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Useful info for EFI Bonneville owners. ECM adaption procedure.

92K views 152 replies 73 participants last post by  Forchetto 
#1 · (Edited)
This is important and potentially useful info for ALL EFI Bonneville owners. Needs no special skills or tools and can make a substantial difference as to how well a bike runs. It should be done after mods to exhaust or intake and also to adapt the system to local conditions (weather, altitude, etc):

There have been posters that have talked about their dealers carrying out this procedure to ease throttle jerkyness and snatching as well, with some success apparently, so it's worth trying. Dealers, by the way, can do this without the long idling period described further on by using the Triumph factory tool that they connect to the OBD port, but this way it's just as effective and cheaper...

The ECM has the ability to adapt itself to a certain extent to local conditions by carrying out the adaption procedure. Do this after you've done messing about with the major mods:

This is an excerpt from the procedure for the Rocket III which also has a Keihin EFI system, but I think it can be applied to ours as well, except of course the cooling fan bit. On ours a 5 minute wait should see the engine up to a suitable temperature:

Engine Management Adaption

The engine management system fitted to this model is adaptive. This means that the system is able to learn about new or changing operating conditions and continuously adapt itself without needing to constantly make major adjustments from a fixed baseline setting.

Adaptive changes become necessary because of changes in the region in which the bike is operated (i.e operation at high altitude where it was previously used at sea level) or because a new part may have been fitted which has slightly different characteristics to the old part. All adaptive changes are automatic and require no
intervention by rider or dealer.

Forcing Adaption to Take Place


If the read out indicates that the motorcycle is not adapted, the following will force the system to make adaptions:

1. Ensure the coolant is at ambient temperature

2. Start the engine and allow it to warm WITHOUT TOUCHING
THE THROTTLE until the cooling fan comes on.

3. Leave the engine to idle for a further 12 minutes WITHOUT TOUCHING THE THROTTLE.

To summarise adaptive (self adjusting) fueling; the base fuel map (or engine management tune) that is developed by Triumph around a ‘nominal’ bike (in terms of engine load, air leakage, fuel pressure etc) may need to be modified to suit a particular bike out in service.
Once the base fuel map has been modified (ie the bike has adapted) to suit the individual bikes requirements, this modification value (often refered to as a ‘fuel table multiplier’) will be stored in the ECM memory. The new settings are then retained in the ECM memory, ensuring that adaption is not necessary every time the engine is started.

The engine management system will continue to adapt air fuel ratio (i.e. the mixture setting) to its optimum level in order to ensure differing running conditions do not result in poor running.
 
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#2 ·
So if I understand the procedure, one should start and let the engine run idle for some time and do nothing at all...?
This should work with a EFI Bonneville and actually improve things?
:confused:
 
#3 · (Edited)
One or two posters have described this in the recent past following their dealer doing just that. We thought it sounded silly, after all the whole procedure means idling the engine some 20 minutes in total.

I have now seen a factory document detailing the procedure so it must be true.

The text from "Engine Management Adaption" onwards is quoted verbatim from that document.
 
#6 ·
The instructions, as pointed out, are from a similarly EFI equipped Rocket III, and a good way to tell wether it has reached operating temperature is to wait for the thermostatic fan to turn on. On ours a 5 minute wait should be enough to reach operating temp.
 
#5 ·
I'd have to see some verification this aplies to the EFI Bonneville. I found this about the 2010 Rocket III Roadster. Certainly sounds like a different system.

"Newly-designed cam drive components have been introduced for the Rocket III Roadster to reduce engine noise and increase the overall refinement of the 2.3 liter unit. The engine management system features a new, CAN-enabled ECU running Triumph’s latest software. As a result, the Rocket III Roadster has improved drivability with better control and a smoother pick-up than the outgoing Rocket III.
Engine

Triumph’s engineers spread their magic over the venerable 2,294cc three-cylinder engine, reworking the exhaust system to increase the already massive torque figures by 14%, to 163ft.lbs at 3,250rpm. Power is also up, by 6bhp, to 146bhp at 5,750rpm.

