9/30/09 I was able to cut both sides of the second
version of the V-Roomy air today. I still am amazed at how you can; have an
idea, draw it in 3D, render the drawing, examine it from all angles, compose the
G code, cut it, and it look just like what the rendering does. I enjoy this
part of my hobby the most!
I nabbed this from a couple days ago and put it here:
I also started cutting the stock for the down tubes. I turned
down the throttle body end today. These are ridiculously large, but
I am going to cut them down 1/2" at a time until I find the length I
am happy with.
Once I find the right length, I will resize the bell plate to
the correct size to fit inside the frame and bear an air filter of
some sort. I hope I can squeeze an oval shaped one in there.
I have some errands to run tomorrow. It may be the
weekend before I have some dyno results. For those sending e-mail. I am
behind again. It may be a few days before I get to yours.
9/29/09 I hope to make a second cutting of the
V-Roomy top plate. I will design one to fit tight to the bike later, right now I
am just cutting it to fit so I can see what it's going to do. Maybe Wednesday I
will have some dyno numbers. Lots to do before then.
Now for Jay Day. Bad news. Looks like the official
version of it will have to wait until Bikeweek. The Orlando Dragway
really dropped the ball on this one. Two
months of work organizing this, shot. We are still going to be running
at Bradenton test and tune, Thursday, Oct 15th. If it rains, the
following Sunday (18th) we will try again.
9/28/09 No Blog - Work.
9/27/09 Finished the drawings of the V-Roomy air
and made the first cut. The holes are correct but I need to trim the size down
on the right hand side. It is also very heavy, so I trimmed some excess from the
bottom. Tomorrow is a work day.
9/26/09 Spent the day working on the V-Roomy Air
drawing. I took a little break to work on Esten's bike. I installed the
current sensor to the inductive clamp input of his LM-2. I should have taken
pictures so I could finish writing the page. He rode it home and called me to
say it worked good. I took the time to update the Auto-Trigger print below and
designed a more complex unit.
I will breadboard it tomorrow while the router is cutting out the V-Roomy air.
9/25/09 Yesterday I had a rare and unique
opportunity. I had the privilege to participate in interviewing the King of
Quick. It seemed almost surreal to set the destination in the truck's navigation
system, hit enter and watch it display "Route to Jay Gleason confirmed". For the
next three and a half hours I watched the green navigation line shrink while I
recalled all of the articles and teenage conversations I had during what proved
to be a pivotal error for the motorcycle industry. Along with the American
introduction of the "rice burning crotch rockets", there was one bike that stood
alone. The Yamaha V-Max. It was the baddest bike on the planet, and I was going
to watch an interview of the man that made it that way.
Prior to leaving, I sent an e-mail out to every one on
my e-mail list asking "if you could ask Jay Gleason a question, what
would it be?" I had numerous responses. Ones you would expect like the
RPM he launches and his shift points. Surprisingly, the most asked
question was "what do you weigh?". Well, as you can see from the photo
below, that question will be answered in the next issue of V-Boost.
The editor of V-Boost, Steve Jassie, did a
fantastic job with the
interview. Questions like "was the Cycle World - taking it to the nines
- bike the real deal", "why did you step out of the limelight" and
"would you like to make a comeback" will all be answered in what will
prove to be, THE pinnacle issue of
VMOA's V-Boost
magazine. This in depth interview will appear in the November issue.
9/24/09 I am working on the LM-2 sense transformer
page:
Due to the recent crash of my pc, I was
looking at some old folders as I copied them back to my drives and I found this
circuit I came up with some time ago. Until now, I had not gotten around to
using it. Since I am starting to tune a PCV map for the Akrapovič
system, I resurrected it. I had been thinking about the best way to
fix the data logging of the
LM-2 wherein it records a lot of unwanted data.
After riding around, I hate having to go thru and cutout redundant or bad data.
