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1000SS DS ie Playing with Cam Timing and U59 ECU - Written Feb ‘05 Given that I’d already done the basic stuff to a 1000 I wanted to see what I’d get playing with cam timing and them adding the Ultimap U59 ECU. Not that the 1000 runs that bad with the std ECU or is overly lean with mods (With the Euro ECU anyway, I can’t speak for the US ECU). Plus the fact it is dual plug probably helps it cope with slightly leaner mixtures much better than a single plug 2V. I tried the usual advancing the inlet timing, but generally all I got was less top end. Not much, but not really any more midrange either. I find these things pretty mid rangy anyway and inclined to get rather slappy under full throttle so am not really convinced they need much more midrange. Plus the inlet cam duration is much less than the older 900 – 260 degrees compared to 280 – and the same as the 800 and old 600/750 cam, with inlet closing at 65 ATDC compared to 75 ATDC on the 900. This meant that advancing the inlet took the closing below 65 degrees immediately. So it seems we’re stuck with good cam timing out of the box. Bugger! I did try retarding the timing also, but that just lowered the curve all over. So, std timing is the best compromise for overall performance it would seem. In fact, I’d be much more inclined to attend to the std over gearing – 15/38 – by running a much more suitable 14/40 or 15/42 or 15/43. Even 14/38 would help. And then machine down the flywheel to help it spin up a little faster. Then it’d be as fast as I’d expect the chassis to be able to handle. Although it’d still be down on top end, but aside from pulling the heads and fitting bigger valves or going to the cams Vee Two are producing I don’t think there’s much you’ll do to help it there. Victim of its tradition is our 1000. The other issue with increasing the midrange is reducing the feel of the top end, which is important for many. They just feel a bit flat up top, generated by the better midrange and slightly less top end. Depends how you like it and how hard you rev it. So, to some graphs. First up I’ll show this bike compared to the other 1000SS I’ve dyno’d. This one’s a little better, why I don’t know. Green is this bike with Staintunes, red is this bike with Staintunes and air filter kit. Blue is the previous 1000 with mufflers, yellow the previous 1000 with mufflers and air filter kit. No all std run for this bike – that just adds to the dyno time and expense (and there was more than enough of both!)
Next is a graph showing the 4 different cam timing settings I tested. All runs are with the Staintunes, open air filter and std ECU. Although, I did introduce one change half way through. I swapped the std paper air filter for a BMC washable type (the kit one) which does appear to have leaned the mixture. Didn’t make any power difference, but there was a noticeable change in part throttle running that did surprise me greatly. It surged and popped with the BMC filter and std ECU, which I didn’t expect. It has also effected the air/fuel traces at WOT slightly, which I’ll point out when we get to that. Red is std setting (as delivered) of 116 degree inlet centreline, one degree off the spec of 115 degrees. Green is 106 centreline (advanced 9 over spec), blue is 111 centreline (advanced 4) and yellow is 121 centreline (retarded 6).
The air/fuel trace shows what usually happens when you change timing without changing fuelling. Leaner in the midrange due to more air being trapped, richer at the top end due to less air getting in. Changing the air filter from the std paper filter (red and green runs) to the BMC filter (blue and yellow) leans the mixture overall, so this graph isn’t as clear as originally hoped. But, you get the idea (maybe?).
My main reason for playing with the 1000SS was to fit an Ultimap U59 ECU and map it as required. This involved a few dyno sessions and then some time riding the bike day to day to see how it all went and to sort out any problems. I didn’t really think there was a huge improvement over the std ECU, but not owning a 1000SS it’s often a bit hard to be truly objective. So once I was happy I got an owner who had a 1000 fitted with mufflers and air filter kit to trial the ECU for me. The feedback I received was pretty interesting. The first owner who tried it initially said he quite liked the change – it went nicely, used less fuel and got rid of An annoying vibration around 3,000 RPM. But, he didn’t think it justified the expense. We charge the std $825 for the U59 ECU and add $77 dollars for the custom map to recoup some of the money spent developing it. So for $902 he wasn’t so keen. But, when he was due to bring it back and have his std ECU refitted, he changed his mind and paid for it. Simply because, as he said, it was so nice to ride with the new ECU. I must say, I was rather proud of myself and my mapping effort after that comment. The mapping was done with the cam timing set to 111 degrees inlet centreline, but it works just fine with the spec setting of 115 degrees too. The bike was fitted with Staintune mufflers and the Ducati Performance air filter kit. The graphs below show the results. Red is the U59 ECU with developed map and 111 cam timing. Blue is the same apart from running the std ECU. Green is std cam timing (116) and std ECU. All runs with Staintune mufflers and DP air filter kit. First graph shows power, the second air/fuel.
I also had a bit of a play with the suspension too. Just setting the sag for my weight (90kg) and a twiddle of the damping knobs. Where I ended up is shown below. These settings seemed to settle the bike down a bit, and take a touch off the harshness.
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