[Kiwi Rider]

I contacted a reputable Dyno tuner today regarding getting my bike tuned after fitting an aftermarket pipe and filter. I also asked about getting rid of the LAMS restriction at the same time and whether a power commander would also be necessary. Here's his response:

Woolich Racing has software to reflash the original ECU so no need for a powercommander. We are an agent for Woolich and we have the required interface to communicate with your ECU. You will need an on bike harness and also a BIN file to unlock your ECU. Once you have these we can adjust most of the features inside the ECU. See below;

Features available for Kawasaki Ninja 400 / EX400 2018-2019

IAP Fuel Maps
TPS Fuel Maps
Ignition Timing Maps
Ignition Dwell Map/s
Secondary Throttle Plate (STP) Opening Maps
Injector Timing Map/s
Ram Air Compensation Map/s
Adjust RPM Limiter
Adjust Fan Temperature
Quickshifter - (Requires Race Tools)
Launch Control - (Requires Race Tools)
Pit Lane Limiter - (Requires Race Tools)
Disable Stock O2 Sensor
Diagnostics - Read and Clear Fault Codes
Disable PAIR Valve / AIS
ECU Mode
Engine Data - View Live Engine Data
Woolich Racing AutoTune - (Requires Applicable LogBox + Zeitronix Package)

This product comes with 1 Bin File Definition Key allowing you to tune 1 ECU as many times as you like. Additional Bin File Definition Keys are required for each additional ECU's and can be purchased from within the WRT software.

I see the features include STP maps and this is most likely where the restriction is. This is the set of throttle plates above the main (twist grip controlled) control plates. These are electronically controlled.

He then goes on to list some prices which are irrelevant to overseas folk but I can provide to NZ members on request.

So he seems to think the restriction is in the opening of the secondary throttle plates.

I'm going to go ahead with this but it wont be until the spring as his shop is a 1,100km round trip that I dont fancy doing in winter!

 

[Engine-R]

Magicians those ECU-Tuner - really impressiv...

Please read https://www.kawasaki.com/Press/Release/2018-Ninja-400-ABS on Page 2/6
Note:
"Kawasaki’s modern fuel-injection tuning allowed for the elimination of the sub-throttles on the Ninja 400 providing for additional weight savings."

Nothing more to say, except once again:
From a qualified European ECU Tuner (Translation from German language):

Be careful to use any of the US ECU Flashtools.
These tools offer only limited programming capabilities, they are designed only for the American market.
Since the programming options for these tools are very limited it can happen that the ECU can no longer be reset to its OEM condition.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

Magicians those ECU-Tuner - really impressiv...

Please read https://www.kawasaki.com/Press/Release/2018-Ninja-400-ABS on Page 2/6
Note:
"Kawasaki’s modern fuel-injection tuning allowed for the elimination of the sub-throttles on the Ninja 400 providing for additional weight savings."

Nothing more to say, except once again:
From a qualified European ECU Tuner (Translation from German language):

Be careful to use any of the US ECU Flashtools.
These tools offer only limited programming capabilities, they are designed only for the American market.
Since the programming options for these tools are very limited it can happen that the ECU can no longer be reset to its OEM condition.

When you live on a small Island there is not a lot of options available to you.

 

[Engine-R]

When you live on a small of Island there is not a lot of options available to you.

Kiwi please don't misunderstand, this was absolute NO offend against you.

What I want to say is, that the ECU-Tuner don't know their business, they tune what's not existing.

 

[emudshit]

I contacted a reputable Dyno tuner today regarding getting my bike tuned after fitting an aftermarket pipe and filter. I also asked about getting rid of the LAMS restriction at the same time and whether a power commander would also be necessary. Here's his response:

Woolich Racing has software to reflash the original ECU so no need for a powercommander. We are an agent for Woolich and we have the required interface to communicate with your ECU. You will need an on bike harness and also a BIN file to unlock your ECU. Once you have these we can adjust most of the features inside the ECU. See below;

Features available for Kawasaki Ninja 400 / EX400 2018-2019

IAP Fuel Maps
TPS Fuel Maps
Ignition Timing Maps
Ignition Dwell Map/s
Secondary Throttle Plate (STP) Opening Maps
Injector Timing Map/s
Ram Air Compensation Map/s
Adjust RPM Limiter
Adjust Fan Temperature
Quickshifter - (Requires Race Tools)
Launch Control - (Requires Race Tools)
Pit Lane Limiter - (Requires Race Tools)
Disable Stock O2 Sensor
Diagnostics - Read and Clear Fault Codes
Disable PAIR Valve / AIS
ECU Mode
Engine Data - View Live Engine Data
Woolich Racing AutoTune - (Requires Applicable LogBox + Zeitronix Package)

This product comes with 1 Bin File Definition Key allowing you to tune 1 ECU as many times as you like. Additional Bin File Definition Keys are required for each additional ECU's and can be purchased from within the WRT software.

I see the features include STP maps and this is most likely where the restriction is. This is the set of throttle plates above the main (twist grip controlled) control plates. These are electronically controlled.

He then goes on to list some prices which are irrelevant to overseas folk but I can provide to NZ members on request.

