Futura Not Polluting After All

It does for the enrichening cycle after startup, but not afterwards.  This emissions failure has turned out to be quite the experience - both good and bad. 

NOTE:  I read my original CO reading wrong.  I thought the maximum allowable was 5% and I put out 5.5%.  Not so.  Those were the maximum allowable amounts for the first and second readings respectively.  My actual CO output was 8.1% and 7.5%.  There - correction made and demerits issued.

After failure, I could not imagine how a custom-mapped bike out of the People’s Republic of Kalifornia be that far off.  It likely wouldn’t idle smooth being that high.  So here is the rest of the story in chronological order…

  1. Start the discussion about “what exactly is a Tuneboy?”.  It turns out that it is completely different than a Power Commander.  The Power Commander is a box that intercepts the fuel map message, does something to it, then send it on its merry way to power the injectors.  The system can be turned off and essentially with a flick of the switch, you are back to the production OE map.  The Tuneboy essentially flashes a new software version to the ECU.  The changes can not be disabled without a new ‘tune’.
  2. Start the discussion about “what exactly is a Sagem FI system for this Futura?”.  Unlike the Mille system that has fuel/air misture screws, the Futura does not.  It most be done with an AXONE tool (similar to the automotive diagnostic “scan” / OBD tool).  The mixture at idle is a matter of clicking a down-arrow button when in the right screen.  There are two Aprilia dealers in the area that have this tool.  One is fifteen miles from my house, and the other is fifty.  Lucky for me, the closer one has not had a functional AXONE tool for months now (unacceptable IMHO as this is THE ONLY TOOL THAT WILL WORK FOR APRILIAS!).
  3. Friday 17Mar06 - Schedule the service appointment with the dealer on the other side of town.  Lucky for me, the main service technician answered the phone.  I inquired about open time slots for Saturday (18Mar06), and we discussed my problem a little.  His over-the-phone-diagnosis was interesting, and it went like this:

    “Did the MVD giys have you cut the engine rwhen you pulled into the sniffer bay?”  They did.  “That’s the problem.  The Futura has a three-minute fuel enrichening algorythm upon each start-up no matter the engine temp.  Did you wait three minutes after they told you to start it back up until the time that they took the reading?”  I didn’t wait more than ten seconds.  “I am sure that is the problem.  We can stil check it if you want, but tell them you cannot shut off the engine and you’ll pass”.

  4. 17Mar06 after work I go to the MVD Emissions Station which is only mildly out of the way home.  It’s down for repair.  Damn.  “It should be back up in fifteen minutes” I am told, so I wait.  I took this opportunity to explain my predicament to everyone who would listen, and they finally agreed to let me not shut the engine off.  Great.  But they never came back online.  It was a bust after al, better than a did not pass again, but I was still annoyed…especially when the “this never happens here” comment.
  5. 18Mar06 I schedule an afternoon appointment with that other dealer.  Guess what - 3.3% CO and the Hydrocarbon reading was down from about 1400 to 353.  THE TECH WAS RIGHT!  I cannot confirm that three minutes is true, but I have the numbers and the bad attitude to take back to MVD.

SIDEBAR RANT: I have to take the opportunity to speak truthfully about the dealership I have bragged about in the past North Valley Honda.  In the past, these guys have been helpful.  But they had three strikes in a row, with the last two being the same AXONE issue.  The first attempt to use the tool was with my Caponord.  I scheduled an appointment (back in January), and took her in to have the latest map installed.  When I showed up they informed me that the AXONE tool was broken and they would have to reschedule me - reason for first visit to dealer across town.  This time, I had a 18Mar06 morning appointment that I scheduled a week ago.  16Mar06 I called to confirm that their tool was properly working.  It wasn’t.  Had I not inquired I would have had a second chance to ride ther to not get service - reason for my second successful visit to dealer across town (and informative discussion regarding the ‘enrichening cycle’).

Next week I’ll get the emissions test attempted again.  If I pass, I’ll finally get it titled in my name.  Heh - I’ve only put 2000 miles on it since I’ve taken possession!  This process is making me once again hate bureaucrats at the state level.

2 Comments

Come on Bob since the “dealer across town” was able to help you don’t you think it is worth putting their name up. Although NVH is much closer to us we drive the distance to “dealer across town” ARIZONA SUPERBIKE to get our parts, work and to just socialize with the euro crowd. After several phone calls to compare prices for parts and service the winner has always been AZSBK. Recently my brake lite switch was malfunctioning. Joanna called AZSBK and they said come on over and they replaced the switch while she waited (about an hour to work her in and get the work done).

So here is an actual comparison for Falco Oil filters which we actually purchased from both dealers.
These are prices before tax

NVH $14.75
AZSBK $9.21

I have no complaints or negative comments about NVH each business has the right to set their prices as they see fit and as a consumer it is up to me to decide if I want to pay those prices.

Comment by 1bigdawg | March 19th, 2006 9:40 am | Permalink

It’s true…and I should have. They have done me right for the last two times that NVH has failed. It’s refreshing that AZSBK seems to be under new management (or at least a new attitude) with the new place. Very nice by the way.

These guys are good, I have to admit. For me, its almost an hour each way of highway versus 20 minutes. That’s the part that sucks. I should have given them credit regardless.

Comment by angrybob | March 19th, 2006 8:49 pm | Permalink

Leave a Reply

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Live Comment Preview

Comment by Somebody

Powered by WordPress 2.3.1    Rendered in 15 queries and 0.539 seconds.    CleanBreeze Theme   
   

Bad Behavior has blocked 1217 access attempts in the last 7 days.