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Moving bike to altitude

charliexd

charliexd

Can't get enough R6
Joined
May 16, 2011
Location
Mountain View
Moto(s)
2007 R6
Name
Carlos
So I've decided to take my bike to school (Prescott, AZ) which sits just above 5000ft. Some of my buds have said I should get the intake adjusted for the engine to breathe better?

Any takes on this? I never messed with my engine in the car for instance, so I'm not sure if a bike is more sensitive to this.
I will be making the trip back down to sea level every summer so, is it reversible if need be?

And if so, where should I get this done?

Thanks!
 
I'm guessing your friends don't know much about modern bikes? Your R6 has sensors for atmospheric pressure, and will automatically compensate for the change in altitude. You don't need to do anything.
 
If it is fuel injected, there is an oxygen sensor that adjusts the fuel mixture automatically. If it is carburetted, you will need to adjust the jets otherwise it will burn rich and extra fuel will make it to the exhaust and it will backfire a lot.

Easy way to tell? Do you have a choke?

My carb'd V-Star doesn't really start complaining until around 8K feet, up at Ebbett's and Sonora Pass.
 
All the sensors are programmed to compensate for such conditions, however you will still loose roughly 20% @ 5k.
 
I didn't know that, hm interesting .. OP be careful up there, tons of critters cross the road there.
 
add a turbocharger... FI or not you're still losing power at altitude





i'm joking about adding a turbo... although it does combat altitude power losses
 
Oppie, you going to Embry-Riddel?
 
If it's stock it'll be fine. However you will still be down ALOT of HP. When I moved from California to Colorado ~6,000ft+, my bike was a sluggish pig. A BIG part of the problem was due to my Power commander, map and O2 sensor eliminator setup PERFECT for sea level. My bike was just plain running TOO RICH.

After much frustration because I was too poor to afford a custom map at the time, I finally found a dynojet made generic map that REALLY helped out and made it much more enjoyable and rideable.

Save your pennies, you'll probably end up buying a -1/+2 sprocket set still.

Just be careful when you bring the bike back down to sea level, you'll just about loop that bitch when you try to pull a wheelie. I went from 1-2 bounce wheelies on my F4i with stock gear to easy 3rd gear bounce wheelies at sea level. I just got accustomed to riding with low power levels so when I got back that 21%+ hp, it was WILD.
 
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One of my brothers blew off the Silicon Valley and went back to school in Prescott. He really enjoyed it and it's a nice area. He was well into his 30's when he did it, though, so when he showed up a school, some of the other students thought he was a narc. Phunny.

As for your bike, you don't need to do anything. The fuel injection system will automatically compensate. And yes, you'll be down on power. While the fuel injection system can adjust according to elevation and maintain the right amount of fuel for the amount of oxygen going into the bike, it cannot compensate for the fact that because of the elevation, the air is less dense and therefore contains less oxygen. You'll get used to it. And your bike will still be plenty fast enough to get you into trouble.

As for chokes, I can't think of any modern bike that has one. What they do have, though, is enrichening circuits, either in the carbs or as part of the fuel injection system. In carbs, it's simply a circuit that is opened up when you thumb the lever on the bar that allows a bit extra fuel to be sucked into the bike to help it start in cold weather. In fuel injection, it's usually a hidden part of the programming that will slightly increase the amount of fuel injected when it gets colder. FYI, a "choke" is a variable restriction to the intake of a carburator, and though it accomplishes much the same thing, it does it in a completely different manner.
 
Glad to see a few ERAU ppl here on barf!
It's not too common ppl know the school or even Prescott. Haha
I think I'll just leave the bike as is for now. It's just during the school year anyhow. So I don't want to mess with it each time I come back.
Thanks for the input guys!
Ride safe.
 
KooLaid said:
Save your pennies, you'll probably end up buying a -1/+2 sprocket set still.
Click to expand...

-1/+2 is great if you want to pop power wheelies in 1st and 2nd, and it gives you a little more overlap between gears, but it won't actually make the bike any faster once you're out of second. OTOH, you are loosing some fuel economy, making freeway riding even more rev happy, and forcing yourself to shift out of 2nd earlier than you would otherwise.

Sprockets aren't a magic cure by any means, and on most bikes extreme changes are more likely to hurt than help.
 
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