1100 Evo - a quest for smooth running

[Luddite]

Part 1: Fuelling and exhaust

Okay, hands up any of us who have made performance enhancing mods to our monsters. Mmm, quite a few.

Now hands up if you've made a performance reducing mod. Not so many I think.

So, at the risk of being called a heretic and being banished from UKMOC, I must confess to doing something to my Evo that reduces performance (in theory!) BUT (in my opinion) makes the bike much nicer to ride. More of that later.

I think most Evo owners would agree that, while it's a great machine, there is one area that could do with some improvement, and that's low speed running.

In standard trim, trying to hold a steady 30 mph results in hunting and surging accompanied by chain slap from the transmission. Constant feathering of the clutch is needed to make smooth progress. "Not a problem", you may say. "Just use more revs or buy a 696 instead." Both valid solutions but, having owned earlier monsters, I knew the Evo could be made to run smoother low down.

With two great 539cc cylinders thumping up and down, it's never going to be as smooth as a CBR600 but considerable improvements are possible.

The first thing to consider is the cause of the rough running. There are two main culprits:

• Emissions/noise regulations
• Engine tune.

Emissions regulations we can blame on Brussels and there are a number of areas all contributing to the problem.

Problem no. 1: like most Ducatis, it's overgeared in order to help pass noise tests. Standard gearing is 15/39.

Solution: Easy - just change the final drive ratio. Either a 14 tooth front sprocket (cheap and quick), or a 42 tooth rear sprocket and 106 link chain (much more expensive but a better technical solution).

Result: I used a 14 tooth sprocket with no problems. Admittedly, all this does is move the rough running problem to a slightly different road speed but it definitely makes town riding easier.

Problem no. 2: Noise regs. again, which is the reason for the butterfly valve in the exhaust link pipe. This is open at tickover, (which is why stock cans still sound good), and again at about 4,500 - 5,000 rpm. Between those engine speeds, the valve closes to get the bike through noise testing. The problem is, at town speeds, the valve is constantly opening and closing, causing inconsistent gas flow and, consequently, rough running.

Solution: Disable/remove the valve either using a defeat device like the duc.ee or switching it off at the ECU. A full remap will do this or the Ducati Performance Termi ECU runs without the valve.

Result: I fitted the DP stainless Termis and ECU (96450111B). This disabled the butterfly valve and resulted in a marked improvement in low speed running with noticeably less hunting and surging. Cont.

[Luddite]

Problem no. 3: The dreaded lambda sensors! As the Evo has a catalytic converter, it has lambda sensors that monitor the air/fuel ratio in the exhaust. At low revs/small throttle openings the Evo runs a closed loop O2 system where the ECU monitors the lambda sensors' readings and adjusts the fuelling to get the ideal ratio for the cat (about 14.7/1). Unfortunately, this is not the best mixture for the motor and is usually leaner than is ideal for smooth running. At higher revs/throttle openings, the fuel system is open loop and fuelling is as per the factory settings on the ECU with no interference from the lambdas.

This leanness and constant adjustment of the mixture is what causes the low speed hunting and surging and that feeling of an imprecise throttle connection .

Solution: Again, there's the cheap and cheerful option and a more thorough, more expensive route.

The cheapest solution is to fit some lambda eliminators like these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Oxygen-lam...item3cd176d4d5

These fool the ECU by sending a steady reading back so fuelling is as per the factory settings with no adjustments. They worked really well for me, resulting in smoother running and with no engine warning light either. For the money, a great little mod. Note that I don't think they work on the 2013 Evo. Check with the seller before buying.

While the eliminators allow you to remove the lambdas, they don't affect the actual fuelling on the ECU. If you want to change the stock fuelling, (which is still likely to be weak at low revs), you need to remap the ECU.

In conjunction with the eliminators, I also fitted iridium plugs (NGK DCPR8EIX) with 1 mm gaps. These give a fatter spark which are better at igniting a weaker mixture.

The ultimate solution is to have a full custom map developed on a dyno. Chris at CJS Racing in Bristol has good feedback. http://cjsracing.co.uk/dyno_ecu_reprogramming.htm

If you can't get to a dyno, a more convenient alternative is to have an off-the-shelf remap by post. After reading Chris.p's excellent thread (http://www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/s...ad.php?t=50780) in which he explained the great results he got with a Rexxer remap from Neil at Cornerspeed, (http://cornerspeed.co.uk/tuning.php), that's what I did.

Result: Great service, great value, great results. Perfect fuelling right down to below 3,000 revs with smooth pickup right through the rev range. In addition, it allows you to remove both the lambda sensors and the exhaust valve. Note that you must unplug the lambdas or lambda eliminators. Leaving them plugged in confuses the remapped ECU.

The final piece of the puzzle revolves around the flywheel (no pun intended). Details to follow in part 2...

[jonzi]

I think the rexxer tune also eliminates the need for a DUC.EE

I had both. I removed the duc.ee, no EWL came on.

[J.P]

When I tried for a full engine remap at CJS Raving on my 1100 EVO and it was brilliant.

(Warning, more modern bikes have Siemens ECU's that could not, as of early 2016, be hacked for a remap).

[slob]

but it did have a slightly adverse effect on your fuel consumption ;-)

[Luddite]

Now this is the part, which some of you may think is a backward step (but my forum name is Luddite so what d'you expect?!).

Problem no. 4: Transmission backlash. Although the earlier mods bring smooth fuelling, the final thing preventing taking full advantage of that smoothness below 3,000 revs is chain slap.

When the Evo was lauched, one of the headline features was that it produced the magical (should that be"mythical"?) 100 HP.

Interestingly, the EC Certificate of Conformity gives the engine power as 95 HP. Whether this is a truer reflection of the actual power output or just Ducati using the old 1100 certificate, who knows?

