Morning All Well the TTR has got it's EU V&H fitted and Muddy Sump will be de-catting the bike for me while I'm away. To make sure I get the most of the change, I was booked in for a PCV fitting and mapping ( as the new Triumph ECUs are all locked down apparently ). After watching Bruce Smart's excellent TeapotOne vlog on YouTube, I got in touch with HillTop Garages near Hinckley ( very apt ) and they assure me they can tune the ECU without a PCV and at nearly half the cost of what the original idea was going to cost me. Normally I would think this was a lot of smoke and mirrors ( no offence HillTop if you read this ), but I trust Bruce implicitly so if he says it's worth a punt then I'll go along with it. It's a while away yet, but I have my TTR booked in for 5th July and will get baseline ( post V&H and de-cat sadly ) and after figures and post an honest review when I'm done. On another subject, has anyone fitted a Quickshifter yet ? I loved the one on my StR and want one on the TTR, but they're still a very new thing it would seem.
Very suspicious of the factory ECU re-map thing but I'll be watching this with interest... Have you made sure they know this is a 2016 bike with the new locked down ECU?...2015 and earlier can be done but 2016??
I was very wary too. They assured me that they are the only people that can get into the ECU ( apart from Triumph ) and they definitely know it's a 2016/7 model. It's a shame I have to wait until July, but I'll make sure to post everything once it's done.
I'm always very wary whenever some supplier of service claims to be the only one who can do this or that - it just makes no sense at all and therefore puts doubts in my mind about their competence.
Agree completely and like I say I would normally avoid at all costs, but this comes on a recommendation from someone I trust and they have plenty of great feedback. MCN used them recently, so I'm happy to give them a punt. http://www.hilltopmotorcycles.co.uk/ Oh and before anyone mentions it, I get nothing back from anyone for this, I just thought it'd be handy to see what can be done. I'll be uploading everything on the night of the 5th, so stay tuned
Although having spoken to another tuner I know well and trust, it would seem unless it's a Beemer or an unlocked ECU there is nothing he can do to truly tune the bike. Might be easier to leave the cat on ( I'm sure the neighbours will agree with that ) and just enjoy the thing as it is, as it's already a stonking bike ;-)
Just read up on what they have to say about what they do and it's all very vague..No one will know they have been in there not even the manufacturer. Well, how are you going to know yourself?? If it were me I would be spending that £350 on a Power Commander, that way you have access in the future to remap or download future maps into your bike. This way they are going to want £350 anytime you change anything and need a remap. Doing it this way doesn't make any sense to me it ties you to them in the future... lets say you wanted to sell the bike, the power commander is easily removable and you can go back to the stock set up. i have just remapped my Supercharged Thruxton over at P3 Tuning in Liverpool (very professional and highly recommended) with the PC-V, I know exactly what was done and I can look at the map and can alter anything at any time in the future..I really don't get why you would go down this road and tie yourself to something that IMO will probably only cause you problems down the road. Removing the cat doesn't make a huge difference at low RPM in the noise department, only really comes into it's own when you open it up. And to be honest the x-pipe type cat replacements are not worth while when we now have straight through headers from both Arrow and Scorpion exhausts. A guy on the RAT forum has been bombarding everyone with his pal's Meerkat x-pipe....trust me if X-pipes were the way to go they would have been using them for years. They are a cheaper way to get half way to where you want to be. The whole point of the de-cat is to remove a restriction (the cat) and the X-pipes still disturb smooth exhaust flow all be it not as much as the cat. If the bike is a keeper then consider the straight through headers....
The bike is definitely a keeper and my trusted tuner has said pretty much what you have Midas, word for word. I'm going to hold off on the who tuning thing for a while and enjoy what I have. I already have the FreeSpirits de-cat pipework, but it isn't fitted. I shall leave it in the box on the shelf ( or flog it if a member wants it ) and wait until the warranty is up, then I can look again at what the options are. I need to ride my father-in-law's 1964 Thunderbird for a few weeks, then my neighbours will think my Thrux is a church mouse by comparison
I had Hilltop Motorcycles work on the ECU from my 2013 Tiger 1050 Sport last year and it completely tranformed the bikes performance. It was rather insipid prior to their work but now it is absolutely fabulous. So impressed was I that last week I sent them the ECU from my Thruxton R. It was all done by post in less than a week and similarly it has made a huge difference to the overall performance. It wasn't by any means poor before but now it is just motorcycle heaven. Honestly best money I have ever spent on any bike.
Perhaps I see the Thruxton in a different way, I went from a 2015 675R Daytona “the minces are not so good” to a Thruxton S not thr R because I just wanted a chilled out bike the would ride nice without the rush of a racer inspired machine. Although it seem I was wrong about it,as everyone seems to want to tune them. I think I must just be old. Have fun gents.
Perhaps I see the Thruxton in a different way, I went from a 2015 675R Daytona “the minces are not so good” to a Thruxton S not thr R because I just wanted a chilled out bike that would ride nice without the rush of a racer inspired machine. Although it seem I was wrong about it,as everyone seems to want to tune them. I think I must just be old. Have fun gents.
Hilltop are very well regarded and the do indeed do what they say. Quite a few of KTM owners use them and a guy on therevcounter.com just had his 690 done by them and is very impressed. That's his write up below. I'd like to get my Thruxton done by them but its the time and distance putting me off.
For me its not about power gains, although they're always welcome, its about getting the bike to fuel correctly. A bike with a nice smoothed out map is much nicer ride than one with dips all over its power delivery.
Time and distance is no issue. I live in Argyll and the simple solution is to remove the ECU. On the Thruxton 1200 it is max 30 mins. Send it Post Office 24hr Special Delivery cost about 7 pounds with a self addressed Special Delivery return bag inside. The ECU is back in a few days. Refit as per the instructions that are emailed to you, max 30 mins and enjoy. Certainly there is no paper dyno run printout but your arm and bahooky dynos will feel the difference. Simples....
I hear nothing but good things about them ad I think I will get them to do this, although slightly nervous about my ECU going in the post. But I love the fact that it will adapt to any further mods I make. Can I ask what they charged you?
The other benefit is that as standards to meet emmision regulations I believe the bike run a very lean mixture which is not good for the engine. This modification also addresses the lean running and hence should be better for the engine.
Cost for postage treatment is 300 plus postage. Cheaper than PC v . 40 pound reduction for subsequent bikes. I've posted 2 ECUs and likewise was very nervous about posting them. That's why I used the 24hr Special Delivery. Dearer but peace of mind.
IIRC Hilltop also add extra mapping points which helps to smooth things out. A Power Commander piggy backs the ECU so can't do this.
All I have different from standard are the V&H cans “they came as package with the bike” and it seems to run beautifully, does pop a bit on the overrun. My only gripe with the running is when you put the mode to sport it becomes really snatchy so I leave it in Road and just go with the flow.
I have the same pipes no other changes.... yet ....and it runs like a dream in all modes. I did contact Hilltop prior to sending them the ECU and they , correctly, said the.modes would still work only better. The modes do work I've tried them all. Don't like the rain one even in the rain !. Road and Sport are now superb. No popping on overrun no snatching just sublime power from start to finish. Great in town or open road.
