ECU removal

Hi guys, planning to send my ecm to Don Guhl for flashing. I am pretty good with technical stuff, however I am reluctant to rip into my $16,000 bike in an effort to find and remove the unit. I was hoping one of you vets may have a cheat sheet to help. I was unable to find anything on you tube. if anyone has any instructions or even a few tips to offer it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Basically it's the same process as getting to your airfilter. The ecu is directly in front of the airbox. There are four plugs on the bottom of the ecu that need to be unplugged. Un clip the retainers,unplug the unit,and lift it out.
You will be more than happy after the reflash. Definitely worth the money.

 

Thank you! That helps narrow the search. I'm on it!

 

As a precaution, disconnect your battery before you get started. The ecu is very expensive. You don't want to take the chance on frying anything.

 

Good idea!....will do. Thanks for the pointers Motorn. Much appreciated!!!

 

I'm going to do the ECU reflash as well, taking it out today. "While I'm in there", what else should I replace, maintain, upgrade?

Thanks.

 

Air filter inspection. When re-installation of your ecu use dielectric grease on the connectors. Will protect any from any corrosion in the future.

 

I'm about to tackle the same issue, with shipment to Guhl for a re-flash of the ECU. Will I need to remove all of the side panels to lift the tank and get to the ECU? Thanks for any assistance you can provide!

 

Yes, you'll need to remove the lower side panels and tank side panels to lift the tank. There's good instructions on this forum but the service manual really helps.

 

Ugh, that scares the crap out of me. Worried that I'll do something stupid and break off one of the connection points on the fairings. BUT, thank you so much for answering my question. At least now I know exactly what the task will require if I want to unleash the power of the bike. Thanks again!

 

First of all, you really have to do the re-flash. Made a HUGE difference, completely changed this from being a great bike into a monster (in a good way). It's well worth the effort in taking off the fairings.

Once you start working on it you'll realize what a masterful job Honda did in getting this beautiful body work with such tight fitting tolerances. But it comes at a price. It is fairly complex.

I highly recommend buying and using the shop manual. I won't say "it's easy" - and I was scared too - but if you go slow, follow the manual, look at a couple of the YouTube videos (BTW, the most popular YouTube video is WRONG. It has you take out screw(s) holding an inner piece that DOES NOT need to be removed to take off the lower fairing), and look inside as you pull on things lightly you'll figure it out. The only tricky parts are the lower fairings. Everything is very easy.

Note: Disconnect the battery.

Finally, while you're in there: 1. Use di-electric gel on the ECU connectors when re-installing. 2. Change the air filter - maybe go with the K&N. 3. Change the oil. 4. Maybe change the coolant depending on how many miles, how old. 5. Maybe change the spark plugs.

 

Concerning replacement of the air filter with a K&N. I replaced my filter with a K&N and it has advantages beyond more airflow as you will never have to buy another one (just clean the K&N). If you don't want to spend the money right now on the K&N just remove the restrictive screen from the stock filter and reuse it if it is clean. We tested the modified stock air filter (restrictive screen removed) against the K&N on the dyno and there was no difference. The stock modified filter made the same HP & TQ as the K&N and did not affect CO readings.

 

I'm in exactly the same boat. I've had my brand new 2010 since August 31 and I couldn't be more pleased with this bike-- until I learned what I was missing from threads here and at VFRD. It will be nice to cruise around city streets in 3rd gear for a change-- and knowing that the bike is no longer neutered by original design will be nice too, although i doubt I'll be stretching it to anywhere near its limits.

Anyway... I had planned on taking it to the dealer to do the removal and reinstall of the ECU. The service guy said that it'd be no problem. Now I'm thinking I might do it myself based on the comments here.