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98 SS FE fuel injection conversion

28K views 82 replies 21 participants last post by  Thomas Herzmann 
#1 · (Edited)
I've decided to convert my FE from carbs to injection. The FCR 41 and IgniTech are great, but I like the tuning flexibility that fuel injection offers. Besides, I need a winter project.

Fortunately, I'm not the first person to go down this path. EIGHTfortyEIGHT and davesprinkle have both provided their thoughts and insights in posts on the forum, and have been kind enough to offer lot's of personal advice. A big thanks to both of you!

Also fortunately, the US 98 SS's have the 3 phase charging system, so the conversion is straight ahead bolt-on, rather than the challenge that davesprinkle documented in his ie conversion post.

My plan is pretty simple:
1. Find an 800 SS is donor bike for the hard parts, electrics, and 5.9 ECU (see the POS below)
2. Swap everything over
3. Profit!

So far, the disassembly has been simple and straight forward. Although, I'm constantly surprised by how poorly some people maintain their stuff - I probably shouldn't be. The next big(ish) step is to have the flywheel lightened and have a bunch of parts powder coated. After that, it'll be bolting it together, sorting the loom, and minor fabrication.

I'll post updates from time to time. Wish me luck!
 

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#2 ·
Wow. Good luck. That sounds like a truly interesting project. I've given thought to doing the same with my '93 at some point. Just not now as I only just got the OEM carbs rebuilt.

Given the lack of real repair parts (like Factory Pro nickel plated emulsion tubes) the future options are looking more and more like an injection upgrade to keep the old slab sides running for another 20 years.....sean
 
#9 ·
The 15M would be simpler to "fit"
A lot less wiring/connectors.
As Ducvet wrote, the 5XM is more tuneable and watch for "hidden" inputs that may have been in the donor bike's dash unless you are also using the dash.
Watch out for immobilisers as well and how/where they are.

The 15M has 16 x 16 tables and the 5XM has 20 TP and 32 RPM with better granularity.
The 15M has the air pressure sensor on the PCB inside the case.
Air temp sensor is on the black bracket behind the headlight/on the triple clamps.
The A0 and A8 versions have slightly different wiring and the A0 does not have a side/kickstand switch.
An A0 can be made to run an A8 bike and vice versa.
Obviously you will need a high pressure fuel pump and associated plumbing.

Do you have links to the builds by EIGHTfortyEight and davesprinkles?
I would be interested in reading about them, the challenges and how they overcame them.
@belter - with a WBO2 sensor and ScanST it eminently possible to log AFR and other parameters relevant to modifying maps.
That is in conjunction with Tunerpro, IAW Reader and IAW Writer.

In the absence of knowledge about those builds and ECUs used, you would need a "starting" map and XDF to suit the ECU you will use.

I have XDFs and bin files for the A0 and A8 900cc bikes.
 
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#5 ·
I agree with Punch, I have worked with these ecu's for years and the 5am Hw610 has proven to be more robust and easier to find than 5.9 ecu's . With the 1.5m it is sufficient to run the bike well but the 5.9 and 5am simply made it MORE tuneable. Given the trouble (fun) to convert I would not take the 1/2 step and go straight to the 5am HW610. Do keep an eye out for sensors buried into instrument clusters unless you plan on changing these as well.

There are certainly pluses to injection so I do understand I would just miss the audible treats the injection does not have.
 
#11 ·
Not to thread jack... I have a 2002 900ie which likely needs a complete engine build. I'm debating giving a blank cheque (almost) to a known Cdn Ducati tuner... but I also see 797 engines on ebay for around $1000 USD. How hard would it be to lever a low mile monster 800 engine into the bike (electronically... mechanically it's simple). I'm wondering about wiring harness, throttle bodies, etc.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Maybe resurrect this thread, even though the OP, Handensco, is not responding.
https://www.ducati.ms/forums/57-supersport/622873-1000ds-engine-01-ssie.html#post6068865

It has a lot of good info from Brad.
Why not go up in capacity and retain the 15M, which I recall was also so known as "the little brain"?

EDIT - you will also need to consider which ECU and which TPS.
The 15M models use a non-linear TPS and the 800/1000 use linear.
In essence the ECU and TPS must "match"
I do not know is the 900 TPS can be fitted to later throttle bodies.
I recall Brad providing info in a thread somewhere that a particular model that one would presume had electronic TPS reset but did not.
I think this was an early model using the 59M and it was a specific model, not necessarily all models with the 59M

Others would know better than me, but it may be possible to change the table that "maps" TPS voltage and butterfly degrees.
Alternatively investigate the possibility of transplanting the 900 throttle bodies to the new engine.

Personally, I would rebuild to keep the bike original and do as much as I could myself then take "bits" that needed special tools or not in my shed to those who have them.
 
