What a pain in the ass to work on.

One of the common complaints about the bike is snatchy fueling and excessive engine braking. It IS a little difficult to control the throttle smoothly, especially at low speeds. This is because, apparently for emissions reasons, when you back off the throttle the injectors cut off completely. LOT of engine braking. Opening the throttle back up without chain snatch takes some practice.

So, there's a company out in Warshinton that will "re-flash" your ECU to correct these things and will also change several other settings to your specification or a custom flash if you've gone to an aftermarket exhaust or suchlike.

They're having a sale...

I'm going to have their basic stock flash done which will cure the snatchy throttle issue and also have them remove the electronic speed limiter and lower the "fan on" point to 200°. Even in Maine, the bike will go north of 220° at a stop light in July.

The ECU is under the gas tank.

Removing the gas tank on my 1979 Yamaha XS650:

Open seat
Take off one fuel line.
Remove one bolt.
Remove tank.

Removing the gas tank on my 2016 Yamaha FJ09:

Upper Tank Shroud. (4 fasteners and 2 rubber bung mounts)
Rear Tank Shroud. (4 fasteners)
Lower Tank Shrouds.(3 fasteners, a bung mount and some velcro on each side)
Turn Signal Panels.(3 fasteners, an electrical connector, a bung mount and a clip on each side)
Rear tank mount bolts.(2 fasteners)
Front tank mount bolts.(2 fasteners)

Just so I can lift the tank up far enough to undo two multipin connectors and slide the ECU out. And I cheated and just propped the tank up while removing the ECU instead of unhooking yet another connector and two hoses from the fuel pump and taking the tank all the way off.


Fortunately, there was a tutorial. Sufferin' Teapot, there's a lot of plastic on that bike.

Almost makes me want to go back to carburetors. Almost...

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
...my 1979 Yamaha XS650...

I rode a BSA back then. My Brit Bike mechanic was smarter than that, he owned a Yamaha XS650. Great motorcycle -- Brit bike styling, sound, handling, better brakes, and Japanese reliability and ease of maintenance.

quote:

Removing the gas tank on my 1979 Yamaha XS650:

I had a 1971 XS650 Yellow/Gold & white. Top speed was about 95. Handled much better than the Honda 450 I traded.

I bought a '74 TX650A brand new in '74. Kept that bike longer than any bike I've ever owned, and I've owned a few.

Bought the '79 in a fit of nostalgia back in 2010-ish. Funny, it wasn't nearly as fast as I remember that '74 being, even after I went completely through the motor and freshened it up. Like you said, 95 +/- and it sounded like it was about to come from 'gether at that speed. 55-60 was it's Happy Place.

Of course, there's considerably more of me now than there was in 1974. That must be it...

quote:

...1979 Yamaha XS650:

I had a '73 with both kick and electric start. Had a weird looking small handle for electric start.

Great around town. Not so great riding on a long ride of say 100 miles.

I believe Yamaha had a 10-12 year run on the bike.

quote:

Originally posted by GWbiker:

quote:

...1979 Yamaha XS650:

I had a '73 with both kick and electric start. Had a weird looking small handle for electric start.

Great around town. Not so great riding on a long ride of say 100 miles.

I believe Yamaha had a 10-12 year run on the bike.

Yup, 1970 to 1983 I believe. The '70 to '73 had a decompression lever. IIRC, the '70 was kick only, '71-'73 combined the electric starter with the decompression lever.

Parts for those early decompression models are roughly as common as hen's teeth.

I rode my '74 from NAS Pensacola, FL to NAS Memphis, TN and back. Had to go to school in Memphis, only had the truck and the bike and couldn't leave the wife and kids with no wheels. Strapped a seabag to the back of the 650 and hit the road.

Of course, I was 30 years old and still bulletproof back then...

I had a Yamaha XS11 i "79" It was sweet. I would take it on this new stretch of interstate in RI 295. Hold it open until my helmet would slide back on my head...Oh those were the days!!

Do you think a Power Commander V will help?

http://www.powercommander.com/...k=28&mdl=733&yr=3188

I was thinking of getting one for my Superduke 1290R but I just started researching them and my knowledge is very limited.

quote:

Originally posted by Suppressed:
Do you think a Power Commander V will help?

http://www.powercommander.com/...k=28&mdl=733&yr=3188

I was thinking of getting one for my Superduke 1290R but I just started researching them and my knowledge is very limited.

I'm told the reflash will do everything the power commander will do, and more. Plus, once I pay for the initial flash, any future mods (new exhaust or whatever) they'll reflash for shipping only.

Lot of folks have used the PC with good results and it IS significantly cheaper.

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
...my 1979 Yamaha XS650...

