Exhaust and Tuning

[Yamablueridge]

I’m new to the Tenere and have found this site to be a great source for info. Thought I’d share my experiences with the vendors as I’m really impressed with the response times and products.

 

On the exhaust there’s a ton of options out there, I went with Black Widow. The pound is way down so it’s a great time to support our friends in the UK. I could not believe it when the Black Widow exhaust showed up four days after ordering. The full system came with all the fixins- O2 extension, pipe sealant and they even tossed in new seals for the exhaust ports. My setup was the same as this dudes:

The packaging and instructions were first rate too. Some people have had issues with the joints leaking but I had no snags with a very, very, very (John Cleese in time bandits) light smear of Hi-temp red on both the female and male ends. I left the baffle in and it’s plenty loud to scare critters, while not an ear splitting droning menace. 
 

The tuning as to be expected was a bit more involved. I went with 2WDW email tune and the FTECU kit. The FTECU kit works great it does take a bit of time pinning the ECU, with that bastard orange wire in the middle row. Had a few snags getting it connected to the laptop but I phoned FTECU and they were able to straighten me out on the download steps, great service with none of the let me get your number and we’ll call you back nonsense. 
 

2WDW was super responsive as well, sent in my request in the morning and had the tune by mid afternoon same day. And it’s spot on, no decel fueling issues or backfiring and it just rips. It’s super smooth roll ons and seemingly better temps (chilly fall weather) the fan kicks at 200.
 

I couldn’t be happier with all three vendors and highly recommended them. My bike is euro5 if you have an E5 double check the ECU number for support.
 

The old lady is on to me after 27 years of marriage, as I’m installing the goodies she wisecracks; one month in and your voiding warranties again. And I said yep, I’m narrowing my collision windows to include only deaf deer. 
 

 

[whisperquiet]

I am glad my ‘21 T7 runs great and didn’t require a different exhaust or tuning.

[AlexFriedland]

Hi. Please say, after the entire installation, how to get the correct firmware? Is it free?

[Yamablueridge]

Alex, the software can be downloaded for free. Once you purchase the on bike install kit or bench kit and register an account with FTECU you will have access for downloading the stock or unrestricted files for your ECU. 
 

FT ECU Inc. » 2021-2022

 

The stock Yamaha fueling on my E5 was good, I didn’t have any running issues. There are a few reasons for the tune, lower fan temps, no catalyst to radiate heat, added timing advance and no super lean EPA/E5 tuning. If your riding style has you swinging the rpm’s past 9k the fueling is much better with the tune on the top end. 
 

The best part is the roll ons and super torque curve, it will tractor up any hill at 3k in 6th. Had a 4th gear power wheelie off a hill after loading the suspension and the front end was lifting going down the hill after the crest, couldn’t get close to that snappy before the mods. 
 

I’ll admit the exhaust sound has a psychosomatic effect on me with regards to power output, but there’s more to the tuning than the placebo effect. I’d do it again in a heartbeat, super happy with the bike. 

 

[AlexFriedland]

Tnx bro  

[RIDER GUIDER]

So just done mine ... haven't looked at all at any ECU flashing as yet, I'm happy so far with how it runs however for a bloke brought up with carburettors and the only electricals being ignition points and indicators - should I be getting this done at least for the cooling?

[Yamablueridge]

That scorpion looks good. I would get with Woolrich if I lived in oz. IMO part throttle will improve and at high rpm it will keep pulling. 

Woolich Racing - ECU Flashing for Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha, BMW, Honda and Ducati

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ECU Flashing, Tune Fuel Maps, Ignition Maps and other Advanced Settings in your Motorcycle ECU.

I’m a tune guy and always have had good experiences with ecu flashing. Literally, everything I run has a tune, my 3.5 Eco boost 220k tuned since 10k, my coyote tuned at 780 miles @ 20k. 
 

I’m not an expert at fueling, but I have my doctorate in voiding warranties. 
 

 

[Dougie]

The rapidbike evo is what I’ll be fitting at some point. As long as I’m a good boy and father xmas doesn’t put me on his naughty list. I like the fact that it’s all standard and just “learns” as you ride. Good reviews on here by all that fitted one. 

[motonap]

This questions has probably been asked already, but a forum search hasn't yielded any results yet! My T7 is either somewhere on the assembly line or on its way to getting shipped. But if I do get an answer that helps, it would help me order in an exhaust before the bike gets here!

 

I love my after market exhausts and cannot imagine having to ride a bike with a stock exhaust for too long. With that being said, what are the bits around warranty and fitting an after market slip on during the warranty period with Yamaha? Do I need to run through my warranty before I install one?

 

While I like the option that Yamaha offers with the factory fitted option, but it will put me out of pocket for other high priority accessories and the Akra factory option just isn't as mean as the likes of a Black Widow. 

 

The Black Widow slip-ons have been brilliant on my previous bike and I would buy another one with my eyes closed!

[Dougie]

I’d speak to your dealer as they’d be the ones doing any warranty work. They’d need a good argument to get out of a claim for a replacement end can. Even insurance companies (in uk) don’t need to be informed for replacement exhausts. I ordered a new can as soon as I got her home. But now I want a mivv Dakar for the high level.

[Yamablueridge]

I’ve never had positive experiences with dealers and warranty service, even as a young lad working in an Acura dealer as a flat-rate line tech. In the flat-rate world warranty service doesn’t pay very well - 10 minutes to swap a drivers door seatbelt assembly, takes 10 minutes to get the tools and car setup. 
 

No dealer could reasonably deny warranty for a slip on. However, once you swap the header or modify the ECU parameters you’re mostly on your own.  I’m good with that, as we only get a 12 month warranty in merika and for me 3 months of the year  it’s too damn cold to ride. So it’s essentially a 9 month warranty usage period and not worth it.

 

 Like Farley said in Tommy Boy, “I’ll take a dump, put in in a box and give you a guaranteed piece of Shet”. 
 

I understand the other side of the coin, it’s an expensive piece (to me) and a 12-14k broken down lump after three months is a nightmare. One gent on here had an engine failure and the wait for parts was so long, he found then swapped a used motor before the dealer could gather the warranty parts.

 

I usually run new bikes to around 200 miles with various throttle loads and swing the tach to near redline, never banging up or down shifts hard, then change oil. Change oil again at 600 miles and once the chain has settled it’s ready for the full Monty. After giving her the beans for an additional 800 - 1k miles change oil again and done.  If she ain’t broke after 1600 miles, with 800 of them hard, no worries mod away.
 

If anything happens, tell the dealer an uneducated hillbilly on internet told you so….
 

I’m with you on the Black Widow exhaust, love mine. 
 

 

[Yamablueridge]

I had a hard look at the rapid evo too and it’s a good system. I didn’t want all the clutter of a piggy-back controller and I didn’t want to ship my ECU across the states. The FTECU system works well and I have a few tuning shops to pick from; 2WDW is my choice and it’s been flawless. The on bike harness was a bit finicky but I’d imagine a far less troublesome install compared to the evo harness. 

 

Performance wise I wouldn’t expect much of a difference between the systems. Dougie, if you get the evo system, please let us know. 
 

[winddown]

A tossed a new can on, that won't change the tuning much at all, no need to do remapping unless it's some super barky hollow pipe.