Post Kawasaki Voyager trike install bliss

[2Paps]

This is a report for all you VN1700 riders.

As some of you know I put a CSC kit on my Voyager last month. I had some concerns regarding performance and mpg that came true. Ya just can't jack up the bike weight by 300# and shape the rear end like a brick ( A good lookin brick but still a brick ) and not expect to take a hit on performance. I was still in the let's get reacquainted with each other phase when a fellow in NY started a thread on the Vulcan Bagger forum that started out like this; "Look what I have done for you guys...." Not bad for an attention getter. I just had to find out what was going on so I read Ivan's offering and continued to follow the thread to see how others reacted to an offer to have their ECU reflashed to cure all the ills that we all complain about and apply various band aids to remedy. It turns out Ivan is the real deal and has a stellar reputation in the sport bike world where he has been doing this for many years. Bottom line after reading all the reports from folks who took the leap and got their ECUs reflashed, I couldn't resist, off went the ECU to NY!

I was the first trike to take the plunge. Ivan had to think about how it would react and finally decided to put the stock map in it and had me report back so he had confidence in what works on VN1700 Trikes. His only concern was with pinging. I have not found any after about 500 mi.

Reflash results: When you first start the trike the ECU will "learn" the setup. Idle will hunt and then settle down. When you take it on the road you will immediately feel the difference in the response. She'll pull like crazy in all gears, the motor is smooth, throttle is smooth and there's none of the low speed herky jerky that you either experienced or made allowance for. Take note of the exhaust sound before you remove the ECU and compare that memory to what you hear after reinstallation. You'll like it. No decel pops in addition to sounding smoother! The motor runs cooler because the engine isn't working as hard and the fan trigger temperatures have been set lower. If you have a fuel controller, you are instructed to set the map to all zeros so you can evaluate the ECU changes. Most folks are removing their fuel controllers because the reflash removes all the problems that the controllers tried to fix.

You'll probably find that you don't have to downshift as much to get up the hills because you won't hear the motor straining. The reflash is a major smile generator! Ya do have to remember to keep your wrist out of it.

This is truly a plug and play fix. A comprehensive list of what the reflash addresses along with performance graphs is on Ivan's web site. Just chase the link above.

Back to my concerns; my mpg has increased by about 5 mpg. The trike performs like it did as a 2 wheeler . . . only on steroids! I'm confident that in a competition my trike will put perform any stock Voyager out there.

[Rmitchell55]

This is a report for all you VN1700 riders.

As some of you know I put a CSC kit on my Voyager last month. I had some concerns regarding performance and mpg that came true. Ya just can't jack up the bike weight by 300# and shape the rear end like a brick ( A good lookin brick but still a brick ) and not expect to take a hit on performance. I was still in the let's get reacquainted with each other phase when a fellow in NY started a thread on the Vulcan Bagger forum that started out like this; "Look what I have done for you guys...." Not bad for an attention getter. I just had to find out what was going on so I read Ivan's offering and continued to follow the thread to see how others reacted to an offer to have their ECU reflashed to cure all the ills that we all complain about and apply various band aids to remedy. It turns out Ivan is the real deal and has a stellar reputation in the sport bike world where he has been doing this for many years. Bottom line after reading all the reports from folks who took the leap and got their ECUs reflashed, I couldn't resist, off went the ECU to NY!

I was the first trike to take the plunge. Ivan had to think about how it would react and finally decided to put the stock map in it and had me report back so he had confidence in what works on VN1700 Trikes. His only concern was with pinging. I have not found any after about 500 mi.

Reflash results: When you first start the trike the ECU will "learn" the setup. Idle will hunt and then settle down. When you take it on the road you will immediately feel the difference in the response. She'll pull like crazy in all gears, the motor is smooth, throttle is smooth and there's none of the low speed herky jerky that you either experienced or made allowance for. Take note of the exhaust sound before you remove the ECU and compare that memory to what you hear after reinstallation. You'll like it. No decel pops in addition to sounding smoother! The motor runs cooler because the engine isn't working as hard and the fan trigger temperatures have been set lower. If you have a fuel controller, you are instructed to set the map to all zeros so you can evaluate the ECU changes. Most folks are removing their fuel controllers because the reflash removes all the problems that the controllers tried to fix.

You'll probably find that you don't have to downshift as much to get up the hills because you won't hear the motor straining. The reflash is a major smile generator! Ya do have to remember to keep your wrist out of it.

This is truly a plug and play fix. A comprehensive list of what the reflash addresses along with performance graphs is on Ivan's web site. Just chase the link above.

Back to my concerns; my mpg has increased by about 5 mpg. The trike performs like it did as a 2 wheeler . . . only on steroids! I'm confident that in a competition my trike will put perform any stock Voyager out there.

I have heard about the same thing from a gentleman from Canada that had Ivan flash his ECU. His bike is a 2009 Voyager with over 150k miles and it still pulls strong. He had to go to premium Gas to stop the pinging. My gas mileage is in the crapper anyway. I recently was on a trip and the last leg before home I used 5.5 gals. to go 106.6 miles. Took it to the shop and found out the front injector was stuck open. Both were replaced under warranty.

[2Paps]

I have heard about the same thing from a gentleman from Canada that had Ivan flash his ECU. His bike is a 2009 Voyager with over 150k miles and it still pulls strong. He had to go to premium Gas to stop the pinging. My gas mileage is in the crapper anyway. I recently was on a trip and the last leg before home I used 5.5 gals. to go 106.6 miles. Took it to the shop and found out the front injector was stuck open. Both were replaced under warranty.

