Don Guhl re-flash on the 2013 F, yes it is awsome

What were the results of your delimited top speed in this event? As a potential VFR12 buyer this is very interesting and important to me. I want a newer bike that can keep up with the ridding buddys I have, GSXRs, R1 and newer fireblades but I still want comfort andl ong distance ability some of the bikes on my list are a, busa, zx12 (14s too ugly) VFR12 or a Blackbird ive always been a honda guy so the big bird and vfr12 appeal the most but its really hard to beat the busa and 12r in comfort and speed. I dont have the back for the ultra GP racing ride. That leaves me with the VFR12.

 

A VFR1200 with a Guhl flash is so powerful and fast that your buddies will have a hard time keep up with you.
I tried to keep up with a Guhl flashed DCT, riding a CBR1000RR, but wasn't able to get passed as it was hard enough to stay behind him.
It turns the 1200 from a silly bike into a monster :courage:

I wanted to buy a GP bike myself, but too tall, so I bought me a VFR1200F, wanted to sell it before I knew Don could fiddle with the computer.
Trust me, after Don does his magic, you have a racer that looks like a touring bike, I love it!

 

I'd love to believe that because the bike has an amazing powerplant but forgive me if I'm skeptical!

 

A lot are skeptical, but google for it, everybody that did the flash is very happy and love the bike.
I doubt there are so many people even talking about flashing as VFR owners :triumphant:
The bike simply isn't good without and turns into a wonderful machine with.
Also it gains a whole lot of extra horsepower and especially in the low RPM's where it's needed for a 0-100 sprint, Honda decided to limit the power in 1st and 2nd gear making it the slowest bike at the traffic lights.

Else try to find some owners near you that done it and try to keep up with them, especially the flashed DCT's are so quick it's practically impossible to shift that well by hand.

 

Yes, the power comes on late, but even so the bike is still ridiculously fast... MCN tested the STOCK bike at 2.7 seconds for 0-60. That's far from the slowest bike at traffic lights. (Maybe your bike was more severely restricted when stock?)

Regardless, I'm still planning on the reflash as I do tend t give a little extra go juice off the line and would like the power to come on a little earlier/more smoothly... plus map upgrade, servo light removal, speed limiter removal, likely English timing, etc...

-Dan

 

Don't trust reviews to much, they typical get optimized hand-picked machines with optimized programmed computers.
They all cheat to look better then the competition and as long as reviewers don't check against a showroom-bike they will never notice.

If you want to see how bad it is, have a look here: http://www.zeroto60times.com/body-style/motorcycle/

The numbers speak for themselves, it's a bit better on a quarter mile, but still be beaten by a CB600RR.

 

According to that chart the vfr800 is faster than the vfr1200 0-60mph. Can that be accurate?

 

Well my VFR800Fi of 2000 did beat my VFR1200F 2010 with ease, no problem before the flash.
After the flash I have not seen anyone going faster at the lights apart from a flashed 1200DCT :glee:
If I ever buy a new bike, it will be a DCT for sure, no more manual after seen those babies pull at your arms.

I did a drag-race with my VFR800 and CBR1000RR, from 0-60 they are very close on acceleration, don't underestimate the 800.
It's only after about 90 (140kmh) the 1000RR is getting away fast.

The default programming of the 1200 doesn't allow you to use all power and torque in the first 2 gears and at 5000rpm, so yes, the bike is very slow by any means.
Oh and I also opened the exhaust-valve permanently by taking the cable from the servo, also a big no-no that valve.

As many people describe, this bike only shines after a flash, it turns into a beautiful racing monster that looks like touring.
That confuses a lot of people when they try to drag-race you at the lights and find them selves being beaten by a bike with suitcases :first:
Also it turns into a lovely touring bike at low RPM that it's not with the default program.

 

I wasn't questioning the reflash as being better I've only seen one person dissatisfied with the flash but stuff happens I question the keeping up with the fireblade because that would be impressive staying close maybe but pulling it I doubt!

 

Well you can keep up with a Fireblade.
With the DCT version you will have no problem leaving them behind, maybe a GP-rider can beat it, but has a hard time doing so.
Don't forget the DCT has TC and switches gears so fast that it's amazing, Combine that with about 190HP and 140nm versus 173HP and 113nm for the Fireblade (2007 version I tested).
Sure the Blade is lighter, but has far less torque, in the end you have to put it all on the road, and there is only so much you can transfer to the tarmac.
Don't forget, putting an object into motion costs power but once the object is in motion you need little extra power to make it go faster.
Meaning, the Blade can start a bit faster, but once moving the VFR has more pressure and power on the rear wheel.....that makes that it can transfer a lot more power to the tarmac and it's because of that it can accelerate faster (once moving).
In real live it means you are on par.

