Pros & cons of ECU flashing?

[Bill]

I am think of flashing my ECU .
#1 how is it done ?
#2 is it something that I can do myself at home?
#3 does it have to be done at a dealership?
#4 what is the cost?
#5 what do I need?

So go ahead fill me in what is initialed to do this pros and cons. Bill

[Peteoz]

Not answering your questions in order, Bill …..

It will NOT be done by your dealer….they frown on it (toeing the company line…..not that your motor will blow up) nor can you do it at home. It is performed by specialist tuning shops (CanAm Spyder specialists. They do it one of two ways. You can either take your Spyder to the shop and they can flash it in situ, or you can remove it from the Spyder and post it to your shop where they can either do a quick flash, or they can take it apart and do a permanent flash. The quick flash works well unless you take your Spyder to a dealer and they reset your ECM for some reason. It then has to be reflashed…..this is very rare. The permanent flash is just that. The cost out here in Aus is around $900. I’m sure someone will chime in with the US cost shortly.
For me, on my ‘16 F3-L it eliminated throttle lag (which the pedal commander also now does), but also made it a much smoother, more responsive power progression.

Hopefully that will get you started…..

Pete

[2dogs]

Do a search here on ECU flash and you'll find more info than you can read in a month. Good luck.

[RayBJ]

The PV3 from Dynojet lets you flash the ECU without removing it from the Spyder. It holds up to 4 'tunes' that you can flash anytime, anywhere. No need to send ECU away and wait for the return with only 1 new tune. On a recent trip I was getting poor gas mileage with my 'tune' so when we stopped for the night, I dumped the OEM tune back in for the rest of the trip to improve mileage. When I got home, I put the tune back in.

PV3 cost ~$400. There are other choices but they require sending ECU away.

[EdMat]

You can also try https://www.monsterfuelinjection.com/ They have a handheld unit that you can go from stock to another stage tune and back as needed.

[Bill]

Thanks Pete,
The only reason at the moment for the flash is to do away with the long wait for the computer to boot to start the bike. Definitely not a getaway bike in a bank heist. Lol !seems a little pricey for just that. I’m not a long haul rider and am happy with the performance as is. Thanks for your input and information it was very helpful! Bill

[Peteoz]

Thanks Pete,
The only reason at the moment for the flash is to do away with the long wait for the computer to boot to start the bike. Definitely not a getaway bike in a bank heist. Lol !seems a little pricey for just that. I’m not a long haul rider and am happy with the performance as is. Thanks for your input and information it was very helpful! Bill

Yeah, it is certainly a bit pricey to just do that, Bill. That delay wasn’t a concern for me, as the ‘16 F3 let you hit the mode button immediately after switch on. Have you tried the “switch on, helmet on, gloves on, go” approach…..it’s no quicker, but it makes it seem so

Pete