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Shoodaben Engineering introduces the Mountain Runner Flash

Steve in sunny Fla

Iron Butt
Industry Vendor
New for 2018,  the Mountain Runner Flash. A unique flash with enhanced engine braking and a more subdued light throttle response than the evolution. Perfect for mountain or twisty riding, and no downside in everyday riding. Read more about it here:

  https://sites.google.com/site/shoodabenengineering/concours1400

Thanks, Steve

 
 
I rode Steve's bike through some of the few twisty Flowriduh roads yesterday. Smoooooooothhh.
 
Arrrgh! I just got the Evo flash in the spring but would have definitely picked this one. I’m hoping the throttle cable adjustment will take the abruptness out of the power coming back on in the corner, but even if it does a softer response on small throttle openings would be ideal.
 
I was beta tester for this one. I too had a earlier flash and the abrupt throttle was a nuisance, Steve wanted lots of power as soon as possible in the earlier flashes I assume, but it was just too much for my tastes.. I asked Steve about somehow muting the initial throttle giddy up and go for a smoother on/off feeling?

Before the new MRunner I installed a throttle tamer to try and reduce the on/off jerkiness. I say he was successful on this one. The initial throttle is spot on, its slightly muted but in no means slows you down. Its just a smooth transition when twisting the throttle. Going up through the gears is also more smooth, it seems like the power comes on in a slightly delayed fashion instead of on or off, perfect for my type of riding.

The other noticeable difference is matching revs downshifting, it is perfect for me. It just works for my style of riding.

I ride the PACE,  that means I ride quickly, use the decell to reduce speeds before a corner (less braking) and this new MR is perfect for my riding style.

NOTE: I still have the TT installed, I have tightened the throttle cables to reduce the drive line lash/slop sensation.

I am not good with explanations and or composing legible posts, so sorry if I am not detailed enough for you all.  :motonoises: :beerchug:
 
Staylo said:
Arrrgh! I just got the Evo flash in the spring but would have definitely picked this one. I’m hoping the throttle cable adjustment will take the abruptness out of the power coming back on in the corner, but even if it does a softer response on small throttle openings would be ideal.

thats exactly what the new MR does, dicing through traffic and going through gears up and down it is just so much smoother of a process. I too was not happy with the abrupt throttle with one of the original flashes either, Steve listened to some of the feedback to cure this ill.

The drive line slack thread I started BTW, Steve went to work to find out why some of us had significant lash/slop verses others? I did the cable adjustment he suggested and that improved the ride-ability a lot.
 
Staylo said:
Arrrgh! I just got the Evo flash in the spring but would have definitely picked this one. I’m hoping the throttle cable adjustment will take the abruptness out of the power coming back on in the corner, but even if it does a softer response on small throttle openings would be ideal.

Everyone should do the proper throttle adjust with the EVO flash before they consider getting the Mountain Runner flash.  My flashes were all built with little or no play in the throttle cables, I guess I assumed everyone else's bikes were set up the same. I was wrong. Steve
 
Based on feedback, it looks like Mountain Runner is going to be a rousing success... 500 concours will be rolling with a Shoodaben flash in them as of today!  Steve
 
I'll add some comments... the shifts are definitely smoother, even Irene noticed the before/after difference when we were riding two-up.
Another point that hasn't been mentioned yet is maneuvering in traffic. When traffic is moving, but slowly, and you may to make turns, change lanes, etc., it really makes a difference. The on/off transitions are smoother, making the maneuvering easier and safer to do. Not exactly a fun part of riding, but a part of it that is improved with the MR flash over the previous (mine had the original flash).
Well done Steve.
 
Steve in Sunny Fla said:
Hiddenmickey said:
Is it another $375.00 if I upgrade from the Decel flash to the new Mountain flash?

no, it's 75.00, which includes the shipping and insurance.
You're gonna be a busy boy-I wasn't clear on that... I'm gonna have to send you mine after Christmas. I've been well satisfied with the Decel flash you did  in Helen. Cool!
 
Steve in Sunny Fla said:
Based on feedback, it looks like Mountain Runner is going to be a rousing success... 500 concours will be rolling with a Shoodaben flash in them as of today!  Steve

And then it snowed...
 

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JDSCO said:
Steve in Sunny Fla said:
Based on feedback, it looks like Mountain Runner is going to be a rousing success... 500 concours will be rolling with a Shoodaben flash in them as of today!  Steve

And then it snowed...

Look on the bright side - at our ages, it's one of the few things we can look forward to with anticipation!  :beerchug: Steve
 
Congrats on the 500 Steve.
    I'm impressed.
      That's a great milestone!
          WE appreciate all your efforts...  :great:
                Here's a celebratory extravaganza to salute you.
                          {Watch to the end}

  :13::1rij: :1rij::1rij::13: :1rij::1rij: :13:            Ok, celebrations over, 500 down / 500 to go,,,,,    Quit celebrating and get back to work!! <evil grin>  >:D


Ride safe, Ted
 
I sent my ecu last Monday night for the mountain runner flash got it back today. Put it back in and fired it up. Can't ride because of snow and freezing rain. Come on spring!
 
