Like many s2r 1K owners running stock, I had surging issues, choppy throttle and generally bad behavior at low RPMs due to lean condition of the bike.  I installed RB 02 Emulator unit with good success, but the bike could still be smoother.  I noticed today, not for the first time, that when the outside temp drops the bike is much, much easier to ride.   So I'm interested in the $20 gizmo discussed in the other thread here that "tricks" the temp gauge into thinking it's always cold outside.

What are the downsides of using this unit? And how does elevation come into play (I live not far above sea level in the Santa Monica mountains but do ride up over 7000 feet at times in the Santa Barbara back country, Angeles Crest, etc.)  I know the unit creates a richer mix, but given how lean the bike runs stock (and even with my 02 Emulator installed), I can't see how that could be a bad thing.  Thanks for any feedback.

Topangster

27 views and no responses....? I guess no one really has a good reason of why not.

Throw 20 at it and give it a try...what do you have to loose?

What is the worst that can happen from running rich...Carbon fouled plugs?

Trust me...you will be happy you gave it a chance.

Well, I can give you several reasons why it would be a bad idea to use the device to make it run richer all the time.

First off, running the bike richer means that you are consuming more fuel than you need to. More money going out the window.

Now that we're past that, here are the real reasons:

Running rich can lead to the protective oil film on the cylinder walls being washed away.
This means that you would have increased wear of the piston rings.
That leads to damage to the cylinder walls.
Loss of compression.
Loss of power.
Expensive to repair damage.
Raw fuel gets into the engine oil, causing damage to bearings in the engine, and to the crankshaft, connecting rods, camshafts, and other internal parts.

Also, excess fuel in the mixture leads to carbon build up on the piston crowns, which leads to rough running engine, and loss of power.

So there's a couple reasons not to do it.

Plus, doesn't the bike revert to a set fueling map once you're past the 20% throttle range anyway?
It might just be a better idea to get the fuel trim adjusted for the bottom end to improve the low end driveability.

Anyway, the best way to know if the $20 part does anything at all would be to put the bike on a dyno, and get the A:F measured, before and after the mod.

BC.

Engines run better in the cold.  Telling them it's cold when it's not doesn't change that.  It's not like you can mess with your bike's head....

The resistance of the air temp sensor goes down as the air temp goes up.
So, an adjustable resistor in series would be the best way to try that.
With that, you could offset the value that the ECU is reading, but still retain the temp compensation.

Whether that will actually give the desired result when the system is running closed loop ... it may just compensate due to the O2 sensor signal.

Quote from: mmakay on November 06, 2008, 05:17:35 PM
Engines run better in the cold.  Telling them it's cold when it's not doesn't change that.  It's not like you can mess with your bike's head....

+1

Right, your engine runs better in the cold because the air is denser that means more oxygen by volume, so you get more air into the cylinder per stroke, effectively leaning the mixture. The temp sensor knows to add more fuel as the temperature drops and the air becomes thicker. More air, plus more fuel means more power. Just more fuels means unburt hydrocarbons in the exhaust and poor fuel economy.

Don't know if this helps but my 2000 900IE was exhibiting similar symptoms. The sensor on the front cylinder is often prone to collecting water so I regularly clean/blow it out.  I checked my spark plugs today and I noticed the gap had opened a bit and after readjusting (I'll get some new ones soon) to the correct gap the idling problem had been fixed.