Ivan’s Flash Tuning

[FJRZero]

For anyone who has a gen 2 or 3 and had it flashed with Ivan’s performance, I have a few questions…

I have a 2015, came off a 2013 and noticed the launch is noticeably softer. Considering doing Ivan’s flash.

Did you notice that much of a difference?

Do you lose motor deceleration?

Assuming you run it in sport mode, what kind of mpg are you getting?

Anything else you may want to add? Pros / cons?

 

[roger dodger]

Technically ... the 2015 and 2013 s/b very similar (identical). They have the same engine, tranny, and mapping until 2016 when the 6 speed and the mapping may change after the 2nd gear recall.

I got Ivan's Flash on my 2013 and I love it. I use his 3rd drive mode (normal ) and have an unlimited cc . It idles higher which does make shifts smoother. The fan comes on sooner too.

My average mileage is 44-45 mpg ... and I don't dawdle much.

I would recommend it, but call him first and ask him 'why are the bikes any different'.

 

[BigOgre]

There is a member here and on other forums that complains about the fuel cut (I think) when the throttle is chopped. I've been happy with Ivan's flash on my '15 but think I might be experiencing the same thing that he talks about. He's explained it in several posts but maybe he'll be along to try it one more time or at least point to a previous thread.

Edit: Nope, not what I was thinking. Complaint was on a Gen II so maybe apples to oranges? Quick search brought up many threads asking similar questions.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Good discussion here when Ivan came out with the flash.

~G

 

[Rocnsanman]

I have Ivan's tune on my 09 and noticed a major increase in performance using 89 octane fuel. I don't think the 87 octane is causing a pinging issue but Ivan advances the timing and 89 seems to give me a bounce in throttle lift off. I also changed out my G2 throttle cam for the 10 percent quicker offering because the bike is now so much sportier! Really fun in the twisties. Gone is the engine braking because Ivan takes that away by not cutting off the fuel upon deceleration. Takes a while to get used to but a good trade off for the smoother throttle response . As for fuel economy, mine went down because of the way I ride my bike now. With the new performance available, I use it. Conclusion- The BEST upgrade I made to my FJR. Now if I could only get my front end to behave as well as the rear set-up......

 

[Gen2Jockey]

Ivan's flash for my '07 was probably the best upgrade I've ever made. I was never happy with the PC-V maps or gas mileage. If it weren't so effective, I'd already be back on a boxer twin. The throttle chop on the '07 was near dangerous on technical roads.

 

[Old Guy]

I keep records in Excel, so it's easy to do stuff like this.

In the 82567 miles before the flash I averaged 46.7 mpg. In the 22149 since I've averaged 44.6. That's calculated, not the on-board computer. Prior to the flash, though, I rode often on long trips with a fellow on a Goldwing who rode slower than I do, and I kept the pace down because of him. Coincidentally, at the same time I had the flash done I stopped riding with him, and my pace has picked up when traveling. I attribute the minor drop in mileage more to my changed riding style than to the flash. I think any change in MPG would be so small it wouldn't matter.

I run in Sport mode all the time ... well, 99.99% of the time. When I do experiment with one of the other two modes I always go back to Sport mode right away.

I had no complaints about my 2013 before the flash, but I finally decided the cruise control "fix" was worth the $350. It wasn't worth $600 for a new ECU; it was worth the $350 especially since there would be other benefits. I honestly doubt I'd do it on a '14 or later.

I'm curious that your '15 launches softer than your '13 did. I was under the impression that they were virtually identical other than the cruise limits.

 

[mcatrophy]

For anyone who has a gen 2 or 3 and had it flashed with Ivan’s performance, I have a few questions…

I have a 2015, came off a 2013 and noticed the launch is noticeably softer. Considering doing Ivan’s flash.

Did you notice that much of a difference?

Do you lose motor deceleration?

Assuming you run it in sport mode, what kind of mpg are you getting?

Anything else you may want to add? Pros / cons?

Stupid question, you have selected 'S' mode?

I've had a 2006, 2010, 2014, and a 2018. All have very similar launches when the Gen3s were in 'S', 'T' makes for a relative sluggish response.

Slight caveat, all of mine were YCC-S, but that shouldn’t make any difference.

 

[FJRZero]

Yes, was in sport mode.

