Traction Control. To some it's the holy grail of rider aids that lets you do no wrong, while to others it's nothing more than a Band-Aid for sloppy riding. In either case, traction control is now available in production form and via the aftermarket, and when we got word that Yoshimura's kit ECU for the GSX-R1000 included a form of the electronic aid, we just had to order a unit up to see for ourselves what all the fuss is about.
The EM Pro (Engine Management Professional) is a replacement black box available for Suzuki GSX-R models that can be used in conjunction with the stock wiring harness or a kit harness that opens up more options. In the GSX-R1000's case, using the kit harness changes the bike's S-DMS function to three degrees of traction control: none (A), soft (B) and hard (C). The system is not true TC in that front-wheel speed is not compared with rear-wheel speed to detect a loss of traction, but rather rpm is monitored and limited should a sudden spike occur (indicating a loss of traction at the rear wheel). Yoshimura's instruction manual calls it a safety mode-others refer to it as rate-of-change traction control-and this was the main feature of the box we were interested in.
The EM Pro software is user-friendly and intuitive, with fuel and ignition mapping programmed using rpm/throttle-position maps. Two complete setups can be downloaded into the ECU and switched on the fly with the hazard switch.
The EM Pro allows other adjustments as well. The software provides direct access to the fuel and ignition curves, and two maps for each can be programmed and individually selected for each gear. The harness converts the hazard switch to a map selector, allowing the rider to change between the two settings on the fly. The EM Pro takes control of the stock bike's fast-idle circuit but for another purpose-holding the throttle open on deceleration for less engine braking. This also can be programmed for one of three levels in each gear. The stock rev limit can be raised by 500 rpm. A pit-lane speed limiter can be turned on with the left turn-signal switch. And finally, a quickshifter function is built in and can be given a set delay time for each gear. Surprisingly, the kit setup uses the stock sidestand switch, relocated, for the quickshifter function, which activates the switch with a pawl bolted to the shift shaft.
We used local club racer John Reeves' GSX-R1000 racebike for the kit installation. The bike is mostly stock aside from our modifications and basic race prep. | 
The EM Pro is a replacement ECU for the GSX-R. The $1680 kit includes all the necessary software and cabling to connect a laptop, and the unit can be used with the stock wiring harness or the Yoshimura kit harness. | 
The Yoshimura exhaust pipe, with a titanium header and carbon-fiber canister, is more a work of art than anything. |
To test the EM Pro we handed everything to John Reeves, a local club racer and trackday rider. Installation of the ECU and harness is relatively straightforward but time-consuming, as everything electrical on the bike must be unplugged from the stock harness and plugged into the kit harness. Aside from the benefits of activating the various control functions, the kit harness has shed almost three pounds from the GSX-R with the elimination of most of the street paraphernalia. The software and instruction manual for the EM Pro is quite expansive, but base maps are provided and once everything was installed we were up and running in relatively little time.
VP's U4.2 fuel is a 102-octane, oxygenated, leaded fuel that is claimed to require only minor jetting changes and to give a six percent power increase compared with pump gas.
The kit includes "compensation maps" for various setups; we used a standard map that called for a Yoshimura full exhaust system and unleaded fuel with an octane of 100 or greater. The software also includes maps for Superbike and AMA Superstock setups. We ordered up a Yoshimura titanium header with a carbon TRC canister as per the specification. The $2250 single-canister system installed easily enough with typical Yoshimura quality, fit and finish, and scaled in at approximately nine pounds total-18 pounds less than the stock twin piper. To handle the fuel requirements we turned to VP and its U4.2. This fuel is an advancement of the company's U4 and U4.1 that does not clog injectors when left in the bike for extended periods of time and that has a less pungent odor. The oxygenated fuel is listed at a motor octane of 102, perfect for our requirements.