Speed master? Or race master? What do you want to call yourself while riding a motorcycle? Well, whatever you like, you can call yourself.
But being emotionally attached to the motorcycle of yours, you surely want to make the ride as smooth as possible. To make the bike run smooth, or according to your comfort you can customise the engine controlling unit also known as ECU.
In this article, I will show you how to ECU flash your motorcycle to ensure its splendid performance in 9 easy steps.
9 Simple Steps To Be Followed To Flash ECU In Your Bike:
1. Gather Knowledge On ECU:
Before flashing ECU, make sure you know everything about the ECU, flashing ECU, and the benefits of flashing ECU.
After knowing everything, then process the knowledge you gathered and use them while making the decision whether or not you want to flash your engines’ ECU. The decision should always be up to you.
2. Manage a PC:
Make sure to have a PC. It is best to have a laptop. A laptop is portable, unlike a desktop. So, you can carry it to your vehicle and check for the updates and details then and there during flashing your CPU.
3. Look For Softwares:
To select the best software out there, you can ask people who have previously flashed their ECU. You can also ask a mechanic who is used to and is an expert in flashing engine control unit.
If you are planning to do everything by yourself, then you can look up online for reviews of the software. There are many options available online with reviews from people who used them in real life.
From reading the reviews, you can select one for yourself that suits you the best.
4. Download And Install The ECU Flash Program On Your PC:
To flash your bike, you first need to install a program that will connect your pc with the bike’s engine programming. Then you will be able to send commands of flashing ECU from your pc.
5. Selecting The Bike And ECU Mode:
After installing your desired software, you need to select your model of the bike and the type of flashing you want.
6. Connect To Your PC:
Make sure to connect your engine control unit with your device or equipment after you install the necessary and your preferred software.
This is a USB connection that allows the laptop or the pc to connect with the bike’s computer.
7. Follow The Instruction:
Every software runs in its own way. After selecting your desired software, you need to go through it thoroughly. Before using the software, you can also check out reviews available online. Then follow the instructions given by the software religiously.
8. Making Sure Other Components Are Unharmed:
It is not an easy job to master a flashing engine controlling unit just in one day. While tuning your engine, just connecting it to a certain device after installing a certain software is not enough. You need to make sure-
- There is not too much pressure on the engine, which in the future may hamper your bike’s overall performance.
- Timing should not be improper.
- The level of air should be checked and balanced accordingly.
- Fuel compression should be checked and balanced accordingly.
9. The Way To Flash:
Some software has the option where you click on the ECU Flash button on your pc or device. After getting prompted, you need to turn your engine’s ignition into accessory position. Then click the ok button on your pc or your device. After finishing your desired modification to the engine, turn off the ignition to complete the task.
Is Motorcycle Worth The Craze Or Worth All The Effort?
A motorcycle has a special emotional place in every riders’ heart. Especially among the young people, the motorcycle is pretty famous, that one thing to die for!
This unlimited craze for bikes can be seen especially in young boys. From the very beginning of their teenage years, they keep on nagging about buying them a bike. Though a motorbike can be a great vehicle and a very handy one, it is more of a show-off and an emotional to the youth.
Sometimes the young people get inspired by many celebrities riding on the television. Some also get their inspiration from their father or elder brother or maybe even a distant relative.
I believe I got my racing DNA from my father, and it extended its’ arms when it came to me. I used to ride mini motorcycles when I was a small child. Since my childhood, bikes have fascinated me a lot.
It’s not always essential to be big in size to be able to make a ride on a motorcycle. You just need to be mentally strong and calm enough to be able to ride a bike. Also, it is very crucial to know about certain important parts of a motorbike.
Your bike can be your subject of greatest passion. But before making any core changes of your bike, you should gather some detailed knowledge about the bike. In the following portion of the article I will be giving you detailed information on bikes, ECU and advantages of flashing ECU.
There are a lot of things to know about bikes. The engine of the motorcycle is one of the main parts of a bike. A motorcycle engine is the life of a bike that helps or gives the motorcycle power to run.
It is very crucial to know about certain important parts of a motorbike.
Engine Of A Bike:
There are a lot of things to know about bikes. The engine of the motorcycle is one of the main parts of a motorcycle. A motorcycle engine is the life of a bike that helps or gives the motorcycle power to run.
Engines can be of different types, such as-
- 2 stroke internal combustion engines or
- 4 stroke internal combustion engines.
There are also many variants such as Wankels and Electronic Motors.
There is a part named gearbox in an engine. This gearbox of an engine can have 6 to 7 ratios. Some motorcycles have reverse gear engines, but those are all heavy tourers. To change the gear mostly, riders use foot pedals and manual clutch, but recently, as everything has been modernized, engines have become modern too. There are automatic or semi automatic gearboxes available in the market.
