Last week I flashed a bike, in my shop, for a member of this forum. He was the perfect guy for it too...long time rider, former Moto racer, and currently he raced cars with EFI so he knows the ins and outs of EFI tuning. I'm hoping he posts up here, but from what he told me he knew in the first 300 feet out of my driveway that there was a considerable change in the way the engine ran.
That would be me. It has been crazy since returning from vacation, so here goes with my impressions of this Flash.
The first thing I noticed is the bike starts slightly quicker and you will smell raw fuel for a few seconds. Once you start to roll at up to about 1500RPM the same old mild mannered C14. From there it smoothly transitions to a much noticeably stronger pull at 2000 RPM. Between 2500 and 3000 RPM the motor is pulling like it used to at 4000 to 4500 prior to the flash.
When you first bring it through the low end of the rev range you will immediately notice how crisp and clean the bike will be running.
From there grab a handful from 4000 to 10,000 you will find the front end rises higher and you will lean forward more....because you have to. The extra 14 HP or 10% here is worth the price of this tune by itself.
Since I normally ride "The Pace" in twisties I went for the "New Map" with controlled deceleration. The first time you chop the throttle from high up in the revs you notice the SMOOOOOTH transition to deceleration. No more slamming you forward and the deceleration pops ( My bike was ridiculous with that feature ) but rather a consistent smooth controlled deceleration. So smooth in fact it makes you question the need for a slipper clutch.
The last thing you will notice is fuel economy. I ran from Daytona to Tampa to get this flash done. I used 3.8 gallons when I fueled back up in Tampa. The dashboard said I was doing 41.8MPG and I was USING THE ECONOMY MODE. After Steve did the flash I rode the exact same route, hammering the throttle a little harder trying out the new flash, and on the return trip I used 3.2 Gallons and the dashboard read 44.1 MPG. I NEVER USED ECONOMY MODE on the return trip.
In conclusion the bike now pulls much harder from about 1800 RPM through redline but does it smoothly. It decelerates in a more controlled fashion with no popping which allows you to use the engine as a means of slowing rather than just the brakes. And it gets noticeable better gas mileage. The last benefit is the general smoothness both accelerating and decelerating makes the bike again noticeably less tiring to ride. Steve has achieved a number of things the average "Race Tuner" doesn't even consider namely increased performance and efficiency along with greatly improved drivability/rideability.
For 8 years the first modification new C14 riders are urged to make is swapping to better rubber and trashing the OEM tires. I am telling you Steve's flash is now the first thing anybody should do to a C14 .....because Kawasaki could have done it this way and didn't.
The last thing you will notice is Steve is one hell of a nice guy and he gives a **** about what he does and wants it right by you guys.