One of the things Ivan stressed was to use only 91 or higher octane. One of the precepts he followed when setting up the ECU was Maw Kawi advised using hi test when she designed the 1700 so that's what he tuned for.

[irv]

boy, miss a day and miss a lot. thanks
for the update. sat morn is my ride date
on a csc kit. cant wait.

[tfdeputydawg]

This is a report for all you VN1700 riders.
I was the first trike to take the plunge. Ivan had to think about how it would react and finally decided to put the stock map in it and had me report back so he had confidence in what works on VN1700 Trikes.

My feeble old mind wants to know how putting the stock map in could "improve" performance and MPG? Doesn't "stock map" mean the way it came from the manufacturer to start with?
Thanks

[2Paps]

My feeble old mind wants to know how putting the stock map in could "improve" performance and MPG? Doesn't "stock map" mean the way it came from the manufacturer to start with?
Thanks

From one feeble old mind to another, perhaps my verbiage would have been more clear if I had written "Ivan's standard reflash map for a VN1700." Thanks for keeping me on the straight and narrow.

Ride safe!

[2Paps]

boy, miss a day and miss a lot. thanks
for the update. sat morn is my ride date
on a csc kit. cant wait.

That's great! Learn everything you can and remember, feet up all the time. The hardest thing for me to overcome was riding in the left half of the lane. CSC makes one of the widest trike rear ends but it's easy to forget especially when pulling up to the gas pump. It will be an experience that will take a bit of getting used to but once you are over the basic differences it's a breeze.

Enjoy and let us know how it goes!

[irv]

moved up to fri afternoon. thanks for mentioning
about the width. sure dont want to wreck it.
his was built i '13 so i dont think it has reverse.

[2Paps]

moved up to fri afternoon. thanks for mentioning
about the width. sure dont want to wreck it.
his was built i '13 so i dont think it has reverse.

It may have reverse. I know the Voyager I test drove did and I want to say it was a '12 or '13.

[hank43]

2paps;
I own a 2009 Voyager with a Champion Independent Rear Suspension. Noted the same somewhat lackluster performance when I had kit installed in 2010. I had Ivan "Ivanize" the ECU couple of weeks ago, and I now have a new trike. I put over 10, 000 miles on that trike, and was finally thinking about trading it for a canam. Poor performance, and worse mileage, to the point that I carried a spare gallon on the trailer hitch.

Not many miles on her since the ECU reflash, but it does seem to pull a lot better. On a 60 mile trip, I could not see any improvement in MPG, but in a few weeks have a ride planned to Wisconsin, where I will keep pay very close attention to mileage.

So far, I think it was well worth the money spent, because after all this time, I now have a trike that shifts without sounding like the transmission is falling out! No kidding, it shifts as silently as my old Honda 1100 did. I know it sounds crazy, but there it is. I told Ivan about this on the Bagger forum, he wants to explain why to me, can't wait!

hank43

[2Paps]

2paps;
I own a 2009 Voyager with a Champion Independent Rear Suspension. Noted the same somewhat lackluster performance when I had kit installed in 2010. I had Ivan "Ivanize" the ECU couple of weeks ago, and I now have a new trike. I put over 10, 000 miles on that trike, and was finally thinking about trading it for a canam. Poor performance, and worse mileage, to the point that I carried a spare gallon on the trailer hitch.

Not many miles on her since the ECU reflash, but it does seem to pull a lot better. On a 60 mile trip, I could not see any improvement in MPG, but in a few weeks have a ride planned to Wisconsin, where I will keep pay very close attention to mileage.

So far, I think it was well worth the money spent, because after all this time, I now have a trike that shifts without sounding like the transmission is falling out! No kidding, it shifts as silently as my old Honda 1100 did. I know it sounds crazy, but there it is. I told Ivan about this on the Bagger forum, he wants to explain why to me, can't wait!

hank43

Hank,
You didn't say what conditions were during that 60 mile ride. What I found is that on byways and hiways where I'm not doing more than 55 or 60 mph the mileage is in the mid 30s. When I jump on the interstate and push 70/75 mph it falls to about 30 mpg. I can't remember the last day we had that wasn't windy to some degree so that may have played a factor in my numbers. Also, I don't know if there are significant differences between the CSC and Champion gearing. After about 1500 mi. the fun factor far outweighs any concerns about mpg.

Let us know what Ivan says about the tranny.

Ride safe and enjoy!

[KWSchin]

2paps;
I own a 2009 Voyager with a Champion Independent Rear Suspension. Noted the same somewhat lackluster performance when I had kit installed in 2010. I had Ivan "Ivanize" the ECU couple of weeks ago, and I now have a new trike. I put over 10, 000 miles on that trike, and was finally thinking about trading it for a canam. Poor performance, and worse mileage, to the point that I carried a spare gallon on the trailer hitch.

Not many miles on her since the ECU reflash, but it does seem to pull a lot better. On a 60 mile trip, I could not see any improvement in MPG, but in a few weeks have a ride planned to Wisconsin, where I will keep pay very close attention to mileage.

So far, I think it was well worth the money spent, because after all this time, I now have a trike that shifts without sounding like the transmission is falling out! No kidding, it shifts as silently as my old Honda 1100 did. I know it sounds crazy, but there it is. I told Ivan about this on the Bagger forum, he wants to explain why to me, can't wait!

hank43

I'm very curious about the Tranny getting quieter. You ever get an explanation from Ivan?

Keith "Shin" Schindler
2009 Champion Triked Voyager