ECU Flash from Ivan's Performance available

[shortfuse223]

Got mine installed yesterday and got out for a 75 mile ride today. I really liked my Vaquero before but I love it now! Power is noticeably improved and smoother. No more dead spots during acceleration. The throttle is much more precise and as others have mentioned, it is not overly sensitive when paired up with Ray's throttle mod so I am leaving that on. The sound of my exhaust has changed. It doesn't sound as ragged, for lack of a better term. Just a nice, well tuned rumble. And NO decel popping! My MPG guestimater usually runs around 43 or so but was slightly over 46 after today's ride. I would have been somewhat disappointed if MPG had gone down and would have been satisfied if it had remained the same so a little improvement is a bonus. This upgrade is definitely money well spent! Thanks Ivan!

[Ken Vega]

I will be sending Ivan my ECU on Monday. Cant wait to have the bike run the way it should have from factory. A PCV will be up for sale soon.

[SpecialEd]

Just took mine out of the bike today to send in to Ivan. I can't wait!

[hlknvlcn60]

Haha great Ken I thought you might be doing that soon and you will love the difference believe....well, all of us! You will love the way your engine runs after you get it back..

[kpmhspirit]

Originally Posted by Ken Vega

I will be sending Ivan my ECU on Monday. Cant wait to have the bike run the way it should have from factory. A PCV will be up for sale soon.

Ken, you'll love it. I got mine back this week but only took it out for a few miles and I tried everything to make it backfire. Not even a fart. To me it seems to run smoother, cooler and a little more power. I'm just glad to get rid of the popping. Ivan said to leave the PCV in for now but put a zero map in it in case I find something that needs tuning. I'm guessing I'll have a EJK and PCV sitting on the shelf soon. Nobody wants the EJK's any more but the PCV may be sellable..

The real test I guess will come in the summer on a long ride in hot weather but from everyone's comments on the forum here, it will probably run fine. I was actually just about to take the bike in to a local dyno tuner but saw Ivan's thread and the cost was about awash. I think the ECU reprogram was by far the better option. I told my buddy the bike had a heart transplant...

Let me know what your experience is.

PS. I left Ray's throttle mod on and to me at least it didn't seem to have any impact one way or the other. I know some have taken if off but I'll see how it behaves on a longer trip.

[Ken Vega]

Originally Posted by kpmhspirit

Ken, you'll love it. I got mine back this week but only took it out for a few miles and I tried everything to make it backfire. Not even a fart. To me it seems to run smoother, cooler and a little more power. I'm just glad to get rid of the popping. Ivan said to leave the PCV in for now but put a zero map in it in case I find something that needs tuning. I'm guessing I'll have a EJK and PCV sitting on the shelf soon. Nobody wants the EJK's any more but the PCV may be sellable..

The real test I guess will come in the summer on a long ride in hot weather but from everyone's comments on the forum here, it will probably run fine. I was actually just about to take the bike in to a local dyno tuner but saw Ivan's thread and the cost was about awash. I think the ECU reprogram was by far the better option. I told my buddy the bike had a heart transplant...

Let me know what your experience is.

PS. I left Ray's throttle mod on and to me at least it didn't seem to have any impact one way or the other. I know some have taken if off but I'll see how it behaves on a longer trip.

I wish this was an option after all the headaches and countless tuning time I spent with the EJK. The Power Commander however has been a great addition. My bike ran beautifully yesterday on a 200 mile run. That being said, I like the idea of the flash because of all the thing it does that the PCV can't. Like turning off the fuel cut, which I belive is responsible for alot of the popping at 2100 rpm when fuel kicks back on. Honstly popping is not a big issue for me any more, the occassional fart but if I can eliminate that, why not. Also, the fans coming on early to keep temps at bay, IMO better that cutting wires and adding a manual switch. Biggest thing I am looking forward to is ridding the bike of the herky jerkiness. I can't wait. In a few hours I will be removing and wrapping the ECU up for shipment. Probably Fed Ex overnight. The weather has been nice and I would like the ECU back pronto.

