Ducati 1098R And Honda CBR1000R - Red Rockets

Honda CBR1000RR Modifications
Until recently, aftermarket traction control was available only in concert with a dedicated ECU that completely replaces the stock black box. With the release of Bazzaz Performance's Z-Fi control unit, however, traction control is within reach of the club racer and trackday rider. The base Z-Fi unit is a Power Commander-like piggyback unit that plugs into the stock bike's fuel-injection harness and allows the user to tune the EFI system to accommodate an exhaust system or other modifications. This basic unit can be expanded with the addition of a quickshifter, which plugs into the bike's coils and a switch installed into the shift linkage and allows for clutchless, full-throttle upshifts.

A further expansion adds traction control. The Bazzaz TC setup provides the user with a throttle position/rpm map, similar to the fuel-injection map, that can be programmed with a simple number from 1 to 10 representing a level of sensitivity to the traction control. For each throttle-position range a level of "cut," also ranging from 1 to 10, can be applied. A rapid increase in rpm generally indicates a loss of traction at the rear wheel, and changing the sensitivity setting determines how quickly the system will allow the rpm to rise. If engine speed rises at a rate beyond that determined by the sensitivity setting, the Z-Fi cuts spark to one or more cylinders; the amount the power is reduced is determined by the cut setting. The full Z-Fi setup, including the injection control, quickshifter and TC, costs $999.95. The handlebar-mounted switch that allows switching between two maps and changing the overall sensitivity on the fly retails for an additional $249.95.

The exhaust system we chose for the CBR is a Leo Vince Corsa full system. The $1929 pipe is made from 1mm-thick, high-grade titanium, and weighs just eight pounds-almost 12 less than stock. The Corsa pipe installed easily enough, but the Honda's snap-together bodywork is very frustrating to deal with, and we had to trim a small piece from the bellypan to fit the header.

We took our CBR1000RR to Bazzaz Performance to have the Z-Fi system installed. The process appeared straightforward, with a couple of hours required to make all the EFI and coil connections to the Bazzaz harness and install the unit in the tailsection. We sprung for the additional Z-AFM air-fuel mapping kit, which costs an additional $349.95 and made mapping the Z-Fi box to match the Leo Vince pipe a quick affair. The kit provides real-time feedback to the mapping software, and after running the bike through the range of each throttle position/rpm step the software built a suggested map that was programmed with a single instruction-quick and easy. The AFM kit can record as you ride and be used to continuously fine-tune the mapping, but it falls just short of a full-on closed-loop system.

Turning to the TC portion of the Bazzaz Performance unit, our box was programmed with a base of all 5s in the sensitivity and cut maps for a moderate amount of traction control, with the external switch set to add or subtract sensitivity with each setting. Further features abound on the Z-Fi system: The traction control and fueling maps can be trimmed for each gear, and the quickshifter's kill time can be set individually for each gear. The software is very intuitive and allows for minute adjustments to suit almost any condition, but at the same time the base parameters are very well sorted and the system can be used in true plug-and-play fashion if desired.