To achieve this increased power, the engine modifications from the old 1100 included different cams, higher compression and a lighter flywheel from the 848 Evo.

The flywheel stores momentum from the engine and releases it when the engine slows down. It helps to smooth the power delivery, especially at low speed, and damps out transmission slack when riding on and off the throttle, as in town. In theory, a heavier flywheel should have a greater damping effect.

The old 1100 flywheel weighed around 1,800 g while the Evo's is only about 900 g. While the lightweight flywheel might help the engine to spin up faster, I believe it ruins the low speed characteristics and contributes to the rough running.

Solution: A check of the engine diagrams suggested that the 1100 flywheel should fit the Evo without modifications. I'd always fancied trying this swap but, at over £200 for a new flywheel, it would be an expensive experiment.

So, when a second-hand Hyperstrada flywheel (276.1.025.1C) came up on ebay at only £30, I thought it was time to give it a try.

Here are the two side-by-side (the Evo is on the left)...



...the Evo at 988 g



...and the old 1100 at 1,838 g.



You'll see that the 1100 flywheel has an extra hole to accommodate a locating pin, which the Evo doesn't have. I did wonder if that might cause balance problems but the Evo flange, which sits atop the flywheel, also has the redundant hole so no problems there.

Contd...

[Luddite]

Result: From the moment you start the cold engine, the improvements are noticeable. Easy starting settling into a steady tickover. Pulling away on the cold engine is super-smooth with the clutch fully home straightaway.

With a warm engine, power delivery feels smoother right through the rev range but the biggest and most noticeable improvement is at low speed in town where chain slap and transmission backlash is almost completely eliminated. This lets you get the most out of the previously improved fuelling permitting revs as low as 2,000-2,200 or 30 mph in fourth. I'm almost tempted to go back to standard gearing.

An added bonus is that the previously fierce engine braking has been tamed and gear changes, especially downshifts are much better as it's now easier to match up the revs.

It would have been interesting to try the flywheel before the other mods as I think it could have largely masked the poor fuelling.

Potential drawbacks of a heavier flywheel?

• Well, weight (obviously).
• If your battery/starting circuit is marginal, I suppose starting could be harder as more energy would be required to overcome the inertia of the flywheel.
• A less responsive motor at higher revs.
• If you're prone to banging down the gearbox from high revs, you're more likely to lock the rear as it is harder for the rear wheel to speed up the motor.
• In theory, the traction control might need recalibrating.

Conclusion

For the way I ride on the roads that I ride, this flywheel change has made a great bike into my perfect bike. It is now a joy to ride at all speeds on all roads.

I can't detect ANY drawbacks to this mod, just noticeable improvements in all the areas I wanted to improve.

I don't know if anyone else has tried this modification but I can thoroughly recommend it, provided you can find a cheap flywheel that is.

This mod may also work for the 796, which also has the lighter flywheel, but you'd have to confirm that before trying it yourself.

I hope some or all of the above may be helpful to any fellow Evo owners looking for smoother running.

[Luddite]

Originally Posted by jonzi

I think the rexxer tune also eliminates the need for a DUC.EE

I had both. I removed the duc.ee, no EWL came on.

You're right, Jonzi, the remap removes the need for either a duc.ee or O2 eliminators.

[chris.p]

Interesting, have you had it on the dyno before the flywheel mod and after the flywheel mod???

[Flip]

That was an interesting and excellent step by step account of the problems and the effects of your mods- not relevant to my old 900 but I do enjoy hearing how people make their bikes perfect for them.

Mine has always been 'work in progress' over the near eighteen years of ownership but having got my suspension 'properly' sorted last year along with a few other bits and pieces this year it is pretty much there- certainly on the handling side of things.

[Darren69]

thanks for the posts Luddite. I have been trying to tell people on here for so long that a good quality performance clutch and lighter flywheel is the way to go for better running bike even for the earlier carby and inj bikes.

[Luddite]

Originally Posted by chris.p

Interesting, have you had it on the dyno before the flywheel mod and after the flywheel mod???

Sadly no, Chris, which I regret. It would have been really interesting to see if and how the heavier flywheel affected the power curve and, indeed, maximum power.

What I can say is that even an insensitive clod like me can detect the improvement here, which makes me really happy!

At least now, if I did a track day with you, I could attribute your better lap times to my heavy flywheel, rather than my lack of riding ability.

[Luddite]

Originally Posted by Darren69

thanks for the posts Luddite. I have been trying to tell people on here for so long that a good quality performance clutch and lighter flywheel is the way to go for better running bike even for the earlier carby and inj bikes.

Hi Darren.

I know you've been a fan of lightened flywheels for some time; didn't I read you'd fitted a 500 g one on your bike?

I've gone in COMPLETELY the opposite direction to you to achieve my aim by fitting an 1,800 g flywheel to my Evo. That's, what, 3½ times the weight of yours! I'll have to drill an awful lot of holes to recover that weight penalty!

But isn't that the great thing about Monsters? Two people can start with identical examples, modify them in completely different directions and still end up with their perfect bike.

[Luddite]

Originally Posted by Flip

Mine has always been 'work in progress' over the near eighteen years of ownership...

It would be a sad day if Ducati ever produced the perfect Monster for everyone, don't you think, Flip?

There's a huge sense of satisfaction to be had by identifying an area for improvement, researching appropriate modifications, then spending time, effort, money (inevitably!), engaging suitable experts if necessary, in achieving your perfect bike.

I'd miss that if you could just go out and buy it.

[boris]

Loving the thread. Have you seen this? A very interesting bit of reading for both parties.....

http://www.ducati-upnorth.com/tech/flywheel.php