The LogWorks software has features that allow you to build fuel correction
tables. The tables only allow for three forms of data, like a column of RPM's, a
row's of TPS % and a table of averaged O2 data. Well, that would include lean data as
the bike decelerates, idle data at red lights and several minutes of cruise data. It is easy to trim the data either by had or filter it by
mathematic comparison, but I thought it would be nice to make an auto trigger to
do this for me. Plus I am still using the O2 signal rather than removing it, so
I am not really concerned with data below certain throttle openings. I thought I
could build an auto trigger for
the unit and see if I could set an LM-2 channel up to trigger recording. So I drew this circuit up:
Click the schematic to enlarge.
Turns out, for the LM-2 unit, I will have to design a
serial circuit to trigger the LM-2 but I think this auto-trigger circuit
will work for the LM-1 and PCV Auto-Tune. This circuit will allow you to
ride around like you normally would and only collect
averaged data above a certain accelerator position.
Set this circuit to energize above say 20%, and only throttle openings
from 20% and above would be averaged. Using the APS voltage rather than the TPS
voltage will
eliminate the extremely lean O2 data being recorded and averaged into
the small throttle opening tables as the ECU slowly closes the TPS
during decel. This may be an inherent problem with all fly-by-wire bikes
with PCV and Auto-Tune that have unmatched TPS and APS signals. Set this
circuit to turn on at 1% of the APS above idle and only idle and
deceleration O2 data would be omitted.
It works like this: this is a simple circuit comprised
of comparator, a driver, and a normally open relay. U1 compares
accelerator position's voltage level with a user adjustable voltage
level set via the potentiometer P1. When the APS voltage exceeds the
voltage of P1, U1 will forward bias the Transistor T1. When T1 is
forward biased, relay RL1 energizes and closes RL1's contacts. The
LM-1 or Auto-tune switch would be connected to RL1's contacts. I have not tested
it yet, but you get the general idea. I may have to change some values
or modify the design to make it work in the real word. I don't remember
where I left off with it but the spice
model functions with no errors. I may add:
an RC network that will delay the turn on time of
the relay
a diode across RL1's coil
gear input to eliminate or enable certain gears only
an EXUP trimmer
a remotely mountable LED to indicate to the user data
is being collected
I may have to adjust the overall input impedance.
For now most of the parts (if not all) can be purchased
at Radio Shack. This will be a start. I hope the Auto-tune can
keep up!
Maybe I spoke too soon about the crash
being a good thing! I had to load more software last night. The main one I
needed was all of my photo edit software so I could resize and logo all of the
throttle controller and sense transformer pictures. Sorry this is taking so
long.
9/22/09 I hope to spend some time in the shop
today. It looks like I have the CAD program up and running again. This has
proven to be a good thing. My PC is running much faster now.
Next, I am going to change gears with this site. I am
going to change the way all of my videos are hosted. I will
be using Vimeo to host the video. I purchased a plus account and the
upload speed is pretty good. I will be using domain level embed
permissions wherein a particular domain must request permission to have
the ability to embed and share the videos I create. I also will pursue
copyright infringements. I am tired of seeing my pictures stripped or
cropped of my logo and posted elsewhere. All old links to the YouTube
content will become invalid soon. If you have embedded a video in a Blog
or Forum and wish to keep it posted, now would be a good time to
contact me.
9/21/09 I'm back up and running with the home PC.
The latest addition to our family took up
most of my time this weekend due to and horrible allergic reaction to something
yet to be diagnosed. Most likely a bee sting. He's much better. Enough of the
personal problems. Saturday, before "it" happened, I was finally able to correct
LM-2 the noise issue with
this sense transformer from Digi-Key. The sense transformer is about the
size of a quarter and can be installed at any location on any coil wire that is
triggered by the ECU. The transformer has to be wired to the inductive clamp
input of the LM-2. I have not found a simple solution to the problem the
LM-2 has with measuring RPM via the multi-conductor analog signal cable. The
readings always bounce around no matter what I did to any signal I tried to use.