The extra weight of the VFR is a bonus in a straight line, the Blade will be better at cornering on the track but is far more nervous at high speeds going straight.

Just look at drag-racing, they try to put as many weight on the rear wheel as they can, as there is where the acceleration is, more weight is more friction between the tire and the road.
A amateur rider on a Blade will not be able to outrun the DCT version, it shifts so fast and good, no way you or I can do better.

Why not ask the question here? Has anyone been outrun by a Blade after your VFR1200 F/DCT has been flashed? (Don't answer if your not a quick shifter).

I have been on the highway the other day, and a GSX1000R was before me, he accelerated from 120kmh to 200kmh, him behind the windscreen and I was upright on his tale not even shifting gears (was in 5th), no problem to even pass him.
And my wife complains all the time too, when I accelerate she must be alert or she sees me km's ahead of her without being able to catch up soon :triumphant:
(Wife rides a CBR1000RR 2007 and yes she can ride quite a bit, her ECU has been to Don Guhl too but was already flashed for performance)

 

Sent my ECU to Guhl and the process went as described with a call, make the payment and ECU back the next day. The results are also as described. A nice motorcycle became mean. Which is great thing. I actually think the bike was more dangerous as designed by Honda. I had a couple of mid-corner throttle application with what felt like NO power and a couple of 2nd gear passes that were scary-slow. All those worries are gone.

 

Sent mine off today for the re-flash, anybody want to buy a slightly used zbomb

 

Let us know how the reflash goes.

I was interested in the z-bomb, but with the bike put up for the winter, I'm thinking I'll remove the ECU and send it in for the re-flash...

- Dan

 

I'll be joining the reflash group soon!!!

 

Does it still cost $350 to reflash?

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I was quoted 375 a year ago, not sur of current pricing

 

I want to do it but that's alot of money for something that probably takes 5 mins to do,I know he spent alot of time getting the software and everything to work but since the bike is 6 years old you'd figure he have a sale or something

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I think about pricing and value all the time. After many years I have developed strong opinions on this. For one, I look at the opportunity costs, aka, what are the alternatives?

* Buy a Power Commander V. Want to tune it? Buy the Wide Band 2 or Auto Tune . These list now for $750 total. (HOLY CRAP they just raised the price $100 on the Wide Band 2. I wonder if I am responsible. I told them I couldn't understand how is is cheaper than the Auto Tune, even though it has more features.) On top of the equipment there is your significant time and effort to iteratively tune it.

* Dyno. From what, $200 - $450? And this is very stressful on the engine and rear tire, which is an additional cost to you.

* Lastly we cannot flash an ECU at home, so there are no choices for this same procedure.

Here is a joke which illustrates how some times we must pay a premium for the knowledge and not the labor:

There was an engineer who had an exceptional gift for fixing all things mechanical. After serving his company loyally for over 30 years, he happily retired. Many years later the company contacted him regarding a seemingly impossible problem they were having with one of their multimillion dollar machines. They had tried everything and everyone else to get the machine to work but to no avail. In desperation, they called on the retired engineer who had solved so many of their problems in the past. The engineer reluctantly took the challenge. He spent a day studying the huge machine. At the end of the day, he marked a small "x" in chalk on a particular component of the machine and stated, "This is where your problem is." The part was replaced and the machine worked perfectly again. The company received a bill for $50,000 from the engineer for his service. They demanded an itemized accounting of his charges. The engineer responded briefly: "One chalk mark $1. Knowing where to put it $49,999"

Of course the bean counters forgot that they already spent mega money trying to fix this, and also had a major loss from the downtime of the machinery. All they saw was the engineer's bill. However, his bill essentially was a bargain. Rather than complain, they should demand a refund from everyone who did not know how to fix the problem but did get paid anyway.

I googled every motorcycle performance shop in my area. There are some nasty comments about every single one of them. This makes the guy who knows what he is doing, but has a high rate, a better value than the price would otherwise indicate.

 

well got it back on friday installed it and also a jardine slip on - whent out and played saturday and a little bit today ,what a big difference ,smooth and powerful worth every penny

 

Thanks for everyones posts. Now I have to go spend this money! My first experience with no power in 2nd gear almost got me smacked entering a busy road. That has to end immediately!