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I thought I'd share my dyno experience on the vague chance that it's of any interest to anyone......

Bike is a 2002 model with Lennies, SJ filter, Remus Y-piece, Laser road legal exhaust (baffles in), 3.5bar fuel pressure regulator (K1200RS), 9 degree advance cam sprockets, PCIII wideband USB jobby with its own lambda sensor (which was a pain in the arse to fit because as I've said elsewhere the Remus Y is rubbish).

I didn't have the bike dyno'd standard but enough people have done that - around 80ish bhp at the rear wheel, I think. I saw tripe's/Henry's figures and they were a few more than that (no figures, no embarasment ) but I don't think that bike is entirely standard?

Anyway, bike was running pretty well, I thought, before I took it in - I'd done valve clearances, new plugs, TB balance etc that morning. Some initial runs showed that it was fine in the closed-loop part of the map but as soon as it came out of that it was pouring fuel into the engine by the bucket load! That's the K1200RS fuel pressure regulator, and on this evidence I'd definitiely NOT recommend fitting one to anyone. If it's running so much too rich as to be off the scale on a bike with freer-flowing intake and exhaust, imagine what it'd do to a standard bike (aside from kill the cat) without re-mapping!

Within the closed-loop part of the map the 3.5bar fuel pressure made no difference - the ECU adjusted to suit. So that was a waste of time and money to fit. Most of the mapping work involved leaning off the mixture big time because of the fuel pressure, and the re-mapping added only 2bhp and 3.5lbft, but it added these figures across pretty much the whole rev range.

First-run figures were 93.6bhp, 69.7lbft, final figures 95.5bhp, 73lbft, all at the wheel. The biggest difference is that torque is increased from lower revs (that'll be the new cam sprockets) and it now stays over 60lbft from 2500rpm up to the limiter. Peak torque at 6000rpm (pronounced peak on the graph, not so on the road), peak power around 7600rpm, tailing off slightly from there to the limiter (cam sprockets again).

I'll be the first to admit that dyno figures are meaningless (although I must admit they give me a warm glow ) and it's on the road that it counts. Well the bike is far more 'immediate' accelerating away from rest - there's clearly more torque low down but this is coupled to a new-found smoothness in the power delivery from 2000rpm right up to the top end. This makes it far smoother and more satisfying to ride in traffic or on twisty roads, and on open roads the bike flies. I've become accustomed to a 650 Transalp for the last 4 months but even so the S feels faster than it was before. I get the performance I expect and then realise there's another 20% or so of throttle opening still available!

I can't in all honesty say which of the modifications gave the most improvement but I'd guess that the exhaust and SJ filter probably lead the contest. It's a case of knowing where to stop, really. I was horrified to realise that, when I calculated the value of the mods for insurance purposes yesterday, it came to a shocking £1378 That's new price, for insurance - I bought a couple of bits second hand but the real amount is still the same once you add in the dyno session and fuel pressure regulator which don't have an insurance value. And then there's the non-tuning bits - carbon hugger, etc etc.

Is the bike nearly £1400 better? That's absolutely impossible to answer objectively but having experienced the results I don't regret spending the money or doing the work. I'm just glad I spent it over a period of time and didn't keep track....... In all honesty, though, some might say it's only really made the bike the way it should have been from the factory It's worth it if you think it's worth it, and I do.

Incidentally, prices for the imported parts were:

SJ filter - about £110 including shipping and taxes
Lennies induct and cam sprockets - about £285 including shipping and taxes.

There you go. No more spending for a while as I'm taking the bike off to Italy for a month to worry Ducati development riders on the Futa pass

Great to read your detailed account. Mine is a low mileage 1999 single spark, Lennies; SJ filter; PC wideband; old plugs; full Laser street + baffles and careful servicing = 92 BHP at the wheel. I have considered the cam advance mod, but decided not to bother at present.
I spoke to Jim Cray (R1100S racer/tuner) about degreeing in the cams, they can be +/- 8 degrees from stock, as I got good results from doing this on my old Suzuki GS1000. He said it would only return a tiny amount, the lash in the chain is dreadful.
There isnt much more power to release, not a lot of weight to shave off, so it's down to riding skill from here. I run Conti Road Attack tyres, they have only let go in track type riding on wet roads. I found that they are very forgiving and really grip; so coupled with my enhanced Galfer discs, it's all about as good as it gets.
The PC wideband is the best addition to accommodate all the airflow mods. The various chips are only approximations for silencer and intake systems, they can not read and adjust the way the programmable PC can deal with systems. The PC does not give 'more' power, but it will make sure the fuel mix is correct across the range. My plugs are now that perfect cocoa powder brown shown in the back of most Haynes manuals. None of my previous bikes except a very old single have ever shown that! Every injected bike should have a PC wideband for peace of mind alone.
The R1100S is lean from the factory, cigarette ash grey plugs as stock!
Happy riding.

I should have mentioned - my bike's only done 13,500 miles so still has some bedding in to do. Currectly running on Valvoline VR1 20W50 mineral oil.

I fitted an R1200 left hand cam chain tensioner which has reduced start-up and idle rattle considerably and should, in theory, improve cam timing stability. The cam sprocket mod isn't intended to improve power, but to move torque down the rev range. To be honest the differences are minimal and if I did it all again I probably wouldn't bother.