Using this sense transformer on the inductive clamp input will require a little
work and wiring. An ignition coil wire must be passed thru the center of this
sense transformer. This means you must either cut the coil wire to install the
transformer or find a connector to pull the pin from, pass it thru the sense
transformer and re-install it into the connector. The signal level is a
little higher than the real inductive clamp, so a series resistor is needed to
cut the signal level down. When I get the publishing PC back up, I will show how
to do this. This fix also removed some of the signal noise measured on the
analog signals I am logging too. I hope to share some very detailed data very
shortly.
Next, I can not get the Orlando Dragway to return any
phone calls to finalize "Jay Day". For well over a week of calls
and leaving messages, nothing. Silence. I never expected this to be a
problem. This is very strange. I have started looking elsewhere.
9/19/09 - 9/20/09 Publishing PC was still
down. I used a laptop to look at my router logs to find an intruder
caused the crash. Don't know why, but it's pitiful someone has nothing
better to do with their time.
9/18/09 Yesterday I got to thinking, if I am
going to install a fender eliminator, I might as well have a big back tire on
the bike, right?! I had been checking the availability of a
Wide Wheel Kit. I wound up making a trip over to
Seminole Power
Sports in Sanford, Fl yesterday to pick up one. When I got there I finally
got to met with, Ken Ward. Ken is the service director and I have gotten to know
him from trying to organize the "Jay Day" event. Seminole Power Sports has
offered to sponsor a large portion of the "Jay Day" I am putting together (more
on that soon). He is a sharp guy that knows the V-Max.
He owns both generations. To his credit, he had my wheel ready with a ME880
mounted and part of the bearing kit installed. The wheel and tire was clean and
wrapped in plastic sitting in his office waiting for me when I got there. He has
more of the wide wheels in stock as well as some race ECU's and carbon fiber
parts.
I made the trip back home and arrived to find my home PC
had crashed. This is the PC that I normally publish the site from. I am
at work today and am posting this update from the office. If I get the
home PC back up, I will be keep up with the Blog. If not, it may
be Monday before you hear from me again. This includes e-mail. I will be
making the V-Roomy Air this weekend anyway.
9/17/09 First, I got this shirt (I am very proud
of) from my friend Tim Robinson:
He also sent me a fender eliminator that I will install and
photograph soon. Thanks Tim!
Next item to post, after some more dyno tuning the Akrapovič
titanium exhaust system is starting to turn a nice shade of purplish blue at the
merge points.
I installed the Evoluzione
Throttle Controller yesterday. I am doing the write-up today.
9/16/09 Sleep = 0.
9/15/09 Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to
you, Hoff:
Of course, I got nothing done after we got him. Nothing beats
puppy breath. I will be back at it tomorrow.
I am expecting Esten over today. He has
been tuning on his bike a little. He has also added an SSI-4
to his measurement instrumentation. He is brining over his stock air box so I
can take some more measurements without tearing my bike down and continue on
with the V-Roomy Air. I am going to change the design a little to concentrate on
collecting air from the scoops and somewhat seal off the hot air from the
engine. I have looked at several air filters that are available to try to find
one that will provide the correct resonating volume inside this setup. The idea
is to use momentum created from the last air pulse to accentuate the next intake
event. Foremost, the air filter size will be subject to the final velocity stack
length (what ever testing proves to make the most horsepower). I am also going
to add a nipple in the bottom plate for the crank case ventilation tube. The
aluminum stock for the down tubes arrived yesterday. I will install the Evoluzione
throttle controller today.
9/14/09 Work day. I did get a chance to work in
the shop for a little bit. I made the last revision to the simple fooler speed
fix. I will ride it around a little longer to see if it is a good solid design.
I will draw up the board in the process and post the board files. Any vendor
wishing to manufacture and sell these at my pre-determined price please contact
me for the rights to do so. Not for profit individuals, groups or
"Teams" that wish to build these, will have my permission to do so.
When this one is finished, I am moving on to a setup that has adjustable speed
correction built in. Aluminum tube for the V-Roomy air is here!
9/13/09 Yesterday I spent a lot of time trying
to find the throttle controller sent to me from Evoluzione.
