Motodisiac

A long time ago I bought Termignoni muffler for my Multistrada but I wasn’t rushing to install it on a bike. Previous owner already opened up the air box by punching out the snorkels, and bike was already getting to much air - sputtering, backfiring and even stalling once in a while. I knew that without proper mapping installing Termignoni exhaust would only make things worse. So I was desperately looking for solution.

Because 07 and later Multistradas come with O2 Sensor, getting proven Power Commander was not an option. It just wouldn’t work, with ECU getting confused with O2 sensor. Pretty much the only option was buying Ducati Performance ECU (which by the way disables O2 Sensor) I wasn’t rushing to take this route due to $500+ cost.

Once day I was browsing www.desmoporsche.com and I noticed that they offer ECU remapping for all Ducati models. A couple of very quick e-mail exchanges later, I took my ECU out and shipped it to DesmoPorsche in Texas. Bobby assured me that it’s going to be done within a day or two. I had a feeling for DesmoPorsche wizards cracked Ducati ECU code and I will have DP map loaded into my stock ECU. For $250 it was worth the try. Re-Mapping also disables O2 sensor, so I figured even if the bike didn’t run right, I could alway get Power Commander for optimal tuning.

After about a week of riding my bicycle to work, I politely sent DesmoPorsche an e-mail, requesting an update. Answer came almost immediately. Bobby had a problem with equipment and my ECU wasn’t done yet. As a small business owner I understand that problems sometimes come up, sp I decided to wait. More waiting meant more burned calories By the way Bobby offered to overnight my ECU back to me in case I need to ride.

So in another week I had my ECU back. DesmoPorsche even sent it via express mail at no cost to me. Total cost was $260 (plus $12 I paid to UPS it to DesmoPorsche) The day I received my ECU back I HAD to install it and test it. Bobby mentioned that I may have to reset TPS so I also ordeded Technoresearch tool at the same time.

First I tried it with stock exhaust just to be sure the bike runs. It fired up immediately, and didn’t sound much different. The smell however was another story. I could tell the bike ran much richer now. Good. After the Termis went on, I went for a ride. By the way the bike ran just fine without TPS reset, but I did it afterwards just in case. Now I have VDST tool

I’m glad to report outstanding results. The bike tuns smoother than ever, it revs up a lot quicker and pulls hard all the way to the redline. It seems like DP map really affected the bottom end response and added quite a few hp in upper RPM range. I think my bike runs just about PERFECT right now. Gas mileage suffered just a little bit, it seems l lost 3-4 mpg.

A word about the Termignoni. It sounds just like I wanted - not loud at all, but very Ducati like. PERFECT.

So, if you have aftermarket pipes and stock ECU, please do the right thing and re-map it. Your bike will feel completely different and you will love it even more. Thank you Bobby and DesmoPorsche.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 22nd, 2010 at 4:58 pm and is filed under Motorcycles, Street, Gear, Learning. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.