I rode a BSA back then. My Brit Bike mechanic was smarter than that, he owned a Yamaha XS650. Great motorcycle -- Brit bike styling, sound, handling, better brakes, and Japanese reliability and ease of maintenance.

And NOTHING electrical built by Jos. Lucas LTD............

My track record:
1967 BSA Lightning 1968-1974
1966 BSA Hornet 1969-1970
1967 Triumph Bonneville 1977-1990
1966 BSA Spitfire (basket case) 1994-2003

Back in the day, those of us in the know who rode British motorcycles, would head for the local Honda/VW/MB/BMW car dealer to buy Japanese or German light bulbs. That is if the Brit bike had a 12 volt system.

If 6 volt system, then it was off to the BMW motorcycle dealership.

Lucas lights and light bulbs just didn't make the grade.

Two years ago I sold my cbr 600 because I wasn't riding it much. When I worked on it I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to remove a boatload of body work (including tank and seat) to get to anything. I got pretty good at getting the stuff off and back on. It would add an hour (1/2 off, 1/2 on). Realizing and accepting what I had to do definitely cut down on the frustration level.

quote:

Originally posted by Bytes:
Two years ago I sold my cbr 600 because I wasn't riding it much. When I worked on it I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to remove a boatload of body work (including tank and seat) to get to anything. I got pretty good at getting the stuff off and back on. It would add an hour (1/2 off, 1/2 on). Realizing and accepting what I had to do definitely cut down on the frustration level.

I don't really mind, I was just commenting on the difference. Once you know where all the fasteners are, it doesn't really take that long. First time through I'm afraid of missing something and breaking off a tab or something.

quote:

Originally posted by GWbiker:
Back in the day, those of us in the know who rode British motorcycles, would head for the local Honda/VW/MB/BMW car dealer to buy Japanese or German light bulbs. That is if the Brit bike had a 12 volt system.

If 6 volt system, then it was off to the BMW motorcycle dealership.

Lucas lights and light bulbs just didn't make the grade.

You know why the British drink warm beer...Lucas also makes refrigerators...

I think what you describe has led to the popularity of so called “naked” bikes.

quote:

Originally posted by P210:
I think what you describe has led to the popularity of so called “naked” bikes.

I'm sure it contributed.

I shed a few parts on mine.

First to go was the hemorrhoid on the back fender that held the tail light and license plate. Replaced with a "tail tidy" that tucked things in where they should be.

Then I removed the fugly hand guards. They didn't do diddly anyway. Added a set of heavier bar-end weights.

Replaced the stock torture device with a Corbin seat. That moved me up and back enough that I had to put some bar risers on that moved the handlebars up and back to match.

Then I got tired of the noise level and after fucking around with the windshield adjustments for a month, just took the sumbitch off. MUCH quieter and smoother airflow over the helmet.

The original clutch cable had a real sharp bend right after the lever and was getting a bad rep for breaking at very low mileage. Swapped it for a longer cable from an R1 and a clutch arm from a Bolt. Longer pull, but MUCH lighter and smoother.

Put a "fenda extenda" on that truncated rear mud guard. The tire was flinging crap all over the place.

Put a full set of engine and tank guards on it.

I'd add up all the "farkles" I've done, but it'd be too depressing.

Love, Love, LOVE the engine, but the rest of the bike could have used a bit more thinking from the design team.

Paul I had my ECM re-flashed by Two Wheel Dyno too. I like engine braking and in the interest of mpg I had them leave it enabled. The bike was much smoother and the throttle tamed down. One thing they did which I didn't like is the default throttle setting became "A" so every time I started the bike I had to toggle it to "B".

Yeah removing tanks on some of these newer bikes can be a PIA! My biggest concern was what if my ECM was lost in the mail?

The FJ-09 is a nice bike with a great motor but I ended up trading mine on a barely used Africa Twin last year.

I ride in "STD" 99% of the time and I'm pretty sure it's the stock default. Might stay in B if you shut it off in B, I'll have to check. I have turned the traction control off and gotten into "A" mode a couple of times when I was feeling froggy. Tried "B" mode once when I was feeling very laid back and it is very noticeably smoother on the throttle.

I'm a little nervous about the ECU going astray too, but I insured it for replacement cost so hopefully, in the unlikely event that it gets lost/destroyed, that'll cover replacement.

Traded my new XS650 about a week after I bought it...WAY too much vibration. I'd have to pull over every 15 minutes to scratch!

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Orndorff:
Traded my new XS650 about a week after I bought it...WAY too much vibration. I'd have to pull over every 15 minutes to scratch!

Vibrate it did, I owned one. But, it started every time, didn't loose nuts and bolts, electrical parts or leak oil like the British bikes.

And.......Yamaha is still in business making motorcycles.