I looked and looked for this thing for a couple of hours. I finally gave up and
started working on the "neatest thing" I have made for the V-Max. I
may show my cards as to what it is this week. I started putting away all my
stuff I had searched thru and there it was, it had slid inside the Akrapovic
noise reducer. I will try again Tuesday. Tomorrow is a work day for
me.
9/12/09 I have taken a few days off from the
Blog. We are looking to expand the family. We have been shopping for a English
Bulldog puppy. I have wanted one since I played High School football. It was our
mascot. Visited a couple places and we are still looking. Looks like I will be
back in the shop tomorrow. I have a throttle controller to install. I am looking
at some LM-2 data tonight.
9/11/09 A day of remembrance.
9/10/09 Since I am waiting for the current
sensors to come in to continue testing the ECU's and tuning a map for the Akrapovič
pipe, I have came up with a new prototype I will build. I will label it the
V-Roomy Air system.
The idea is simple. A common plate that contains
the four bell curves of the velocity stacks. Beneath the common plate will be
aluminum tubes I can cut to different lengths and tune them to the bike. The
whole thing will be enclosed with one single air filter shaped like the old Hemi
Ram Air breathers.
Pretty cool idea, eh?
09/09/09 A rare date. Today was a very
technical day that I hope has ended with a simple fix. I looked over the data I
collected from yesterdays ride. It looks as if the noise level has significantly
increased after I put the bike back together. The data I recorded has a lot of
noise spikes in it. The data collected on the dyno on 9/6/09 had much less
noise. I spent today looking at what happens and what causes this. I narrowed it
down to an increase of EMI when I place the steel faux tank cover over my
instrumentation wiring and the bikes ECU. This must encapsulate and somewhat
concentrate the noise. I also found the Ignition coil I have tapped for
the RPM signal compounds this noise problem. I was able to reduce the amount of
noise present on all of the LM-2's channels by measuring the RPM signal with an
inductive clamp. I have ordered a small sense transformer from Digi Key to see if
it will work in place of the huge inductive clamp that comes with the LM-2. I
hope it is the small signal level transmitted by the clamp that is reducing the
noise and not the size of it that is shielding or absorbing the noise, thereby
reducing it.
All of the following is preliminary but I have observed it a few
times now. The new instrumentation is starting to give me a clear picture of
what is going on inside the two different ECU's. I have had a few e-mails asking
if I have some great revelation in the works about the Race ECU. Sorry, but the
facts are still the facts. The Race ECU is still not doing much more than
removing the top speed limit and adding a few horsepower on the dyno at best.
The things I can currently scrutinize are the Injector Duty Cycle, EXUP and
YCC-T opening rate. I have measured a slight difference in the injector duty
cycle at wide open throttle between the two ECU's. The Race ECU recorded less
Duty Cycle from 7K rpm up. I also recorded a leaner AFR which validates the Duty
Cycle measurements in my book. Since my pride takes a back seat to the accuracy
of the data I provide on this web site, I may have to re-write some of the pages
of this web site for this slight difference. For the less warranty conscious
that will be installing an aftermarket exhaust and racing the bike, I am still
of the opinion the better money spent would be a speed fix and fuel tuner rather
than a Race ECU.
Still waiting on paperwork from the track for Jay Day.
I am getting behind in my e-mail. Please be patient if you sent
something.
9/8/09 Today was a work day but I still spent a
little V-Max time at my office with Jay of Tallahassee. This web site has afforded
me many opportunities to meet new people that share the same passion for this
motorcycle.
Next, it also looks like "Jay Day" is much closer to being a
reality today. I have enough sponsors to cover most of the track cost. I am
going to cover the rest for now and hope for the best. A little more paperwork,
and we should have a major event in the works!
9/7/09 Well, I finished the LMA-3
Aux Box install today and so far I am happy with the signal measurements.
Any one interested in installing one, this seems to be a perfect location for
it:
Fender fits over the MAP sensor nipple (I did not use). The
only draw back, you have to remove the fender to change the channel
set-ups.