Question, I have been running 89 octane since installing the PCV, as I understand it Ivan adjusted the ignition timing as well in the flash. Have you guys with the flash done had to move to higher octane like 93?

[Ken Vega]

Originally Posted by hlknvlcn60

Haha great Ken I thought you might be doing that soon and you will love the difference believe....well, all of us! You will love the way your engine runs after you get it back..

I cant resist a new mod, especially one that seems to be wildly successful. Much like Rays throttle mod. Luckily while I was in Colombia my wife spent money on emeralds and bullshit, I only bought drinks..lol So when we got back to FL and I said honey I am getting my ECU flashed on the bike, its. $350, Not a dang peep my friend, not a dang peep.

[shortfuse223]

You will need to run 91 or better once you have the ECU done.

Originally Posted by Ken Vega

I wish this was an option after all the headaches and countless tuning time I spent with the EJK. The Power Commander however has been a great addition. My bike ran beautifully yesterday on a 200 mile run. That being said, I like the idea of the flash because of all the thing it does that the PCV can't. Like turning off the fuel cut, which I belive is responsible for alot of the popping at 2100 rpm when fuel kicks back on. Honstly popping is not a big issue for me any more, the occassional fart but if I can eliminate that, why not. Also, the fans coming on early to keep temps at bay, IMO better that cutting wires and adding a manual switch. Biggest thing I am looking forward to is ridding the bike of the herky jerkiness. I can't wait. In a few hours I will be removing and wrapping the ECU up for shipment. Probably Fed Ex overnight. The weather has been nice and I would like the ECU back pronto.

Question, I have been running 89 octane since installing the PCV, as I understand it Ivan adjusted the ignition timing as well in the flash. Have you guys with the flash done had to move to higher octane like 93?

[Tim1128]

I have a 2015 Vaquero and ran 89 before and still run 89 after my ECU flash. I have no issues. I took it out yesterday on a 285 mile ride and got a true 44 mpg. The meter showed it was avg 48. However, I was trying to get my best fuel mileage. No decal pop, or ping ever in about 400 miles since the flash. Nothing but good for me and man the power is there. I am amazed that a ECU flash can do so much. I now will have a PCV and autotune for sale. Ivan's performance is the way to go.

[Hillhouse]

I too am running regular fuel with no issues. Would be interesting if someone knew how to set up a poll on fuel before and after ECU flash.

I suspect that when temps rise into the 80's or higher will need to step up on the fuel used. But right now temps are at best high 50's

[smokier]

Greetings,
So the first real trip with the IVAN-ized ECU is officially under the tires. Took back roads with hills and curves to a neighboring community 32 miles away. Bike ran flawlessly. Temp stayed before the 11' o'clock notch (the ticks to my counting are "Cold-10-11-noon-1-2-Hot"). In town, it did rise to just above 11 o'clock. Ran 60MPH (GPS) the majority of the way. (I do not slow down for curves). MPGuesser indicated 42.8 on that trip. Which would be an improvement from previous trips. Smooth and flawless running and performance all the way over.
Return trip, filled up, reset the MPG-o-guesser and took the highway. Ran 71MPH (GPS). Temp stayed right on the 11 o'clock mark. MPG-o-guesser indicated 39.8 MPG. I was a little playful and might have tested the acceleration threshold more aggressively than required. :) Again, the bike was smooth and flawless.
Verdict? Well worth the $$ and effort...

1: Bike runs cooler -->.<-- (Period) Way worth it! The fan override switch may be mostly decoration at this point. We will wait for Aug and Sept of course...

2:ZERO back fires, ZERO farts, ZERO. AWESOME-SAUCE!

3: Smooth acceleration, smooth running - Ahhh, MUCH better.

4: MPG - slightly better, as stated previously nice side bonus.