I also just got my ecu back from Steve with the Mountain Runner Flash. I sent the ecu on Monday and received it back on Saturday. Steve got my ecu back to me very quickly. He received my ecu, flashed it and it was on the way back to me within 1-2 hours from what I can tell. That is customer service and communication was stellar! Steve is great to work with and does everything he can to accommodate his customers. Of course it is raining today and I am grounded. I am hoping for a break in the rain to give the bike its first pass with the mountain runner. If not today, then tomorrow will be a good ride. I should note I live in Pennsylvania so this flash on paper sounds ideal for me.

I also feel I will be able to provide solid feedback for the group as this is my 3rd C14. Some background......First was a new 2009. Flies out, full muzzy dual exhaust with header, bmc race filter and dyno'd. That bike was a beast but never smooth throttle inputs, had jerkiness on/off throttle and mediocre shifting but loads of torque and top end power. I racked up 65k miles on that bike then sold it as I just wanted something new. The bike was dyno'd for power, not finesse. Nonetheless, it was a missile and a blast to ride.

Next I had a pre-owned 2012 which I had the guhl flash done on as I am in his neck of the woods. Guhl was better than stock but didn't erase all of the annoyances I had with the 2009 plus I hated the linked brakes on that bike and naturally I was down on power. Rode for 25k miles then sold that one off as well.

I missed the connie platform so much that I wanted to try one more time with the 15+ model. Now I have a 2016 with Area P slip on. The 2016 still had the same jerkiness, on/off throttle, delayed lag in thrust and imprecise shifting at times. I was working around it but finally had enough and knew I did not want to go with guhl again. My wife has a "three strikes and your out" rule per model so I have to get this figured out. I've been reading about Steve's continuing work and flashes for the last couple of years. I also studied up on a new comer to the field but to me experience and reputation were paramount so I took the plunge and shipped my ecu to Steve. At this point, I have 100k miles on the connie platform.

Sooooo.....I installed the ecu in the bike this morning (giddy like a school girl, I might add) and fired it up in the garage as the rain continued to come down. I can immediately note some very key differences. Throttle is super smooth and instant. The bike also spins up way faster and I can sense any lag in throttle response is gone. You can just hear it is now finely tuned and purrs at idle. I'm super anxious to see how the shifting has improved and get that low down pull and torque back like my 2009 had plus the new throttle benefits. I'm optimistic that I have found Connie nirvana......

More to come (likely tomorrow) as I get the bike out. Thanks so much Steve for all your hard work and what you do for the Concours community.
 
Jack, make sure you do the throttle adjustment  and idle adjustment as spec'd in the paperwork I sent. it's a very important to the whole "feel" of mountain runner.
  Looking forward to your thoughts.
Steve
 
Thanks Steve. I'm all set on both. I already had all the slack out of my throttle cables pre-flash in attempt to minimize the jerky on/off throttle and I tweaked my idle to be right @1,100 rpm.
 
What’s the best way to accurately read the idle speed? From farting around with cars when I was younger I know how to use a dwell meter on a 60s era beetle or 70s era American cars, but I’ve never done any of that type of tuning work on a motorcycle before. I suppose I could get it in the ballpark simply by looking at the dashboard tach.
 
Staylo said:
What’s the best way to accurately read the idle speed? From farting around with cars when I was younger I know how to use a dwell meter on a 60s era beetle or 70s era American cars, but I’ve never done any of that type of tuning work on a motorcycle before. I suppose I could get it in the ballpark simply by looking at the dashboard tach.

  tach works for me! ;) Steve
 
Well, the mountain runner is simply awesome!! I rode about 160 miles today on every conceivable type of road. Fast two lane, twisties, traffic, in town and highway. My thoughts are as follows:

Power - Now the bike is fast and how it should have came from the factory. The pull is instant, there is power and torque everywhere and it gets up to speed much quicker than before. No delay, no dip, just off you go. You can feel the new found torque and it feels like a brute. The magic to me is it is all very controllable and precise. I was generally riding a gear higher than I normally do and the road conditions were only average at 40 degrees in February in Pennsylvania. 6th gear roll on is very impressive. On the highway, I propelled + 30 mph in what seemed like a few seconds with a good yank on the throttle. Very close to my 2009 but with much better ride-ability.

Smooth - Every input is smooth and it does what you want it to now. No delay. The jerkiness is gone. There is such infinite throttle control that I had to retrain my brain and will continue to perfect the inputs in low speed tight twisties. The slightest throttle input gets you the desired result. There is no slack in my cables so I need to perfect this area.

MPG's - I was up a couple mpg's versus my prior fuel mileage which was a combo of eco mode and regular mode. Today was in the regular mode and I don't see ever using eco mode again. What a treat...better gas mileage and  performance. Plus I have my winter shield on so this will improve.

Shifting - This one really blew me away. The shifts are clean, precise and thorough. The old shifting was one of my bigger beefs. Now you can just focus on the ride and not worry about perfecting the shift. I also need to re-train my brain here. I was always compensating & concentrating before to get the shift right and anticipating a problem. I could shift the bike well but it required way more effort than I thought necessary. Now it just happens. No drama and no more problems.

I stopped at home for a few minutes then went back out. Everything was already starting to feel very natural on the second leg of the day.

I honestly can't think of any negatives and I'm not an easy fan boy. This is the best $ I have spent on a C14 over the last 10 years. If your on the fence, don't be. Ship Steve your ecu. You'll be glad you did.
 
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