I am going to ride the bike in to work tomorrow and gather some
data on the Akrapovič
system with a stock ecu and start tuning the PCV. Since I now have an
accelerometer, I will use a math function of the LogWorks software and have it
calculate torque and horsepower. I will have to weight the bike with me on it,
calculate the surface area and gear ratio. I should be able to hone the formula
down to something similar to my actual dyno results. Some of the initial data I
have observed that has caught my interest:
The YCC-T is not completely closing the throttle plates on a
decel after a dyno run. It falls back to around 5% opening and slowly closes
the plates as the RMP falls down.
It looks like the injectors do not instantly cut off after a
dyno run. They step down before they turn off. This was consistently
recorded, but not at the same place. Could be bad data.
There seems to be more of a difference in the Race ECU and
Stock ECU than I thought, I need to gather more data on this. One thing for
sure, changing the ECU's will change the voltage levels a few sensors
record.
One last thing. I have always had a hard time cold starting the
bike with the Race ECU installed. I found that if I bump the starter a second or
two and then flick the Run / Start switch one time and bump the starter again,
the bike fires right up. I don't know why, but it works like a charm.
Tomorrow should be interesting. Let's see what data comes from
it.
9/6/09 I had a little shop time today to get the
bike on the dyno and start getting accustomed to the additional data logging
features. I took the data to the house and spent the next few hours looking at
50 seconds of recorded data. From the onset of using this unit today, it appears
that I have had a few misconceptions about how the ECU functions. My oscope
provides a very precise, yet tiny window to look into how things are working.
Lets just say, I said "Wow!" to myself numerous times. I have to study
the data more and correct the measurement of a few sensors before I really am
comfortable blogging about it, much less make an official page of the results.
This is proving to be the most interesting thing I have added to the bike so
far. I should have done it eon's ago. Let me verify the sensors and how they log
data, and I will move on.
9/5/09 I installed this unit today:
It is an LMA-3
Aux Box from Innovate Motorsports. I can now record 5 more channels of data.
I found the perfect place to mount the unit under the rear fender. I purchased
this unit instead of the SSI-4
because the LMA-3 has a built in accelerometer. I have most of the unit wired in
and started looking at the data. The accelerometer actually is sensitive enough
to measure the bike lunging during a dyno run! This unit's data should become a
nice addition to my instrumentation and the data acquisition on this
bike.
I hope to make it into the shop to install
some more data logging equipment. I now have an LMA-3 from Innovate Motorsports.
9/4/09 Work.
9/3/09 Not my typical video, but it's
nice to have a little childish fun every now and then! This video compares the
Akrapovic 4 into 2 slip on system on my bike and the UFO Battle Star system on
Esten's bike. Neither bike has the baffles installed. Oh, by the way. This is my
first High Def clip.
Lots of stuff coming. I have the new video
software loaded and configured. That will be coming tonight. Check in this
afternoon!
9/1/09 I have more information for those
interested in the Akrapovic exhaust systems:
Hello Tim,
Please allow me to introduce myself, my name is Nick and I have recently
been appointed to look after all Akrapovic concerns in the U.S. I
realize that you have already been provided with an Akrapovic VMAX system
for your project and you are very pleased with the results. I just
wanted to drop you a line and let you know that I will be supporting the
market. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to
contact me. We have also set up a direct email address for any
issues that arise here in the U.S.... usa.support@akrapovic.com
. Please feel free to let your readers know that there is someone
here to support them as well. I want you to know that everyone at
Akrapovic appreciates your support. Thank you for your time and
here's wishing you continued success in the future with your site.
--
With Great Enthusiasm,
Nicholas J. Iannitti
All of my correspondence with this company has been informative,
pleasant and timely.
Sound clip and video coming soon! I am installing new camera
software and the first two uploads played at half speed on YouTube!?? I will
return to tuning the PCV map for this pipe Thursday if all goes well. I will
post it along with the instructions on how to prepare the bike for running
the map.