Questions About Ride Modes

[betoney]

 
A-mode throttle response is way too abrupt and twitchy for anything but hooliganing around. 

 
Have you had your ECU flashed?  I find A mode to be VERY smoothed out and totally usable for everyday riding now especially in combination with an APS adjustment (drop it down to 13 or even 12). 
 
 

[dbeau]

A-mode throttle response is way too abrupt and twitchy for anything but hooliganing around. 

 
Have you had your ECU flashed?  I find A mode to be VERY smoothed out and totally usable for everyday riding now especially in combination with an APS adjustment (drop it down to 13 or even 12). 
 

 
 
ECU is flashed but I'm not 100% confident it was done right. I thought about sending it off to someone else because the difference from stock is far from the miracle everyone else here raves about.

[Guest highplainsrider]

dbeau - what elevation do you primarily ride at? I’m at 7,000 feet and am also underwhelmed by the 2WD flash. The only way that I can tell any difference is by going 116+ to verify that the speed limited had been removed. I think it comes down to the power loss typical with normally aspirated engines at high altitude. Adding fuel or remapping fuel trim can’t really do much when your engine is starved for oxygen.

[betoney]

 
Have you had your ECU flashed?  I find A mode to be VERY smoothed out and totally usable for everyday riding now especially in combination with an APS adjustment (drop it down to 13 or even 12). 
 

ECU is flashed but I'm not 100% confident it was done right. I thought about sending it off to someone else because the difference from stock is far from the miracle everyone else here raves about.

 
If you haven't already done it, adjust your APS, it makes a huge difference in on/off/on fueling.
2wheeldynoworks flashed my ECU and I am at sea level but routinely get up to a little over 5,000'.
 
 
 

[dbeau]

ECU is flashed

 
If you haven't already done it, adjust your APS, it makes a huge difference in on/off/on fueling.
2wheeldynoworks flashed my ECU and I am at sea level but routinely get up to a little over 5,000'.
 
 

 
 
Can't access diag on 2017 model unfortunately
 
Altitude around here is like 100-1000ft

[1moreroad]

Kevmod O2 sensor harness on Ebay also works well for this. It only improves throttle response and does not reprogram the ECU. Less downtime for you and less expensive alternative to an ECU reflash. I recommend it if you don't want to do the ECU reflash.
 
It's funny that my bike has parts sourced from Japan (helmet lock) and Australia (Kevmod controller) on it.

[nsmiller]

If the bike were drive by cable, as opposed to drive by wire, it would be in A-mode all the time. The drive modes help people cope with the poor fueling from the factory. Get the 2WDW flash and ask him to set it to default to A mode. Then watch the smiles fly by.

[skipperT]

dbeau - what elevation do you primarily ride at? I’m at 7,000 feet and am also underwhelmed by the 2WD flash. The only way that I can tell any difference is by going 116+ to verify that the speed limited had been removed. I think it comes down to the power loss typical with normally aspirated engines at high altitude. Adding fuel or remapping fuel trim can’t really do much when your engine is starved for oxygen.

 
Your engine isn’t “starved for oxygen”. It just has 3% less oxygen than sea level in each molecule of air that it gulps in... which it knows because the Barometric Pressure sensor alerts the ECM that’s it’s higher in elevation. Thus the ECM may retard the timing and reduce the amount of fuel it’s allowing into the engine to compensate for the air DENSITY difference. So yes there’s a little bit of power loss at elevation.
 
My bike lived at 5,000 feet for 26+ thousand miles. Now I’m at sea level. The power loss that I was aware of at altitude isn’t what the TWDW flash fixes. It’s the way that the fueling FEELS, and the throttle smoothness or abruptness. That’s the biggest benefit of the reflash. You might have to ride another bike back-to-back in A mode to really appreciate it.
 
 
What I’m trying to summarize is that having lived up high with the bike for 3 years and now having moved to sea level - I REALLY notice that the throttle “abruptness” that everyone complains about is MUCH more annoying here than it was up there.
 
If that makes any sense.
 
-Skip

[skipperT]

If the bike were drive by cable, as opposed to drive by wire, it would be in A-mode all the time. The drive modes help people cope with the poor fueling from the factory. Get the 2WDW flash and ask him to set it to default to A mode. Then watch the smiles fly by.

 
Ummm it is both a “drive by cable” and a “drive by wire” bike. YCC-T still retains a cable leading from your throttle grip to a sensor. The ECM reads the sensor and moves the throttle plates accordingly.
 
HOW QUICKLY the ECM moves the throttle plates in relationship to your wrist movement is what dictates the difference between A, B or STD mode.
 
You are right that without fly-by-wire throttle applications, we couldn’t have any type of “drive mode”.
 
-Skip

[nsmiller]

If the bike were drive by cable, as opposed to drive by wire, it would be in A-mode all the time. The drive modes help people cope with the poor fueling from the factory. Get the 2WDW flash and ask him to set it to default to A mode. Then watch the smiles fly by.

Ummm it is both a “drive by cable” and a “drive by wire” bike. YCC-T still retains a cable leading from your throttle grip to a sensor. The ECM reads the sensor and moves the throttle plates accordingly.  
HOW QUICKLY the ECM moves the throttle plates in relationship to your wrist movement is what dictates the difference between A, B or STD mode.
 
You are right that without fly-by-wire throttle applications, we couldn’t have any type of “drive mode”.
 
-Skip

Yes, what you're describing is the definition of a drive by wire system. There is no physical link between the throttle grip and the throttle body plates. Yes, it uses a cable between the throttle grip and the sensor, but this is just dependent on where the sensor is located. Its still a drive by wire system. 
As an example, the FJR used to be a drive by cable system. In 2013, when they went to the Gen III it became drive by wire with Sport and Tour modes. Sport mode is nearly identical in response to the old drive by cable system. Touring mode is a new throttle response profile. 

[skipperT]

Regarding the gen III FJR, it used the same setup that our bikes have, that was originally introduced on 06 YZF R6’s. Any Yamaha fly by wire bike since the R6 is based on that system.
 
You and I are saying the same thing, I was simply notifying you that there is a cable connected to the throttle grip unlike Harley Touring models or the new system on the Goldwing.
 
When I first read your post, it didn’t seem like you knew that, that’s all. It fools a lot of people when they see a cable. I try to minimize the spread of misinformation or inaccuracies on this forum.
 
-Skip

[jo1000]

I ride standard mode most of the time. I use A mode when I'm in twisty country roads, I like the extra power when hitting the apex. B mode I use only when I hit rain.

[gomer]

I put it in "B" mode by mistake once I thought something was wrong with the bike. The first week I had her in STD but once I tried "A" mode it's been left there.

[vijay]

I used to ride in Std mode exclusively ... right after I bought her. At about 18k miles or so I started playing around in "A" mode. About 3000 miles later I guess I have just become used to the "A" mode throttle response and almost never change out ... unless I am in a gully washer. Interestingly enough my average mpg seems to have improved 3-4 mpg also.
 
Only reason I can come up with is that I that since I get to passing speed and cruising speed so much quicker that I am using less gas to get up to speed. Have no idea if that is the reason or not. But don't really have a better explanation.
 

[captainscarlet]

Every time I release the start button the very next thing I do is select A-mode; it's become a reflex .  I have just installed Kevs O2 controller which has smoothed things out nicely at low revs.  But even before installation I had learnt to modulate my wrist movements so as not to suffer sudden throttle bursts, despite being in A-mode.
 
CS