With version 1 of Lightfighter, we jumped into racing and did most of our performance tuning "on the fly" based on the data being logged on the motorcycle as well as Troy's feedback. It worked out pretty well for us, but I always felt as though we might be leaving some performance on the table. Luckily, for version 2, I was able to sweet talk the awesome guys at Kyle Racing (Dan Kyle and Mike Wheeler) into letting me onto their Dynojet 250i for a couple of 1 hour tuning sessions. The fact that there's no exhaust venting to worry about and the ruckus is slightly less (it's not silent), helped in getting the nod of approval. We got one under our belt prior to our first and only race of 2020 and the second just this past weekend ahead of what will likely be our last test of the year.
Beyond just a general systems test and checking resolver position settings, I predominantly focused on the base speed (speed at which torque begins to fall off and field weakening kicks in to get more rpm out of the motor) setting as well as the peak torque value. It's helpful to understand where these limits are on the dyno so that your rider doesn't experience the dreaded "control fault" and complete loss of power on the track. Never good for rider confidence!
This second session was focused on pushing the values a bit further to see where the real limits of the bike are at. With this knowledge, I will be better armed to set up the bike for various tracks and race lap counts as well as manage the thermal limits on very hot race days.
So... how'd we do? The green run is where we landed after our first tuning session. The red is the final setting of this second session. What's really awesome is that we picked up peak torque and improved the slope of the acceleration curve, while also picking up ~7hp at the rear wheel (135 to 142) on the top end. While I believe there are some more gains to be made with more tuning sessions, this is a significant enough step that I'd like to put in on the track and understand how it impacts the thermal performance of the system prior to trying to squeeze more performance out of her...
Now let's see if the improvements register on Troy's "butt dyno"... ;)