www.VMaxGuru.com - The Guru's Blog

5/31/09 Huge amount of information to post tonight. First, the Mickey Thompson drag slick increased the top speed recorded by the dyno to 178.8 mph! I performed a preliminary test of the YCC-T fix and it works. Needs fuel correction. Video of it in operation soon. I performed a preliminary test of the Graves Motorsports Plug-n-Play EXUP eliminator and it did not set a code. I have figured out what to jumper to get the ABS Test Screens to display. Click Here for the Bang for the Buck chart for the X-Pipe.

5/30/09 Internet speed is horrible tonight. Hope this post. I will type up a report to follow with it and update in the AM. Long day.

I was able to get a mechanical version of a YCC-T fix to work today. 2 limits, 2 brackets and a pot. $10 in electrical parts. I am working on an electronic version of this, but at least I can get this on the dyno to see if it's worth the work. I am editing the video now.

Video of the completed Jumbo LED Blinker. I had to drop the voltage to 2 volts to turn down the brightness otherwise it would blind you at night. VERY bright. I think I will see if I can put one of these in my shift light!

One thing that I have found, the high pitched noise you hear when you turn the bike on is the Pulse Width Modulation signal to the throttle servo. Unhook the servo, it all goes away.

5/29/09 Work day today, which is a good thing! My PCV and other parts are at the office. If my logic is correct, the YCC-T fix I am working on will also remove the top speed limit. I should be dyno'ing the first prototype tomorrow to see if it will work and see what happens to the top speed.

5/28/09 So, have you been riding on the 09 V-Max and realized that you have had your idiot indicator on for the last 20 miles? I have. You see, there is a time limit where the turn signal becomes an inattentive idiot indicator. Even worse, someone catches me at a red light and tells me it's on! So, I set out to build a turn signal cancellation device as part of the top speed fix. Well, its a mechanical function of the switch and would be a little hard to fix. So, the next best thing, make the tiny stock indicator larger. Here is the beginnings of that project.

This will be the last time I pitch the autographed copies of the Jay Gleason DVD's. I am about to hand the waiting list over to Rhonda at the VMOA. The videos are nearing completion and when ready, she will contact you for distribution. Those who signed up for the DVD's and are not members, I urge you to do so. It's a great club that I strongly support. The Gen 2 bike seems to giving the club a fresh breath. Members will be able to pay for the DVD's via the clubs web store. You will be contacted when they are ready. Non-members will be receiving their DVD's from the supplier. Wendy will contact you via e-mail on how to complete the order process.

My Dynojet PCV should be here today with all the goodies. Special thanks to Dusty at Dynojet. I am already a fan of the PC III and the dyno (of course).

I am trying to load the data to my site for the X-Pipe results as I design the pages and it is taking a long time to publish it. My site is getting too large. I am trying to remove some of the videos and leave only the Youtube links in place. I am also converting the dyno sheets to gif's or jpg's for smaller file size and faster loading. Bob complained they took too long. I added some new bikes to the Submitted Bikes pages. I will be in the shop again today on the YCC-I project. I have a extremely cheap analog version working. Hope to post some video soon. I have also ordered the parts for a micro controlled version. I have already wrote most of the code last night. Which brings me to this, I am strongly considering selling these products I design on another web site I have had for some time now, Nash Electronics. I have designed and sold printed circuits for tower lighting systems for years. All of the other fixes I have designed where rather quick fixes but they work as described. A top speed fix that really does divide the indicated speed by half at the mph of my choice. A EXUP eliminator that truly emulates the EXUP servo's signal and so on. This YCC-I fix will take some time. I feel I am deserving of the right to sell a fix as I was the one to prove this to be a problem and offer the first potential fix. All nicely detailed here on this site. My real concern is selling my reputation in the process. All this site has ever been about is earning your respect via honest results and I don't want to sell out. Still mulling it over.

I have discovered this ECU is very savvy to numerous things. So far, the EXUP servo trick has proven to be the most reliable, but moving the butterflies against a dead servo is difficult. Also, the original idea the Yamaha engineers is pretty smart. All I need to do is slightly augment the stock opening rate to reach a new peak developed by the aftermarket changes. I am in the shop today.