Those torque figures put the Rocket III Roadster in a class of its own, making significantly more than any other volume production motorcycle on the market. Twist the throttle in any gear and an irresistible wave of torque thrusts the Triumph forward in a manner befitting the Rocket name.

With its stomping torque and crisp fuel injection, the Rocket III Roadster responds quickly, cleanly and strongly at any speed and in all gears. The 12-valve unit features a bore and stroke of 101.6 x 94.3 mm, with twin butterfly valves on the throttle bodies and sensors for throttle position, engine speed, engine position, engine temperature, air temperature, air pressure, gear selected and road speed, which combine with the new ECU to determine the correct fueling and ignition to tailor the torque curve for each gear ratio."
 
#8 ·
I'd have to see some verification this aplies to the EFI Bonneville. I found this about the 2010 Rocket III Roadster. Certainly sounds like a different system.
It is on 2010 models. The instructions I'm quoting are from the 2004 model which had a similar system to ours.

As I've said, several posters have had this procedure carried out by their dealer and they told us about it.

At the time we took it with a pinch of salt as it sounded improbable, a little silly and too easy. The document which came into my hands seems to indicate they were right.

Despite what I said above, I'll probably try this. Do you think using the fast idle ("choke") at startup will affect the procedure?
One of the differences between the Rocket and ours is that the Rocket is equipped with an automatic motor-driven IAC (idle air control) valve. When they start the valve does the fast idle bit on its own, whereas we have to fiddle with our manual IAC lever (our false "choke").

It's only the throttle that we're asked not to touch during the whole process. We can fire it up on "choke", let it run a few seconds and push the knob back in. It should continue to run at a low idle on its own.
 
#10 ·
...Dealers, by the way, can do this without the long idling period described further on by using the Triumph factory tool that they connect to the OBD port...
Forchetto, I can't remember if you have a TuneBoy as well as the dealer tool, but do you know if the Reset Adaptive Settings command in Tune Boy does the same thing? It sounds like it does based on the name, but I've never noticed any difference after trying it (could be that my bike has already 'adapted' though).
 
#11 ·
.... do you know if the Reset Adaptive Settings command in Tune Boy does the same thing? ...
Reset will clear the current adaption but will not recreate the new one.

One of the most common considerations for doing this is as gas mixes change over the seasons.

Incidentally Forchetto, won't do anything for yours with you O2 sensors simulated! :p

....It's only the throttle that we're asked not to touch during the whole process. We can fire it up on "choke", let it run a few seconds and push the knob back in. It should continue to run at a low idle on its own.
It won't actually begin the real 'adaption' process until after its reached operating temperature anyway.
 
#16 ·
Frankly I have never believed that these ECU's will adjust the parameters as much as they do. I tried it before removing AI and after. (this is after installing pipes and air pods) and at first the bike wouldn't idle at all. After several minutes I could hear the difference. In addition the poor throttle response I have due to not having a custom map is significantly improved. Is it a "fix all"? Of course not but it DOES work on my EFI.
 
#20 ·
I just got finished performing this procedure. I let the bike run for 20 minutes and took temperature readings every minute. My daughter gave me a cool laser thermometer for fathers day. The 20 minutes of idling brought the top of the uppermost cooling fin to 258 degrees F, 126 degrees C. Later I took the bike for a good hard ride and the cooling fin had reached 272 degrees F, 133 degrees C. So it looks as if the procedure doesn't get the bike as hot as a good thrashing would. The procedure changed my bike's throttle response without a doubt. It especially feels different taking off from a stop, much smoother I would say. While performing the adaptation the motor was definitely doing some interesting things from the fourth to the eighth minute, it started loping and missing. I wonder if the ECU was searching for the optimum timing or something. As an interesting side note, my idle setting was restored to 1,000 RPM, and it was 1,150 before I started.
 
#22 ·
Buckshot Hits It!

Buckshot,

Thanks for the info. I know what I'm going to do tomorrow morning :D
 
#23 ·
This most probably mirrors what I see when tuning EFI bikes on the dyno. After downloading a new tune, the bike takes three full bore runs before the AFR is where I would expect it to be.

