Making the 2013 Spyder RT-S "Perfect"

[Bob Denman]

:shocked: 24 to 26 mpg?

Something sure isn't right..
(Well; based on what preliminary knowledge we have...)
Let's talk about your bike...
How much do you weigh?
Where do you normally leave your windshield height set at?
What rpm level do you use as a shift point?
What is your normal cruising speed?
What fuel do you use?
Are you towing a trailer?
Is your bike in "Tow-Mode"?
How about tire pressures?

As a matter of reference: my 2010 RT was consistently in the 33 mpg range...
I weigh 205 "on the hoof and ready to go"
The windshield was a 25" off of a 2013, and it was always set about a quarter-inch off of the bottom stops
I shifted at 4800 -5200; depending on the gear
Normal cruising was at 55 mph on the two-lanes, and 63 mph on the interstates
93 octane
No trailer, and no Tow-Mode for me...
Tires: 19 psi front, and 28 rear
Oh! I had BRP's adjustable air deflectors, and they were always set in the center position...

 

[stewartj239]

Our only lingering complaint is the gas fumes when we get home. We have to leave the garage open for several hours to let them air out or the house fills with the fumes. Yes, they have had canesterectomies. It helped while riding a great deal, but still have bad fumes after rides.

Interesting. Without the canister, where do you think the fumes are coming from? What procedure did you use for removing it? I wonder if it might be different than what I did. I can only speak for myself, but my fumes are 100% gone since it was done.

Your point about the SpyderAttitude cat bypass is dead on, would have been far easier if I had just cut off the hangers.

Rather than cut them off, I just removed the OEM bracket that the hangars were supposed to mount to. I can't see myself doing it, but it would allow me to reverse things and go back to stock.

 

[stewartj239]

:shocked: 24 to 26 mpg?

As a matter of reference: my 2010 RT was consistently in the 33 mpg range...

Yes, 33 MPG is what I was consistently getting last year as well. With the PCV, I have lost 1-2 MPG, but that is expected, so I am pleased. When the wife and I are out on longer rides, I just have to be a little more conscious of where we can fill up, but adding the PCV was well worth it.

 

[jcthorne]

:shocked: 24 to 26 mpg?

Something sure isn't right..
(Well; based on what preliminary knowledge we have...)
Let's talk about your bike...
How much do you weigh?
Where do you normally leave your windshield height set at?
What rpm level do you use as a shift point?
What is your normal cruising speed?
What fuel do you use?
Are you towing a trailer?
Is your bike in "Tow-Mode"?
How about tire pressures?

As a matter of reference: my 2010 RT was consistently in the 33 mpg range...
I weigh 205 "on the hoof and ready to go"
The windshield was a 25" off of a 2013, and it was always set about a quarter-inch off of the bottom stops
I shifted at 4800 -5200; depending on the gear
Normal cruising was at 55 mph on the two-lanes, and 63 mph on the interstates
93 octane
No trailer, and no Tow-Mode for me...
Tires: 19 psi front, and 28 rear
Oh! I had BRP's adjustable air deflectors, and they were always set in the center position...

I weigh about 260, wife MUCH less than 200. Stock windshield and usually all the way up on the freeway. Bikes are always in tow mode, no trailer. normal shift if not in traffic is about 6k. Two lane roads unencumbered run about 70, Interstate or open freeway 75 to 80 in keeping with normal traffic flow. Tires are 17 and 26. I have the adjustable air deflectors, wife does not as they have very little effect.

As I said, both bikes get about the same milage when we ride together. Usually takes about 0.2 more fuel to fill mine than hers.

 

[jcthorne]

Interesting. Without the canister, where do you think the fumes are coming from? What procedure did you use for removing it? I wonder if it might be different than what I did. I can only speak for myself, but my fumes are 100% gone since it was done.



Rather than cut them off, I just removed the OEM bracket that the hangars were supposed to mount to. I can't see myself doing it, but it would allow me to reverse things and go back to stock.

Fumes are coming from the fuel tank. Its hot and spewing fumes from offgassing fuel. Sometimes we can hear it boiling, sometimes not. Does not need to be boiling to have a vapor pressure well above atmospheric and force fumes out. We removed the canister and routed the vent line to the rear of the bike. Where does your vent line go? Those fumes have to go somewhere.....

 

[Bob Denman]

I weigh about 260, wife MUCH less than 200. Stock windshield and usually all the way up on the freeway. Bikes are always in tow mode, no trailer. normal shift if not in traffic is about 6k. Two lane roads unencumbered run about 70, Interstate or open freeway 75 to 80 in keeping with normal traffic flow. Tires are 17 and 26. I have the adjustable air deflectors, wife does not as they have very little effect.

As I said, both bikes get about the same milage when we ride together. Usually takes about 0.2 more fuel to fill mine than hers.