5/27/09 Seen this in the forum's, thought I would put my answer out there. Seems people are scratching the pumpkin when attempting to raise the rear swingarm onto the stand. I had the same concern myself. This helps to keep me from scratching the pumpkin, but it's not foolproof:

Be sure to prep it. Lightly rough it up with 80 or 120 grit sandpaper and clean with Acetone. Double dip for enough thickness. Allow to completely dry and then take a razor knife and shave the coating from the surface the studs slide and rotate on. This will not last forever, but it may save some paint. I will put some rubber end caps (like the type for auto emissions) on the tips when I am done.

Today is another milestone for my site, I just passed 100,000 total pages hits. Nobody ask anymore, but the 12,031 hits came from my old v-maxsite.com web site I maintained while I was the SE Regional Director for the VMOA Club. This was the tally while being in service on and off for 5 or 6 years. When I first started the guru site in January, I directed it to my v-maxsite web server. It was hacked and it crashed. I was fed up with maintaining web servers so I had it hosted and I have not had many problems. One small problem, I can't set the site counter to the correct number of visits. Strange, but it does not work. So, it's 12,031 hits old site plus the new guru site hits.

I am still working on the X-pipe pages. Computer time has been a premium lately. Storms just keep rolling thru. It's good. We needed them.

I will be in the shop today, working on the BBW system that will get control of the YCC-I. Hope to video the working model soon.

5/26/09 Since the Dynojet instruction manual calls for installing the PCV under the right cover, it got me to thinking. For the Drag Racers and tuners, something like this would be nice for quick access the right side cover:

Looks like some people are going to be very happy very soon. Jon from UFO Cycles has been behind the 8 ball lately so he ask if I could help out and program some tuners with my Cat Sass file and send them back to him. They leave via Overnight, TODAY!

Here is the Max Tuner Cat Sass V1.0 fuel curve that will be adjusted by the buttons. Green, Yellow and Red Zones. The green is a small amount that runs before the large fuel adjustments.

Seems my computer has been off more than on lately. We have had some pretty bad storms with heavy downpours and lot of lightning. My house was stuck once before, I unplug everything when I hear thunder now! That was a lot of money and work to fix. I have been working a little on the X-Pipe page this morning, but I have to go to work. I have loaded the .DJR files on the Polyanna page. More this afternoon.

5/25/09 Here is an X-Pipe chart for people to review while I work out the rest of the pages. The weather has been bad again today, so I have been delayed working on the site.

The chart below is a composite of a few setups. These are all from Bob's bike which showed up with a X-Pipe, Max Tuner and Evoluzione Air Filter installed. I turned the Max Tuner off and pulled Run 3 with the Evoluzione Air Filter and X-Pipe. We then installed a UFO Max Air filter to do most of the tuning as the Max Tuners will be supplied with Max Air filters. We went on to pull the highest horsepower run # 15 with this setup. We had to wait for some thunderstorms to pass. It was getting time to wrap things up. I had other plans for the evening. We installed the EVO air filter and I did some more tuning when the weather let up. Bob rode out of here with run # 19 under him.

What we have is close to being tuned, but I would like to have a tad more time with this.

Today is Memorial day and I am flying my American Flag at half staff until noon.

I have been offline for a while now. Whenever the weather is bad and there is any thunder, I loose my internet connection. I just unplug everything and wait. Fortunately Central Florida has been getting some much needed rain. Unfortunately it has been via some heavy storms. There has been a little flooding in some areas (not us).

Since the weather is decent this morning, I can run my computer. I have a lot to cover today. Bob and I did get a chance to rough tune the X-Pipe. I will be putting the pages together for that. I also took an exhaust can apart to see what it looks like on the inside and what it would sound like gutted. I have a cell phone video that I took I will see if I can post it today. Off and on today I will be putting the info together on the site. For now, I will grab B'fast with the wife.

5/24/09 Internet was down and bad storms all day. Computer was unplugged most of the day.

5/23/09 The plan is to dyno tune Bob's (Bad Max) bike today. See if we can add a few ponies to the X pipe setup by tuning the EFI with a UFO Max Tuner. Sorry to Mike (blueta71 on StarVmax forum). I can not find a hyperlink to post for his product.

5/22/09 Just finished shooting a video for a trick to remove the rear wheel axle bolt. I use a 5/8" bolt to remove them. Video is uploading now. The link will be HERE when it's ready.

This just aggravated the fire in me. Feeling patriotic, I went to the local Lowes store to purchase an American Flag to bolt onto the house for Memorial Day. While looking at the display, I see "Flag Made In America" in lettering more pronounced and visible than usual. I'm thinking, great! This is "MADE IN AMERICA!". I get it home and open the package. In the process, I notice the small lettering on the back.