The first run after a download is dead rich, somewhere around 10:1 AFR, the subsequent two runs get leaner and the forth run shows the true AFR. This happens every time a tune is downloaded, it's a real pain. With carb'd bikes, the first run after carb changes shows the true AFR.
 
#24 ·
After performing this procedure the bike two days ago it certainly appeared to run better.
Yesterday I fired it up again and the engine would not hold an idle at all. I had to use the "choke" just to get rolling.
After several minutes the bike holds idle but I still had to bump up the idle myself. Throttle response is still fairly rough but I figure there ain't a damn thing I can do about it until I get the bike mapped properly.
 
#25 ·
Being a new Roadster owner. I've read and heard alot of talk of the 12 minute tune. I've already installed my tuneboy key to unlock the ECU and have loaded the tune for the TOR's. I'm in the process of dumping the AB and installing the 3 velocity stacks. I'll redyno at that point and look. Not really excited over the 12 minute tune.
I didn't notice the results changing on my Bonnie when on the dyno. We did serveral pulls with the same results. I did notice with the PCIII that it wouldn't adapt to altitude changes. Ran like **** in the hill country. Got it home and it ran fine. Are you thinking that the 12 minute tune might have solved that problem?
 
#26 ·
I did notice with the PCIII that it wouldn't adapt to altitude changes. Ran like **** in the hill country. Got it home and it ran fine. Are you thinking that the 12 minute tune might have solved that problem?
Frank, I've got no experience with Power Commander products, but does the PCIII, just allow you to force a new map onto the bikes ECU at all costs (i.e. by also turning off the bikes basic adaptive learning). Hence why it ran like **** at higher altitudes?

It just seems strange (to me) that in the later Power Commander V product, they also sell an accessory called "AutoTune", that appears to provide the same basic feature of the stock ECU system, i.e. adaptive...

Just a thought?

Cheers
Steve
 
#28 ·
AFAIK from researching that procedure a while back, all it does is hasten the process that the bike goes thru as you ride it into a different climate/altitude/etc. In other words, the ECU will come to the same settings once you've ridden something like 6 miles as it will doing the "12 minute tune". altitude adjustments for example are changed on the fly as altitude changes. If theres more to it than that i'd sure like to know. But i asked the R3 guys and thats basically what they said too.
 
#29 ·
It does say something like that, and I quote:

Once the base fuel map has been modified (ie the bike has adapted) to suit the individual bikes requirements, this modification value (often refered to as a ‘fuel table multiplier’) will be stored in the ECM memory. The new settings are then retained in the ECM memory, ensuring that adaption is not necessary every time the engine is started.

The engine management system will continue to adapt air fuel ratio (i.e. the mixture setting) to its optimum level in order to ensure differing running conditions do not result in poor running.


But it still instructs you to carry out the static, no throttle bit as well.
 
#36 ·
Well I did the 12 minute tune after first warming the bike up to ambient temp., the only difference I could see was that it blued up my headers pretty good. :confused:
 
#40 · (Edited)
Quite surprised!

Thanks for this Forchetto,

I tried this this morning before going to work, I let her sit for approximately 20 mins then turned her off, started up again and off to work.

I have to say that the difference is quite surprising. There is still a little bit of snatchiness but it is greatly improved. In fact the engine is smoother across the rev range and feels like it revs quicker too.

I'm hoping that it will improve the MPG too maybe by 2-3%. I'll post on that in a week or so when I've gone through a full tank again.

Thanks again
 
#41 ·
Please post this efi info in the knowledge base sticky

Can one of the moderators please post this EFI information in the knowledge base sticky please.

I have noticed a few very important threads containing EFI mods and information posted over the last few months that have been overlooked for inclusion in the knowledge base.

There are more and more efi members here now and it would be much appreciated if important information concerning efi is not simply left to get buried due to lack of interest by those who control the knowledgebase sticky section.

How about it Prop? (Maybe we need an efi member on the board. ;))

Thanks, Ted
 
#42 ·
Agree Ted. I feel that members with EFI models are not experimenting enough due to possible fear of the systems.
You can tell by how early threads containing EFI info just die.

A thread about drain plug washers attracts far more attention...:)

EFI is a complex subject but together we can master it...:D
 
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