Here are two associated observations:
The engine idle never did drop under 1K. I will investigate to determine if the IDLE RPM is UP...
The bike is MUCH quieter with the stock air box back in, yet runs like it did with the BAK/EJK/V&H. The cost of this modification addressed and THEN SOME what all three of those mods were intended to accomplish. With the *HUGE* benefit of not having to listen to the extra sounds from engine...

Thank you Ivan!

Ride safe,
Smokier

[MET-RICK]

I just checked the postal tracker site, mine just landed at JFK Airport....damn it, probably could have got there sooner if the plane had been "Ivanised". .... Going out right now to pull the EJK., anyone looking for one.

[hlknvlcn60]

Looks like there is going to be a huge surplus of fuel processors for sale.... power commanders, EJKs, cobras and more....maybe we should start a bonfire and toss $$ them all in. If only I would have known this in the beginning about the ECU re-tune I would not have wasted all that ching ching on those silly tuners. Like mentioned, one of the best benefits of the ECU re-tune is the running of the motor under 2,000 rpm, it is now steady as a heart beat with no glitches or hickups, surges, or stumbles, just spot-on accurate fueling like it should be. The Ray's mod works great with the tune, no need to swap that out again, just leave it and have fun. I am running 92 octane ethanol free fuel in mine and it runs great as we have an abundance of that fuel out here and it is pretty cheap now. When the weather gets hot I would run premium after the flash because of the ignition timing changes as a precaution and it will keep your valves cleaner too.

[shortfuse223]

My idle did the same thing. I dropped it 50 and it's perfect now.

Originally Posted by smokier

Greetings,
So the first real trip with the IVAN-ized ECU is officially under the tires. Took back roads with hills and curves to a neighboring community 32 miles away. Bike ran flawlessly. Temp stayed before the 11' o'clock notch (the ticks to my counting are "Cold-10-11-noon-1-2-Hot"). In town, it did rise to just above 11 o'clock. Ran 60MPH (GPS) the majority of the way. (I do not slow down for curves). MPGuesser indicated 42.8 on that trip. Which would be an improvement from previous trips. Smooth and flawless running and performance all the way over.
Return trip, filled up, reset the MPG-o-guesser and took the highway. Ran 71MPH (GPS). Temp stayed right on the 11 o'clock mark. MPG-o-guesser indicated 39.8 MPG. I was a little playful and might have tested the acceleration threshold more aggressively than required. :) Again, the bike was smooth and flawless.
Verdict? Well worth the $$ and effort...

1: Bike runs cooler -->.<-- (Period) Way worth it! The fan override switch may be mostly decoration at this point. We will wait for Aug and Sept of course...

2:ZERO back fires, ZERO farts, ZERO. AWESOME-SAUCE!

3: Smooth acceleration, smooth running - Ahhh, MUCH better.

4: MPG - slightly better, as stated previously nice side bonus.

Here are two associated observations:
The engine idle never did drop under 1K. I will investigate to determine if the IDLE RPM is UP...
The bike is MUCH quieter with the stock air box back in, yet runs like it did with the BAK/EJK/V&H. The cost of this modification addressed and THEN SOME what all three of those mods were intended to accomplish. With the *HUGE* benefit of not having to listen to the extra sounds from engine...

Thank you Ivan!

Ride safe,
Smokier

[captj3]

Originally Posted by Ken Vega

I will be sending Ivan my ECU on Monday. Cant wait to have the bike run the way it should have from factory. A PCV will be up for sale soon.

Ken I get my ecu back on tuesday. From what I understand you will have to run the bike on premium fuel. This comes from Ivan and kawasaki. Another person on the forums had the flash done and he said the bike knocks with regular. Don't sell the pcv yet, talk with ivan first you may want to keep it after speaking with him. He's the real deal when it comes to tuning. I had a long talk with him when he called me after receiving my ecu. I'm looking forward to having my bike run the way it should have out of the factory. Tuesday can't come quick enough.