 

[RedRiderMN]

I've had Ivan's tune on my 2014A for over one year now, and I must say that I never change out of Ivan's mode unless
it is raining or I'm driving slowly in town (then I use T-mode). If you are using Sport or Touring mode (these are the factory modes),
I don't believe you are actually using Ivan's tune. Someone, please correct me if I am mistaken about this.

On a recent trip to the Ozarks and back, I averaged 45.5 mpg using 89 or 91 octane, averaging 65 - 80 mph for most of the trip.
This was taken from the display and NOT manually calculated.

Ride more, worry less...

 

[torch]

I have 2 questions:

1. Has anyone with a Canadian Gen II had it done? What was the effect if any of the flash on the immobilizer system?

2. Has anyone asked Ivan if he can correct the speedometer error as part of his flash? (I know there are devices that can adjust the signal, but my odo is bang-on according to the GPS and I rather keep it that way).

 

[VAcracker]

I have Ivan's tune on my 09 and noticed a major increase in performance using 89 octane fuel. I don't think the 87 octane is causing a pinging issue but Ivan advances the timing and 89 seems to give me a bounce in throttle lift off. I also changed out my G2 throttle cam for the 10 percent quicker offering because the bike is now so much sportier! Really fun in the twisties. Gone is the engine braking because Ivan takes that away by not cutting off the fuel upon deceleration. Takes a while to get used to but a good trade off for the smoother throttle response . As for fuel economy, mine went down because of the way I ride my bike now. With the new performance available, I use it. Conclusion- The BEST upgrade I made to my FJR. Now if I could only get my front end to behave as well as the rear set-up......

Ivan states 89 octane is minimum for his tune.

I had originally thought of holding out as my 2016 seems to behave well enough. But probably recently decided to take the plunge as I see more potential benefits in drivability i would appreciate. I like his flash on my Vstar 1300 and would not hesitate for the SCR if I wasn't considering selling it.

 

[RossKean]

No personal experience but I did some investigation...

On the other forum, I heard of one individual with a Canadian Gen III who had the Ivan flash done - apparently without immobilizer issues.
https://www.fjriders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=98356#p98356I guess that is a question for Ivan. I haven't read about any mention of "fixing" the speedo error...

I thought about the "flash" for my 2011 but fuelling is way better than on my '07 and didn't feel the need. Perhaps a bit smoother throttle at low openings and maybe a couple more horsepower. On the other hand, it would be very much worth the investigation for an '06 or '07.

Note: I asked the same question on the original Gen II flash thread. Answers included one from Ivan who said it wasn't a problem...
https://www.fjrforum.com/threads/gen-ii-ecu-reflash-by-ivan.177589/post-1430154My posts about Canadian FJRs were in #8 and #11 in that thread. I was also concerned if it would mess up miles/kilometers - didn't know whether that stuff resided in the instrument cluster or ECU.

Worth reading the whole thread but I would still call and ask for absolute verification...

I have heard of people continuing to use regular gas without issue but apparently you lose some of the performance benefit. Some people have complained about the loss of engine braking since the throttle cut is reduced with closed throttle...

 

[Mr_Canoehead]

When I looked into it a while ago, there was a statement on the website saying essentially that you might not get back the same ECU that you send in. That was enough to scare me off - you need to pair the ECU to the immobilizer. I tried to get a US "altitude sickness" ECU to work with my Canadian bike and it would not work. I had to buy a Canadian ECU to fix the issue. A Canadian ECU can also not be re-paired to another immobilizer after the first pairing.

I'd call and make sure that they understand that you need the same ECU back.

 

[Madmudder]

I had the Ivan flash done to my Canadian 14 ES model. My speedo is inaccurate before & after the flash so no change. Mine was the first gen 3 Canadian model Ivan was doing. We did have some discussions about the immobilizer & the possibility of being able to switch between miles & KLM's like the 16 and up models can do. He indicated it would be a timely job & opted not to look into KLM/MPH option.
Ivan has lots of knowledge of what to change in an ECU for many bikes & brands, hes been doing it for years now. Because the ECU is married to the ignition switch on a Canadian model you will get your ECU back and even though mine was the first one he had done it was returned to me within a week.
The reassuring part for me is that Ivan essentially copy's your entire ECU so if something should go wrong with your existing ECU he can flash a new ECU with the exact same information.
In conclusion the benefits definitely out way the possibility of failure, for me the 3rd program position alone was worth it & rarely do I use sport or tour mode anymore. I also ride with a guy who had a gen 2 done and he was happy with it as well no need for programmer under the seat and better fuel milage afterword.

