So I toss the suspension and ECU back on and went for a ride late yesterday evening. Had so much fun I got home at 10 and wife was less than pleased cuz I forgot to call and say I would be late ECU remap: Tinken reflashed my ECU, tried it on his bike and said it seems real good. My bike had always taken three tries to get it started cold. Starts fine but always takes three attempts. It will start right off and die, then once more then the third time is always fine. Yesterday with the new ECU map installed it started first try and instantly came to a nice strong idle which it never did cold before. Seemed real happy and running like it should. Could instantly tell it was much better. Smother, no glitch right off the bottom, seemed like it would be hard to stall, zero back fires or grumbling from the motor. I have the Jd tuner and set it to zero and pass all the factor map without modifying it as I had no idea where to start and Tinken suggested this. More and more I rode the more and more I realized how much better it was running. The slight backfire I had before no matter the JD setting was completely gone. Taking off from stop lights was WAY smoother and much less clutch work. Was looking forward to hitting my trail test loop I was headed for. This bike has always run real good with the Jd and open muffler, good power and ran nice but was also always a handful at walking speeds picking through the trees and having the clutch a lot. So much so I am (or was) really considering a EFM autoclutch next time I had money to do so. The ECU remap pretty much transformed the low end. makes it almost as forgiving as my TR650, can lug from way lower and it is smoother and no hint of pop and die. Once I got into the trail system I realized how good this was. I actually had to relearn my technique as I could roll slow corners and just roll on the gas, no clutch, something I would not dare do before. This mod makes it works WAY better int he tight stuff, not even close. Huge gains in confidence, way less clutch needed and SMOOTH. As for power it does feel like it has more everywhere, not a huge amount but more and sure seems to rev out further. I don't ride a lot at the upper RPMs on a 511 but held it wide open on the road several times getting a feel for it and it seems to have a top end rush and overrev that simply was not there at all before. Not going to be terribly useful for me other than laying waist to my KTM 450 riding buddies on the street but good non the less. What really impresses me is how the bottom and has been transformed from, semi glitchy and you had better cover the clutch a lot on the tight stuff to butter smooth and hard to stall. Cold starting is much improved and it actually seems to light off quicker hot to. The low end response and lack of stalling feeling is huge for me and this upgrade for me on my bike is a huge step forward. IMHO the best $40 you could ever spend on a motor. Great stuff 100% happy. Zipty suspension: I'll be honest here, I got the industry bro deal. Thats the way it works when in an industry. No one pays full price. First impressions were like WTF? Installing forks and could hear the fork springs rattling around like they had zero preload. Next notice the shock spring preload lock collar is loose, I am assuming to set the sag when installed. I was thinking maybe Tinken really did mess my crap up :>) Install the stuff and the rear rebound is all the way out and the bike feels super loose and springy. Feels far stiffer spring rate wise as well. Wondering if this is all going to end well I turn in the rebound on the shock some as it seems scary loose. Also notice the bike is lower and really feels good like that. Might feel good even slightly lower, sure feels more planted and EZ to get my feet down. so off I go to my local DS loop. It is about 8 miles of pavement to get to the good stuff. I can tell right away the bike handles totally different. Seems way more neutral, more planted and rails paved corners well. Was thinking this would be a good SM setup. Stiffer springs I'm sure helped here as did the shock lowering. Starting to feel good about it it finally hit dirt. At this point I an still in amazement how good it runs and how stall free it is and how I don't need to clutch every tight corner any more. Loving the smooth spontaneous and stall free motor I find i am ripping through the woods faster than i have ever done on this bike and feeling all confident and tossing the bike around like it lost 30 pounds some how. The more I ride the more I realize how in control I am and even though it feels race stiff control wise it is still very accommodating and not harsh at all. The combo of the ECU smoothness and control the suspension now has adds up to a completely transformed bike. I liked this bike a lot before, now I am in love all over again. I feel WAY more confident hustling it through the woods. It flows so much better, turns far better, stays way more planted and far exceeds the abilities of before. I always knew it was sprung to light and valved to light for me but liked the trail plushness and was fine with it. Rate it as good stock but becomes a handful quickly when pushed off road. Now it feels only just very slightly less plush but many times better in handling, stability and just ability overall. The lowering and stiffer spring make the bike feel 30 pounds lighter and I found myself whipping it around and man handling it in sections I used to slow down and hold on. I did play with the clickers some. Went softer on the fork comp and did not like that. Went stiff on the fork comp and found not only did it seem more plush but more controlled at the same time. Also added a bunch of rebound as the rear just seemed to loose when doing the stationary seat bounce test but