#18 ·
While I appreciate those that collect bikes, it's not my thing. For me, these bikes are meant to be ridden - hard. It's why I ride the snot out of my 749R track bike. Some would say that a 749R like mine that had less than original 300 miles on it when I bought it 2 years ago should've been put in a museum. My belief is that it belongs in it's natural environment, and should be used as intended.

I also enjoy improving things. It's just my nature, and I do it with virtually everything I own. Stock is boring :).

Why mod an SS FE? Specifically for the reasons mentioned - it is the apex of the breed. If you want to improve on something, start with the best base. All that said, if it makes anyone feel better, my FE was treated poorly by it's previous owners and was pretty rough when I bought it. It'd been low-sided, and the motor was loose - so, definitely not collector quality.

For those that like to preserve, restore, protect and collect - awesome. I respect that aspect of the hobby and enjoy seeing the output of that type of effort. It's just not for me.
 
#19 ·
Progress report:
All of the parts (side cover, cam end covers, valve covers) are back from powder coating and look great.

The flywheel is still at the machine shop being lightened.

The layshaft / timing gears are direct swap, as is the flywheel / rotor. As a side note, doing this conversion on a '98 (US) 3 phase motor really simplifies the process. I'm not running into any of the obstacles that davesprinkle ran into.

That said, I've had my challenge. My intake ports were opened significantly by J Precision when I built this motor 4 years ago. I knew that I'd need to port match the new ie intake manifolds. What I didn't know, was that the ie manifolds are o-ringed. So, in order to match the ports, I first have to have the o-ring grooves welded. So, I'm waiting for that to be completed.

One of the things that I regretted not doing during my initial build was switching to a 1000 ds crank. EIGHTfortyEIGHT discussed this in his build post. In any case, I've decided that there's no better time than the present. I've ordered a crank off of ebay, and should see it later this week. Then it'll go to the machine shop to be lightened, balanced and polished.

Of course, the motor has to come apart now. And since it'll be in pieces, I'm going to many of the internals super-finished.

With all of this other work to be done, I'm also considering dual plugging the heads. I haven't decided on this yet, though. Anyone have an opinion?

Project mission-creep lives on!
 
#20 · (Edited)
Now that the motor is out of the frame, I'm going to address a personal pet peeve about the carby SS's frame design - the availability of good rear sets. I'm 6'4" and finding rear sets that offer enough adjustability and are stiff enough has been impossible.

I've explored a couple of options:
- create an adapter, mounted to the existing mounts that allows the use of Superbike rear sets
- weld an SS ie / Sport Classic type mount to the frame

In deciding which way to go, I was really motivated and inspired by several Moto Studio SS custom builds. So, the frame will be going to a local fabricator for some new SS ie-type mounts.
 

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#21 ·
That's the beauty of technology today - you can get stuff made if you can take the time to design it. I have on the way machined moulds for carbon rear sets which utilise a set of universal mount CNC Racing foot pegs. once I get them out of the way I will be making up drawings for different mounts to move the pegs back a bit for those that want to use them for racing.
 
#23 ·
Mike, this is the rear set setup on mine. It has the same pegs and adjustable eccentric as my 916/996 corsa rear sets.

Hope this helps.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#24 ·
The frame is back and I've started the initial assembly. I added an upper cross brace, similar to that on an 851/888 frame, and completely changed the rear set mounts in order to use Sport Classic rear sets.

I am really pleased with the way the mounts worked out! I now have much more adjustability, access to a wide range of rear sets, and the set-up is more solid/stiff than any of the 900 SS rear sets I've tried. Currently I've got Bonamici rear sets which are very nice.

For now the bike is sitting on OEM wheels while I wait for a new Pierbon swing arm and new OZ Gass wheels.

The motor should be done in about 2 weeks, as well. It feels great to begin seeing progress!
 

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#25 ·
More progress. The motor should be together by next week. While this started as an ie conversion, the project grew to include a 1000 ds crank. Of course, the crank was lightened and balanced. It's been combined with the Carrillos and 94mm Pistals that were already in the motor.

The next step is to port match the ie inlet manifolds to the much larger inlets that were created when J Precision welded and re-shaped the ports in the heads during the last build. The o-ring grooves in the inlets had to be welded prior to port matching. This stuff is never simple. :rolleyes:
 

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#29 ·
Lol - this started out as a Winter project. At this pace, it'll be a two Winter project. In any case, more (slow) progress....

Currently working on custom spacers to fit the 999 OZ Gass wheel into the Pierbon swingarm. Unfortunately, OZ doesn't make the Gass wheels for the SS.

I've also included some more pics of the rear sets. I'm pretty chuffed with the way they've come out.
 

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