Front	Back

I did not alter the size of the text in the scans, just accentuated the text in question with color borders. I'm a capitalist at heart, but I hold some things sacred. The flag should be sold separate or mention the pole is not American made on the front. I was not happy with this diversionary sales tactic.

Parts on order for the BBW. Two different ideas I will try. Work day for me today.

5/21/09 Before assembling the top end of Eleanor, I played with a new simple idea for adjusting the opening rate of the butterflies and it has some possibilities. More on this later.

This morning I plan to get ready for the weekend. The plan involves a trip to Wal-Mart to pick up some beer, burgers and a movie. You see, I am getting prepared for the long Memorial Day weekend. Do a little grilling and hang out with some friends. Enjoy my liberties. I think the people that made this possible, wouldn't have it any other way. If you have the time, you may want to spend an hour on this Memorial Day page.

Ahh, my first full day back on the Blog. Now that all the hoopla (Jay & 9.51, Washington trip) has settled down, I need to get back on track with this bike. I have a goal. I am shooting for 8 seconds before I bolt a blower on my bike. Good part is, if you follow me along the way, you will get to see my cards I am playing. Hopefully if someone else beats me to it, they will show theirs to the community. I don't mind learning!

There are 10 of the 50 Jay Gleason DVD's still available. Wendy is making progress in re-capturing and re-editing the video. Hopefully something soon. I was surprised they had not sold out yet, but then, I have seen the 1st draft. So I know it's worth it.

Next, time to show some cards. In anticipation of the release of the Dynojet PCV, I want to offer advise on a situation I discovered that may assist in tuning your bike. Word to the wise, try to refrain from adding any additional fuel beyond 9,900 RPM range. In the hours of dyno tuning my bike, I discovered adding fuel near the rev limiter's operational region exposes the engine to the risk of some slight cylinder wash. I have seen the oil level rise in my bike and it had the strong scent of fuel present when drained. I removed the fuel adjustment in the area as mentioned and no more stinky oil problem in the hours of dyno'ing since. Not too important to the average street rider, but something for the serious tuner / drag racer to keep in mind.

Next, I was ask about the 3,000 rpm glitch people sometimes feel during deceleration. Have I experienced it? Is it a function of the ECU to crack open the throttle plates during deceleration? I have slightly experienced it. I have studied the TPS sensors behavior in my LM-2 data logs and I could not find a situation where the throttle plates remained slightly open or opened during deceleration but I did not have a downshift with hard deceleration situation recorded. I guess the next time I am riding around, I will have to try this. In all situations recorded by the LM-2 to date, the throttle plates closed in concert with the throttle. So for now, here is my guess. It has to be tied to the Fuel Injection system. I am certain that during any closed throttle situation above 3.8K RPM, the ECU cuts the injectors timing off and they remain off while the bike is above 3.8K RPM and the throttle is closed. As the bike's RPM falls below 3.8k RPM, the ECU starts firing a minimal duty cycle of the injectors. People that opt to ride around with the Max Tuners in view while riding will discover the two end LED's will alternately flash when you close the throttle above 3.8K. This signal is indicating the Max Tuner is not receiving injector timing signal. This is a normal indication.

Those with aftermarket pipes and PCV's. You will be plugging the AIS tubes to kill most of the popping during deceleration. The remaining popping can be reduced further with a tiny addition of fuel during deceleration from 3.8K RPM to 1,500 RPM. Those purchasing kits from UFO will have this tuned in.

Next, I had a good e-mail come thru today that got me to thinking. Here is the question:

"Is there a way to decrease the power till one is more comfortable with the bike?

I understand some of the crotch rockets have selector switches that enable you to choose power rating 60% 80% 100%.

Yes. There is an immediate solution and possible solutions. The immediate solution would be to purchase one of the mechanical throttle controllers available from vendors such as Evoluzione Cyclesports. These throttle controllers will, via an eccentric "cam boss", mechanically assist in taming the engines response to small initial off idle throttle angle inputs. I am going to install one supplied to me from Evoluzione Cyclesports soon and hope to illustrate how it differs from the stock controller. So for now I will just say this is a small adjustment, but nowhere near the 60 to 80% you mention. 30% would be a huge adjustment. In your situation, if 30% to 50% is what you really want, this would be the first draw back. The second draw back to this mechanical approach would be the opening rate is not readily adjustable unless a different shaped cam lobe is machined onto & into fresh billet. There may be a design for an adjustable throttle controller, but I am not aware of one. In its favor, a throttle controller is a simple mechanical upgrade. If done to your liking, it will be something you enjoy every time you turn the throttle. The best part is, wide open should still be wide open. For me, I find the current controller operates adequately but I have an open minded curiosity, so we will see how it goes with the aftermarket controller.