come to find out that this setup seems to like really loose rebound settings. Maybe it is the CTS, maybe it is the springs or some magic dust ty sprinkles on it but when set loose (light) on rebound it just works. Guess Ty knows these bikes as I ended up within 2 clicks of where he sent it which seemed kind whacked out but proof is in the pudding, it works fantastic. Summery for first ride: I am really looking forward to getting some more miles on this great bike. As much as I liked this bike before I knew its limits and rode within them. Now I feel like the limits have been greatly extended and I need to relearn everything. the ECU map is smooth and controlled and dare I say perfect I have to remind myself not to grab the clutch in every slow corner. The suspension is so advanced my braking and corning and line choice all have changed. It is going to take a few rides to relearn this new ability. These mods were big performance wise. The confidence they inspire is amazing. While I liked this bike a lot before I had no idea it could be this much better. The handling is totally different, very neutral and does what you would think your input should. I can hit roots and braking bumps and not even notice them and choose lines through stuff i would ride around before. The bike literally feels lighter and far more flickable and way more confidence inspiring. Oh, the combo of the perfect EFI and stiffer suspension all of a sudden mike this bike want to jump everything. this was not a trait it had before. Now I want to blip the throttle and jump over every obstacle. Found on section with a nice jump in it and had to hit it many times liking how I could just leap into whatever and the suspension was butter smooth and controlled on landing like a Mx bike. Pretty cool. While I should not be surprised the guys at ZipTy know there huskys and this unique bike I am still amazed how the ECU and suspension transformed this bike from a great trail and DS bike to one I was dreaming about racing now. very nice work and for both mods. Do the ECU for sure, it is cheap and makes the bike run perfect. And if you want your bike to handle and work way better and feel 30 pounds lighter do the suspension, you will not be sorry. Yeah industry guy talking about industry people and got a bro deal so you might think I'm just gushing to help a company out that helped me out but this is the real deal and highly recommended.
Last year my dual sport was waiting on parts just before the Big Bear Dual sport 180 miles all hard ways Long story short Ty Davis At Zip Ty Racing said take my personal bike, go have some fun. What a difference it is from a stock bike, to one all set up So I know how you feel enjoy your new ride
thanks man. Had a funny conversation with a kid at the gas station on my way out. He thought it was amazing and wound not leave me alone. Said he did not know husky still made bikes . Then as i was leaving a dude on an R1 yamaha was looking it all over and said, "thats what i should have bought" Funny.
Kelly,,wally got my Cyl/Head yesterday and as suspected the other company made a mess outta my stuff,,rings did hit the powervalve and ports were 1/4" to low,,etc.. I'm glad its in great hands now man..
Couple of questions/clarifications.. You mention setting JD to zero....when 2 is neutral IIRC What are your sag settings? I have noticed the same issue with the rear, with an appropriate spring and any tension on it...sag tends to be more like 90 than 100...
what I mean is i ran the JD so it was not altering the map at all. As for sag I need to talk with Ty and see what he recommends. As is, checked by myself and kind unscientific it ended up 100mm / 4 inches. I thought most people were running more like 110mm on these bikes.
Any 511, but the one he rode. If Chillys description is accurate he found the weakest 511 on the planet That said, it sounds like Kelly's bike has taken another step up the evolutionary ladder. Since I have a very similar bike I can envision every one of those little improvements that add up to a better whole.
No reason to bash Chilly here, he rode the bike and did not like it. Might have been the bike, might have been a bad day, whatever. He rides a lot of KTMs and they for sure feel far different. I don't like a lot of those because of how they turn and he did not like how the 511 turned. I will say it is VASTLY improved handling with the ZipTy stuff. Had these bike come stock with the ECU remap and this level suspension it would have rocked some tests I think. As for power it is a mellow kitten stock. Opened up much better, with a muffler and this ECU map it is After I put a muffler on it I have always been able to out drag my KTM 450 riding buddies. Now I will simply smoke them. It is a great platform I will be very sad to see go away. I will just keep mine and maybe pick up another on someday to strip down for strictly off road and see how good I can make it.
Great review Kelly, thank you! And thank you for giving us the opportunity to show off our skills! One of these days you'll have to leave your whole bike with us so we can take it to the next level, again. Haha Chilly. Chilly White is a great guy actually and he did exactly what he was supposed to do in his review. And it's unfortunate but he paid the price for it too. I own the same model and year KTM that Chilly owns and favors which he compared our 449s to. Both great bikes, and the 511 is faster when modified, but each bike handles differently, so, to each and their own.
So remapping the ECU at Zipty is the solution to my stalling engine. PCV or JD which just enhances ECU signals does not fix that? Is that a own developed, or a BMW predefined (racemapp #3)? Sweden - Zipty CA, remapping - and back will take 2 weeks even with express courier?