I think my tyres (Pilot Roads - old type, not 2CT) are the main limiting factor in terms of corner speed - they really don't grip well when leant right over and don't inspire confidence - it needs something stickier on the edges. Next time I'll try either Pilot Road 2CT or even something softer at the expense of longevity. Doing 3000 mile trips on the bike means I need tyres that don't square off in 1500 miles, though!

I changed from 020s to Conti Road Attacks last time round and they're very grippy at all lean angles, as well as being 'stable'. Have work a hole in my right boot-toe and actually rolled the left-hand edge of the tyre, road riding only (and IAM style upright, not all this knee-dragging nonsense...) Recommended.

Your results are very interesting. You've done quite a few mods, including the cam sprockets which I thought would give as good a boost as the exhaust, it is surprising that this is not the case.

I've only modified bits outside of the engine; the exhaust has a two into one y-piece and single exhaust can made using tubing the same diameter as the headers, i.e. fairly small. I've also made my own induct tract from some 80mm PVC rainwater pipe that goes straight forward, over the small gel-cell battery to place the intake where the alternator used to be (it still has the starter motor and I start the bike by plugging in to some jumper cables from the car).

The only other mod would be the digital fuel optimiser, a cheap and crude but effective way to increase fuel at some parts of the RPM curve. There is no lamba sensor anymore.

The local Dynotune dyno reports 100.1 hp at the rear wheel but with a deep chasm in the torque curve from 4400 to 4600 RPM, I think due to the sharp bends in the y-piece and small diameter tubing.

I have the idea that removing the alternator freed up some of the HP that you're missing, but it wouldn't be practical for the street.

As soon as I finish some house renovations the Lizard will be getting a different Y-piece with some larger tubing and shorter exhaust can, then back to the dyno to see if anything changed.

I wouldn't be surprised if removing the alternator freed up around 5bhp - it's quite a heavy load. Having a direct, straight air intake is bound to be an improvement over the induct as well - did you move the oil cooler somewhere else to achieve this?

It sounds as though you haven't fitted a PC - is that right?

I don't have anything you'd describe as a deep chasm in the torque curve but it does vary a bit:



Although the dip in torque at 5300 and the subsequent peak at 6000 look significant there's absolutely no indication of this variation when riding the bike.

The leaning off around 3000rpm is within the closed loop part of the map at full throttle despite the fact that the target a/f ratio is set to 13.8:1. The richer mixture above 6500 is intentional since sustained high revs with a lean mixture will make the engine run very hot - a bit more fuel is insurance for the valves! This probably wouldn't be necessary on a race bike (although you'd tend to aim for closer to 13:1 anyway, fuel consumption presumably not being an issue) because no track has straights so long that you'd be sat at constant high revs for ages - it's a motorway/autobahn thing.

I know that Suzuki1 GS 1000 had a heavy duty alternator creating quite a drag. The mod was to fit an earlier GS750 alternator, a bike that had a kick starter, and a lower rated alternator. Similarly, the R1100S has a heavy duty alternator if the bike is fitted with ABS or heated grips from the factory. A slight gain may be achieved by sourcing a non ABS alternator. IMHO if the battery is in reasonable condition and topped up on an Optimate, the alternator drag is minimal. Clearly an easy gain for racing is to take the alternator off, saves weight too. Riding with lights on saps power!
Next step in power gain after doing the air flow improvements would be high compression pistons, ignition timing advance and higher cams.
Or buy the 1200.

oyster wrote:Next step in power gain after doing the air flow improvements would be high compression pistons, ignition timing advance and higher cams.
Or buy the 1200.

It'd have to the the former rather than the latter for me - the dire pillion provision on the 1200 means that I'll never be able to run one as a main bike because I do probably more mileage two-up than I do solo.

After my 3 months with a 1200GS, though (after which I bought the 1100S) I don't have any desire to move back to a 1200.

sproggy wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if removing the alternator freed up around 5bhp

Blimey, I would, that's about 4 kw

I don't think the alternator delivers quite that much.

oyster wrote:Riding with lights on saps power!

Yep, nearly 0.1 bhp !!!!

sproggy wrote:

oyster wrote:Next step in power gain after doing the air flow improvements would be high compression pistons, ignition timing advance and higher cams.
Or buy the 1200.

It'd have to the the former rather than the latter for me - the dire pillion provision on the 1200 means that I'll never be able to run one as a main bike because I do probably more mileage two-up than I do solo.

After my 3 months with a 1200GS, though (after which I bought the 1100S) I don't have any desire to move back to a 1200.

The comment about the pillion is fair comment Sproggy. If you need one, the R1200S isn't for you.

However, please don't judge the R1200S based on the GS. I have had a number of test rides on the 1200GS and every single time disliked it compared to my bog standard R1100S. My first test ride on an R1200S was completely different. It genuinely felt like a step forward and convinced me straight away.

Hi guys,

i had my R1100s 1999er tested at PDQ too....
kick out 95.01 bhp on the back wheel and 71.27ft-lbs

its a standard bike with Y-piece and Laser Exhaust....not sure if she has a chip too???

has done 19k miles now as i am just back from 2.5k mile trip around Spain!

anyway, pm me your email and i can send you the report PDF if you want.
Lars