The possible solutions, an electronic throttle tamer. I have been kicking the idea of designing a circuit and programming a microprocessor for this. But this would be very time consuming. I have a simple analog solution close to being finished that could be adjusted to do what you are looking to do. More on this later.

Lastly, my wife and I discussed this website at length during our Washington trip. It seems like my effort has drawn some slight attention. I am proud of what has transpired since I started doing this site. It was quite an honor to meet Jay, see my name on the web sites I frequently read. My wife is of the opinion that I should sell shirts and my circuits I invent. The argument's are, it's my hard work and how will people get a mod if I don't make it, moreover who will make it and profit from it when I give the idea and plans away? Most convincingly, she has actually come up with some fantastic tee shirt ideas! It just seems like I would be selling out if I did and it would be one more responsibility I would have rather than having fun. This one needs a day of mowing to think over. With all the rain we are getting, it will be soon. So, here is the current schedule: I have to put the top end of Eleanor back together, pick over the final Max Tuner Cat Sass fuel curves for UFO, install the throttle controller from Evoluzione Cyclesports, test an EXUP Eliminator made by Graves Motorsports sent to me from AJ, and then I will be back on the Bye By Wire system soon. Oh, and there is a PCV headed my way! It's good to be back!!

5/19/09 Today is a work day for me. I hope to start back up on the Bye By Wire System tomorrow. I am also working on a special Memorial Day page.

5/18/09 I am working on the pile of E-Mail I have. Glad to have it. Hope to get to it today. While I was away CMG Online, a Canadian motorcycle site, added the story about Jay Gleason here.

Jet Lag. Blog will start again tomorrow. I took some decent pictures. To see a slideshow of the Washington set on my Flickr account, Click Here

5/9/09 So, the bad news for the Blog readers, I have some work to attend to for the next week. Best part of this is, I get to leave on a high note. Jay set a record on my bike and I think I've about buried the hatchet with Oliver. This whole thing seems to have drawn the V-Max guys together. The addiction to this bike, it seems to have it's rewards. Folks, we have a fast hooligan bike. You must see the same possibilities I suppose. Otherwise you would not be here, now would you? So for all the folks recently infected with the drag race bug, I leave you the following. As everyone that has kept track of me for any period of time would know, I am a big Eagles fan. So I wanted to post a video for people to bring up and enjoy while I am away. For some reason, this is the Eagles song I seem to identify with the most. With a twist, Etta James will be putting her spin on one of my favorite songs. I never seen this before, so I thought I would share it. Log onto the internet once a day, turn up the speakers, tilt a glass and soak in the rough soulfulness of this rendition:

5/8/09 I just watched the original cut of the Jay Gleason DVD and if my throttle bodies had been on my bike, I would have done a celebratory burnout in the driveway! Because it was mastered from VHS, it's a little grainy and lost a tad of it's color. The content is pretty fantastic. Especially if you are a 1st Generation V-Max fan!

(5/7/09) <-An odd day! One of only six odd sequenced dates that will happen this century. Nothing new this morning. Maybe this afternoon.

5/6/09 I found this picture on the Pacific Northwest Millwrights web site.

I think this eccentric gearing will be the easiest answer to our Throttle By Wire problem.

If installed correctly, initially it would cause the throttles to open slightly more than stock because the returning TPS signal would be retarded by the eccentric gearing. As the gearing rotates the signal from the TPS speeds up due to this eccentricity. I will try to design something to be printed by a 3D print service for prototyping. Anybody know somebody? E-Mail me.

A crank attached to the throttle servo that drives a "rack rod" onto a pinion gear is another option and it would take less room. The "rack rod" would be like a connecting rod in an engine except with rack gears made along it side. As the throttle servo moves the crank from bottom dead center, the "rack rod's" speed would accelerate the same as in an engine. This would move the pinion faster which is moving the TPS sensor faster. The TPS and throttle only rotates 1/4 turn. A couple things to consider. In either situation, an eccentric cam throttle control (like the one currently offered by Evoluzione Motorsports) will be required to dilute the new exaggerated opening speed and angles either TPS gearing system would produce.

I have added some high resolution photos of the throttle bodies. Click Here.