 

[torch]

When I looked into it a while ago, there was a statement on the website saying essentially that you might not get back the same ECU that you send in. That was enough to scare me off - you need to pair the ECU to the immobilizer. I tried to get a US "altitude sickness" ECU to work with my Canadian bike and it would not work. I had to buy a Canadian ECU to fix the issue. A Canadian ECU can also not be re-paired to another immobilizer after the first pairing.

See, now THAT is kind of a critical detail -- but one I have not seen mentioned anywhere or fully thought through myself. As soon as I read it I had one of those slap-yourself-in-the-forehead "DUH!" moments. Thanks!

Odd you could not get the US ECU to work though. I seem to recall Europeans buying US ECUs to bypass failed immobilizers and lost red keys instead of paying the Yamarobber an arm, leg and first-born child. (Comments attributed to Ivan in the thread referenced by RossKean state the US ECU has the immobilizer function, but disabled.)

Looking at the wiring diagram, there are 6 wires to the immobilizer unit -- power, backup power, ground, optional alarm, flashy light and one mysterious wire that goes to both ECU and multi-function display (ie: dash). My guess is that is a communications line, possibly CANbus or similar.

Now my curiosity is aroused: does the dash play a role? Never heard of that but Ivan says the CO compensation numbers are stored there. The Gen I will start with the dash disconnected, I wonder if the immobilizer bikes will? Or maybe your US ECU was defective -- one of those eBay "as-is" scams, perhaps?

 

[Dodger]

I had the Ivan flash done to my Canadian 14 ES model. My speedo is inaccurate before & after the flash so no change. Mine was the first gen 3 Canadian model Ivan was doing. We did have some discussions about the immobilizer & the possibility of being able to switch between miles & KLM's like the 16 and up models can do. He indicated it would be a timely job & opted not to look into KLM/MPH option.
Ivan has lots of knowledge of what to change in an ECU for many bikes & brands, hes been doing it for years now. Because the ECU is married to the ignition switch on a Canadian model you will get your ECU back and even though mine was the first one he had done it was returned to me within a week.
The reassuring part for me is that Ivan essentially copy's your entire ECU so if something should go wrong with your existing ECU he can flash a new ECU with the exact same information.
In conclusion the benefits definitely out way the possibility of failure, for me the 3rd program position alone was worth it & rarely do I use sport or tour mode anymore. I also ride with a guy who had a gen 2 done and he was happy with it as well no need for programmer under the seat and better fuel milage afterword.

Searching on the net in the past revealed that the Canadian models have a built in speedo error from Yamaha. M y 2017 was off about 9%. I installed a speed correction device and now read +/- 1 kmph at all speeds. It did take a leap of faith to cut into the factory wiring and there is not a lot of excess room to operate. Some say it upsets the cruise but I have had no problems in 40,000 ks.

 

[torch]

9%? Wow. I don't feel so bad now. My 06 is off about 3-1/2%. But it bugs me because the 03 is pretty much bang on -- as close as I can discern from little tiny tick marks anyway.

 

[RossKean]

9%? Wow. I don't feel so bad now. My 06 is off about 3-1/2%. But it bugs me because the 03 is pretty much bang on -- as close as I can discern from little tiny tick marks anyway.

I think my 2011 speedometer is about the same as your '06. Doesn't bother me much - I usually have a GPS running so I can get the right info, if I want. You could make up almost 2% (1.75%) if you switch to a 190/55 from the 180/55 rear tire.

Neat little on-line calculator...
https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=180-55r17-190-55r17
I assume it would affect the odometer proportionally.

 

[mcatrophy]

I think my 2011 speedometer is about the same as your '06. Doesn't bother me much - I usually have a GPS running so I can get the right info, if I want. You could make up almost 2% (1.75%) if you switch to a 190/55 from the 180/55 rear tire.

Neat little on-line calculator...
https://www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc?tires=180-55r17-190-55r17
I assume it would affect the odometer proportionally.

Tyre diameter will be near enough proportional. The error deliberately built into the speedo reading isn't necessarily linear. It's up to the manufacture to choose how he interprets legal requirements and the range of tyre diameter over a sensible pressure range and as it wears. Does centrifugal force change the rolling circumference? He'd need to take that into consideration as well, that certainly wouldn't be linear.