Last night I finally flashed my bike with a Beetle map, a few thoughts for those looking into it.
Bike is a V7ii (North American). Currently running Agostini cans (No cats) DB killers in, removed EVAP system, K&N filter (which beetle says specifically NOT to do). I bought the V7ii No cats, w/DB killers map from Beetles site.
I had some issues reading the factory map, and had to try 3 laptops before it worked correctly. Still not sure why that is, but I'm going to leave it alone for now. It’s for sure an issue on the laptop side. Something about it pairing with the LonElec cords. I reached out to both Lon Elec and Beetle about this before I found a laptop that worked for me. LonElec gave me one or two things to try.
As far as the remap goes, I am stunned at how much smoother the low throttle control is. It’s an issue from factory for sure, but I never thought it was as bad as some people make it out to be so I wasn’t sure what to expect after installing the Beetle map. I honestly cannot believe how much better it is.
I generally thought of the low speed throttle on the bike as part of its “personality”. It kept me a bit on my toes and was something to manage when needed. Part of the experience of riding the bike.
After the remap, I realize how much it was influencing the way the bike handled in cornering. Now that the throttle input is steady, corner entry and exit is far smoother. 3K to 4K RPM is now rock steady and can be used without second guessing. Often with this bike I would find myself wanting to keep it above 4500 RPM in corners so that the throttle felt a little more steady. Because of that I would often be in a lower gear than necessary, or second guess my gear on entry. That’s no longer an issue, and it creates a more confident cornering machine.
There are a couple of things I am scratching my head about. First of which is the vibration. My bike absolutely vibrates more now. More fuel = Bigger explosion = more vibration? Maybe, I’m not sure. Sounds like a silly explanation, but it’s all I can think of.
The sound has changed as well, which was to be expected a bit, but I’m surprised that I think its actually louder. That may be in my head though.
Last thing is back to throttle. The throttle feels “heavier” for lack of a better explanation. Part of my brain relates it to timing and feeling like it’s very slightly off if it was a car. Im pretty sure that’s not actually the case, and it’s just how the bike feels now. It also feels like it doesn’t pick up as fast, but I believe that’s just a “feeling’ again, and that what’s actually happening is now that the throttle is smooth, I’m missing the jerky punch I would get going on and off the throttle on the factory map.
As others here have said, highly recommend doing this. The clean up of the throttle absolutely transforms how this bike feels, and makes for a much more predictable response from the engine and has made for a much more enjoyable machine for cornering, at least for me.
Keep in mind I have only had some limited time on the bike. I may update if things change. I’m going to try and run a A/F gauge at some point just to see what’s going on. It would be interesting to see.