I put together a tutorial on how to operate the LogWorks software with my LM-2 data. Click here. I also updated the Gleason LM-2 data from Bradenton page. More to come.

5/5/09 The LM-2 Data Page from the Bradenton Drag Strip runs is here. If you want to take a ride along with Jay via the run data, you will need this from Innovate Motorsports:

I updated the Jay Gleason 9.51 on a V-Max page to include more information including the new links to articles on the net about it, a link to the original "Taking it to the Nine's" article in Cycle World and Lee Pritchard's time slip and picture.

Busy morning. I took the throttle body rack off last night and took some pics. Hope to post it tonight.

5/4/09 The DVD waiting list has grown pretty quick! Glad to see the interest in Jay's career. There also seems to be some interest from a couple other motorcycle related web sites. I will post the links as they are available.

5/3/09 Here is the page about Jay Gleason riding V-Max's again at the Bradenton Drag Strip.

I didn't expect to have some hunny do's today, but I did. Took most of the day. I am working on the Bradenton page now. Sorry.

5/2/09 I have been working on the page for Jay's runs at Bradenton. While in the process of studying the LM-2 data from the runs, I have no doubt the YCC-T is causing trouble in the 60 feet times. Next week, I plan to start digging into a fix for this. Many have seen the Bye By Wire System video I did some time ago. It drew attention from other non V-Max related sites as well. This is now my top priority. I will finish the Jay Gleason Bradenton Drag Race page in the morning.

Being the capitalist minded person that I am, I will do it this way: If you want one of the first DVD's as described below, follow this link for the waiting list to get one of the fifty signed copies I have on order. In that list, there is a question of what you are willing to pay for a copy. The orders from this first run will be filled by the highest amount you are willing to pay. This is what you will be charged before they ship. I currently consider $15 to be a minimum. Shipping in, all cases, will be additional. More copies may be available later. Again, this is not for me. It will be for Jay and or the VMOA. I can't tell you how much I appreciated him doing this and he is willing to more.

Want some V-Max and Jay Gleason memorabilia? Here is an excerpt from some recent correspondence with Wendy (she made the April Blog video with Jay):

“If you haven't seen it yet, DVD has all of Jay's test rides: Ninjas, superbike shootouts (various manufacturers), and VMax. The full length version of the original in-house 1985 VMax video isn't included, but the excerpt of Jay doing the burnout on the rotating stage at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and the smoky burnouts in the parking lot are included on this DVD.”

“I just hung up with Jay. He found a VHS copy of the complete version of the factory VMax video. I also have some of his dealer appearances that I didn't include on this version of the DVD. I can add the extra VMax stuff to the DVD as bonus material. I can probably get busy on it Sunday (first day off in a while). The time consuming part will be re-doing the menu/chapter portion of the DVD. ”

At this time, I have purchased 50 of them to be signed by Jay and then sold. I have sent an e-mail to Walter Bishop, the Southeast regional director of the V-Max Owners Association, to see if the VMOA store will facilitate the sale and transaction of these DVD's. They will be around $15 each plus shipping. Additional copies may be available if there is enough demand. For now, this is the only run I have planned to purchase and have him sign. Jay has also offered to sign my unitized book, limited production frame badges and display (when it arrives). He is willing to sign others if we can coordinate the transactions. I think a donation to Jay would be a complementary thank you for doing so. So you know, I am not profiting from this, Jay and the club will. That's a good thing considering he showed up to ride my bike for free. I will keep you posted.

5/1/09 You have to forgive me. I think I am coming down from an emotional high and I am running out of steam. Late night at the track followed by a early morning. Besides, Bob will be a while with the pictures. Catch you in the morning.

Our story has made in onto the web pages of thekneeslider.com. Click here. Paul, thanks again for electing to give Jay Gleason some much deserved publicity for wrestling this 650 plus pound monster. New visitors can follow the along in a thread as it developed on the StarVmax website here. Please read about the other people that had a huge part in this. Many pics and video's can be found there also. Say thanks to Bad_Max (Bob) for all the pictures and video while your there. I will post a little more when I get home from work.

I woke up with a smile on my face. Last night seems almost surreal. I am so very glad Jay took me up on my offer. Judging from my e-mail this morning, I can expect a few new visitors to my web site. So welcome to my site! I will be loading more info on last night as time allows. Fortunately, I have a have a job to go to this morning so I ask that you visit me again later this evening. As for the regulars, how 'bout it?!?!