Your mileage; based upon what you've said... is about what can be expected for those conditions.
Think of these bikes as if they're big old barn doors... The faster you want to push them down the road; the more it costs. :shocked:

One member; Texas, did a lot of experimenting with his bike, and he found ways to squeeze out the best possible mileage from it.
He's got a 2014; but the principles will still apply. Perhaps you should PM him... :thumbup:

 

[stewartj239]

Fumes are coming from the fuel tank. Its hot and spewing fumes from offgassing fuel. Sometimes we can hear it boiling, sometimes not. Does not need to be boiling to have a vapor pressure well above atmospheric and force fumes out. We removed the canister and routed the vent line to the rear of the bike. Where does your vent line go? Those fumes have to go somewhere.....

The line from the gas tank was connected to a fuel filter, then a line from the fuel filter was added that I routed straight down through the skid plate on the right side of the engine.

The purge valve line was plugged with a bolt.

I wonder if the difference might be that I don't have boiling gas.

If you want to see the pictures I took of it, you can see them in post #60 on page 3 of this thread.

 

[stewartj239]

Wow. It has been over a year since my last post to this thread, but things are running great with the 2013 and I have not kept up with the forum due to lack of time (not interest). Anyhow, I do have some new and helpful information to add .....

For those who have installed or are looking to install a PCV / AutoTune on their Spyder, I finally resolved a nagging fault code issue that I would receive intermittently. Fault code P0130 (ECM LAMDA sensor 1 upstream cat) indicates a problem with an O2 sensor. After pulling the O2 sensors, they had carbon build up on them which indicates that the engine is running too rich.


I tried tuning this out by reducing the closed loop area values in the base fuel map which Dyno Jet has set to 8% (richer than stock). This did not resolve the problem and the P0130 code would still be thrown once or twice a week. I then did some research on the topic and found this AWESOME thread on the PCV and AutoTune.


http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=2813.0


After thoroughly reading this article, all of the pieces started to fall into place. My problem was not with the PCV, but with the O2 Optimizer that comes with the PCV. Here are the highlights of the article that helped me resolve the fault code problem:

• Most manufacturers set the stock ECU AFR to 14.6.
• The default PCV AFR for the Spyder is 13.2 which will yield maximum power.
• Changing the O2 Optimizer setting from 0 to +2 will richen the AFR from 13.2 to 13.0 as so on.
• Changing the O2 Optimizer setting from 0 to -2 will lean the AFR from 13.2 to 13.4 as so on.

What I needed to do was lean out the AFR using the O2 Optimizer. The default setting for both cylinder sensors is 0. In order to find the optimal O2 setting, I started at -10 for both and worked my way back to 0. I found that the best setting was -4 which changes the AFR from 13.2 to 13.6. Everything is running great now and I have not seen any fault code since making this change back in September.

 

[Bob Denman]

Welcome back... you've been missed!! :clap: :2thumbs:

 

[stewartj239]

Welcome back... you've been missed!! :clap: :2thumbs:

Thanks Bob. We are still riding and have never stopped but time is what is killing me. My two youngest (twins) are 10 and are sports fanatics. They play baseball (spring / summer / fall), soccer (spring / fall) and basketball (winter) and on top of that, I either head coach or assistant coach all of their teams. So I guess I have brought it upon myself, but it is hard to tell your kids no when they ask to play a sport (of all things)!!! The kids still fight over who gets to go out on the Spyder first when we have time to take it out, so their interest level is very high as well. My wife loves it too and it is my main ride to and from work from April to early November.

 

[Deecheff]

Hi Stewart,

I just read all 14 pages of this post. I too own a 2013 RT-S. I have been reading alot of threads about everthing really. I am so greatful that you took so much time and effort to do ALL of this work yourself and to post everything here for us to share in your journey to a perfect 2013 RT-S. My bike has not been to the shop in two years but is going in this month to the dealer for a tune up and to put the ram air widgets on the bike.

By far the best thread I have read here. To me you have a great tallent to do what you did to your bike. I wish you all the best.

Thank you again for sharing.

Jeffrey.

 

[stewartj239]

Hi Stewart,

I just read all 14 pages of this post. I too own a 2013 RT-S. I have been reading alot of threads about everthing really. I am so greatful that you took so much time and effort to do ALL of this work yourself and to post everything here for us to share in your journey to a perfect 2013 RT-S. My bike has not been to the shop in two years but is going in this month to the dealer for a tune up and to put the ram air widgets on the bike.

By far the best thread I have read here. To me you have a great tallent to do what you did to your bike. I wish you all the best.

Thank you again for sharing.

Jeffrey.

Thank you Jeffrey. With all of the negativity out there about the 2013 RT, the purpose of this thread was to help others realize the TRUE potential that it had. I have been riding / racing dirt bikes since I was 10 and I've been riding street bikes since I was 20. I'm 47 now, so I have lots of experience with optimizing and squeezing every bit of performance out of more bikes than I can count. The 2013 RT does have some well documented issues, but in my opinion, they are not unmanageable. I chose to not throw the baby out with the bath water. In addition, many of my updates are things that would need to be done with any OEM bike to maximize performance and efficiency. For me, the changes perfected the Spyder and my RT-S runs flawlessly. I am sure that someday I will upgrade to the 1330, but right now, I don't believe that the 1330 is a better machine than what I have achieved with my 2013 RT.