Adding Fuel to your 2020-2022 KTM 390 Adventure Bike
Using the BDSB Piggy Back Fuel Programmer
A Recent Programmer Testimonial
Package received today. I was getting antsy. Installed no problem. Programmed no problem. Went for a blat in the hills. No problem. Excellent in fact. Really smoothed the delivery out and great power where you need it. Just what this bike needs.
Happy as Larry!
Many thanks.
Mark B
There are 2 things you need to know about the 390 adventure, before deciding if you need any kind of fuel adding device.
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1. The bike is designed to meet Euro 4 and maybe Euro 5 emission regulations. And these are stricter than even California emissions. Not only for lean running conditions and 2 catalytic converters, but also for Quietness.
The quietness regulations, make the lean running conditions easier to create. Because to make the bike quiet, you have to largely restrict the exhaust noise. And when you clog up the exiting gasses, you can now restrict the intake air. Restrictiing the intake air, makes that side of things quiet.
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And when you stifle the intake and exhaust flow, well then you don't need near the fuel to the engine, as the power is largely reduced already.
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Soooo - The bike doesn't need a lot of fuel to meet the strict regulations.
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2. Because this bike has a lot of other regulations to meet, like having ABS brakes and traction control, there is no ecu making company around, that would replace the ecu or do anything to mess with this stuff. The liability just isn't wroth it. So you can only get piggyback kinds of ecus or programmers, that work with the stock ecu.
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Keeping these 2 points in mind, you'll understand why the 2 ecu manufactures did what they did ( and the dissapointing results), and why we did what we did and designed our own fuel programmer ( great results ).
Here you see our programmer, taped to the air/ fuel gauge, just below the bikes rpm gauge. This was the best way to just take it to the road and design the bikes fueling. This way, we could test stock, pipes, air box mods, ecus and this programmer, under all kinds of real world riding conditions.
Here are the results in writing, then we'll back them up with video and dyno runs.
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1. Stock ecu. * Runs at 14.5 - 14. 7 AFR, up to 8600 rpm. Then richens up quick to 13:1 and stays until 10,000 rpm.
Being all stock, makes max power at 8600.
*Has lean running area, about 16:1, from 2500 - 3000
rpm.
*Basically no accelerator pump circuit. Sometimes, at lower throttle openings, in 1st or 2nd gear, it
richen up to 13.5 :1 when quickly cracking the gas. But not always and only in those 2 gears
2. Powertronics ecu * Had high hopes for this, as was advertised as being able to completely control fuel and
ignition timing. Had 2 pre set maps, and you could compensate for any mod.
* After receiving, it was realized, that you could only add fuel or timing in the ( open loop)
area, of the rpm range. So only after 6500 - 7500 rpm. Which means bigger exhaust or
intake mods will make the bike to lean while in closed loop, and will fall on it's face when
the throttle cracked. It has no accelerator pump function to help out, when in closed loop.
*. It never worked, so we didn't get much of a chance to try. It would just go lean and stall
for no reason, at the lower rpms. Because the software would not download in the
computer, and no response from tech help, no matter how many times we reached out
this one just went in the trash.
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3. Coober ECU *. Revs out to 11,000 rpm instead of 10,000 rpm. However, since the power of the bike starts to
loose power, even with their no cat header and open air box lid, at 8400 rpm, its hard to
ever realize this extra rpm pull.
* Still has the lean bump at the 2500 - 3000 rpm range, but it's better at 15:1
* Still runs at 14.5 - 14.7 AFR until 8600 RPM. Then it richens up slowly to the 13 - 14:1 area at
11,000 RPM. The AFR changes with various mods. The 14:1 is with their de cat header and air
box cover. So obviously, it can't adjust for any exhaust or intake mods up here.
* No accelerator pump function added. When you crack the gas, it just stays in the 14 - 14.5:1
AFR range.
* It does run a bit better than stock though. Not $550 better though, and you can't change any
settings in it
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4. BestDualSportBikes Piggyback fuel programmer
* Has 2 circuits, and you can control both, just using the buttons. It has an accelerator pump circuit, and a
circuit for adding fuel to the higher rpm range.
* Since you can't do much to simply richen the fuel, when the bike is running below 6500 or so, in closed loop,
we can at least add an accelerator pump to the bike. This way, when you crack the gas quickly enough, the
bikes AFR goes to 12.5 for a second, to give you that extra squirt of gas needed, fo quicker acceleration.
* This added accelerator pump function, HELPS A LOT when quicker acceleration is needed. And you can
control how much it squirts, and when it turns on and turns off.
* It has a top end fuel enrichment circuit. Even though you can control when it turns on ( RPM ) it never really
shows change on the AFR gauge until it goes into open loop, which is somewhere between 6500 and 7500
RPM.
* With the stock settings on the programmer, the AFR goes to 13.5 when it enters open loop, and then to 12.5
after 8000 RPM. You can richen the AFR all the way up to 11.1 if you want, with the touch of some buttons
* So with this programmer, you can finally add needed fuel, for all kinds of mods. You can add more or less
fuel to the accelerator pump area, and all you want when in open loop. This one wins by far.
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* You can plug in, right out of the box, with no changes, and feel an improvement. No matter if
your bike is stock, or in a modified state.
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