) is the only electrical part in the system. There is a test/reset for these in TuneEcu. Removal could be an option. If removed replace the IACV to TB pipes with 6mm silicone vacuum pipe as a matter of course as the convoluted pipes have been known to cause problems.

I believe the Cali bikes are equiped with a CAT in the pipe leading to the silencer.

Still of the opinion that a map tailored to individual riding preferences is possible.

In Arizona state the exhaust gases are checked at test time, a suggestion would be to keep a standard map just for test day and your custom map for all the others.
This happens in UK with aftermarket exhausts.

[Stitch]

When I first loaded the TOR tune, the LTFT was at 5.0. I ran this tune "as is" for a few days, then lowered it to 4.6 LTFT since it was too rich.

Purge valve is indeed the only portion that the ECU "sees". I could also leave it place venting the atmosphere or make a resistor plug to dummy the ECU as well (resistor plug in place of the purge solenoid). No catalytic convertor, just the evap system installed.  

My belief as well....map tailored to my preferences is possible. Just have to weigh which direction to go so that I improve things and not make things worse.