These days fuel injection and computer management systems are pretty common in engine types.
What Do We Mean By The Term ECU? A Short Intro For The Beginners
Not many people are familiar with the term ECU. Especially, new bikers have very little knowledge about what an ECU or engine control unit means or how it works. Before trying to change something it is best to know about it in a detailed manner.
Here, I am giving a brief discussion on knowing about the ECU and how it works.
ECU is the short form of Engine Control Unit which is also known as engine control module or ECM. In an ‘internal combustion engine, the ECU controls a series of actuators to ensure the engine’s maximum performance.
It can be said that, if the engine is the heart of a motorcycle, then the ECU is the brain of that motorcycle. It is a modern day science invention that helps a bike to run better.
ECU works with the help of various sensors. The sensors detect problems and send them back to the ECU while ECU sends the electronic components such as engine speed, air pressure, temperature, etc. signals to work accordingly.
You can alter the mode of ECU by tuning or flashing it. It updates the software by changing the memory chip of a bike. ECU flash can either be a program flash or a data flash. Because your ECU controls so many components of your motorcycle’s engine, when you flash your engine control unit, many components of the sensors will be tweaked.
It is very crucial to know how to flash ECU to ensure the maximum performance of your bike.
Advantages of ECU Flash:
Being a biking enthusiast myself, I can tell the importance of flashing ECU and knowing all about it as we bikers want our beloved bikes to perform their best. There are 13 benefits of ECU flash described below-
1. Fits Your Choice:
Tuning your engine by flashing your engine controlling unit is like pouring sugar into your tea according to your taste.
2. Enhances The Performance:
Flashing your engine control unit will help the performance of your ride to enhance.
3. Enhanced Engine Performance:
The performance of your engine will get better after you flash or tune your engine controlling unit or engine controlling module.
4. Protect Engine From Damage:
Flashing your engine controlling unit can protect your engine from any kind of damage.
5. Protect Engine From Negligence:
If you are someone not very sincere about using any device or vehicle and are a very negligent person, then you are likely to cause harm to your bike and the engine of your motorcycle.
In such a case, a flashing ECU or engine controlling unit is the best choice for you. It will protect your engine from damages due to negligence.
6. Helps To Maintain Certain Criteria:
It restricts some certain performances in your ride in order to maintain certain criteria.
7. Enhanced Power Efficiency:
Tuning or flashing your engine controlling unit helps to improvise and enhance power efficiency in your bike.
8. Improvised Fuel Efficiency:
In fuel injection type engines, tuning your engine or flashing ECU helps to improvise fuel efficiency.
9. Prolonged Longevity of Your Bike:
Tuning your engine helps to improvise the durability of your motorcycle and prolongs its’ longevity.
10. More Air Pumped To Your Cylinder:
This setup or tuning of your engine can be remapped to increase the amount of air pumped into your cylinders. More petrol comes with more air.
11. Clear Error Codes And Fix Them:
Tuning your bike helps to clear error messages or codes and fix problems like a jittery throttle.
12. Raise Boost On An Engine:
Tuning or Flashing the engine control unit can also raise the boost on an engine.
13. Alter Your Riding Styles According To Your Preference:
Flashing engine controlling unit or module helps your bike to perform according to your preference and will alter your riding style as per your comfort zone.
Think Before Jumping Into The Decision Pool:
No matter what is the type of your motorcycle is, you can consider flashing the ECU or engine controlling unit of your bike to enhance its performance. It is better to alter your bike according to your comfort zone rather than using it by going out of your comfort zone and causing it to harm the bike that might result in severe damage to the engines and the bike’s longevity.
RPM cutoffs are a debatable aspect of flashing your engine control unit. Your motorcycle’s top speed is digitally controlled to some extent, and this can be reset to some amount with tuning.
Before you get started, think about why these restrictions were established in the first place, aside from the obvious reasons of safety for yourself and people around you and keeping insurance premiums low by accident prevention.
If you customize your engine by tuning it to ride at a faster speed compared to its initial design, it can cause accidents as the tires may not be able to cope up with speed, and the valves may also not get enough airflow at a faster speed.
The cost of tuning or flashing your engine controlling unit or also known as the engine controlling module, can go over the top at times. It can be very pricy which may be out of your budget.
One other aspect that you need to think about if you have a bike in which the initial design is perfect for you and is in your comfort zone is that you might not need to redesign it. Tuning or flashing the ECU of your already ideal bike may damage it even more and result in unnecessary expenses.
After reading the point mentioned above, think thoroughly if you actually need to flash your ECU.
Final Verdict:
Flashing or tuning your bike means enhancing its performance. Before tuning or flashing your motorcycle, you need to know how to do it perfectly. Still, you should rely upon the mechanics to avoid any unnecessary damage to your precious ride.
You may also want to read:
Knowing how to properly store your motorcycle