So he seems to think the restriction is in the opening of the secondary throttle plates.

I'm going to go ahead with this but it wont be until the spring as his shop is a 1,100km round trip that I dont fancy doing in winter!

How much would this all cost though?

 

[Kiwi Rider]

How much would this all cost though?

See here: http://www.ninja400riders.com/forum/9-ninja-400-general-discussion-forum/1535-nz-members-dynoworx-pricing.html

and convert to Aussie dollars or even better contact someone in Perth locally.

 

[RedRider2k2]

The canadian Kawasaki website still lists the 400 as using secondary throttle plates.
The old fashioned work around is to just remove them. That's what's done on my ZX-10R.

ETA: The parts diagram does make it look like a single throttle valve though. I don't really see the need for a Secondary throttle on a 400 twin...

 

[Kiwi Rider]

The canadian Kawasaki website still lists the 400 as using secondary throttle plates.
The old fashioned work around is to just remove them. That's what's done on my ZX-10R.

ETA: The parts diagram does make it look like a single throttle valve though. I don't really see the need for a Secondary throttle on a 400 twin...

I'm not getting it done till sept/oct so lots of time to work out where the restriction is. Someone else can be the guinea pig maybe.

 

[HeatXeeker]

Someone mentioned the Indian version of the N400 doesnt have any restrictions. If one can obtain a copy of this unrestricted flash then it may be considerably less risky to flash on the restricted bikes (including mine!)

 

[Engine-R]

Just my 2ct again.

What if Kwaki doesn't release the whole story about the EX400?

In another thread there are thoughts about how easy it could be to raise the power with bigger throttles.
That's really what it is and also must be done, so what could be an easy thing to lower the power of an engine?
I guess yall know the answer already - use throttles with a smaller diameter!

So what when this is part of the restricted engines?
You can check it out by yourself when you call your dealer and ask for the part number of the throttle (the US and CA part number is: 16163-0927).
The injectors (part #: 49033-0047) look like to be the same everywhere while the ECU depends on the country-version, from what I know the following:
WVTA (FULL) - I guess this only the SS-Bikes, but I must not be right.
US, CA - 21175-1332
CAL - 21175-1371 (this I think is, because of the high-emmission standard, the most restricted version)
CO
AU, TH
EU, IN
BR
ID, PH, SEA
MY
Those in one row seem to be identical.

Important: Tuner BIN-Files for reflash depend on the specific ECU and should never be used for another one or there is the risc for malfunction or damage!

Please understand this comment, like all my others, only as suggestion and information only so you can make up your mind and get the idea for yourself.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

Update:
My Dyno tuner has been in touch with Woolich Racing products who provide his software and they say they are unaware of any restrictions in the N400 ECU's.
He has asked for the serial number of my ECU.

I have also informed him of the fact that the new N400 apparently does not have any sub throttles. Thank you @Engine-R for the heads up there.

Tonight I have sent e-mails to Kawasaki NZ and Kawasaki Australia asking them to verify that the Australasian models are indeed restricted and if so, how has this been implemented.

Will keep you posted.

Footnote: In my owners manual on the specification page it has this:
Maximum Horsepower 33.4Kw (45PS)@10,000 rpm
(MY, PH) 36kW (49PS) @10,000 rpm.

So since my manual is probably the Oceania version this tells me that the Australian, New Zealand and Thai models are 33.4 kW and the Malaysian and Philippines models are unrestricted at 36kW .

 

[Engine-R]

Thank you Kiwi for your information.
It's no real surprise that MY has the high power model, there they've always sold the most powerful one, interesting is that PH and MY share the same now.
I guess Indonesia will have the 49 hp model then also.

Here I have the data from EU and TH (normally IN is the same like EU so maybe could be placed here also?):
ECU: 21175-1314
Throttle: 16163-0922 !!!
Injector: 49033-0047

For those who plan about E85 it's important to find out the data from the injectors, but at least they'll be to small anyway.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

Response from Kawasaki Australia:

Kawasaki Motors does not apply any “LAMS restriction” on this model and it comes as is from the factory to us.

Kawasaki Motors sincerely hopes that you understand our legal position when we advise you that due to Australian federal and state legislation, as the manufacturer’s representative and authorised importer and distributor of Kawasaki motorcycles to Australia, our company is legally constrained to comment or suggest any modification away from standard as per the manufacturers original design and factory shipment unless offered by Kawasaki Motors as an authorised Kawasaki factory alternative.


Response from Kawasaki NZ:

Unfortunately, as a distributer we cannot promote or recommend tuning or modifying the LAMs range of bikes for them to be full power bikes. (plus if you crash and your insurance company finds out it has been unrestricted you could run into trouble)

As far as I’m aware, the Ninja 400 is around the 44 HP mark which is the same as the UK and USA model.

So no real surprises there. Would be keen to hear from a Northern Hemisphere member as to what the listed Maximum Horsepower is in your manual. It's on page 22 in my book under General Information / specifications / Performance.
Thank you.

 

[Engine-R]

Response from Kawasaki Australia:

Kawasaki Motors does not apply any “LAMS restriction” on this model and it comes as is from the factory to us.

Kawasaki Motors sincerely hopes that you understand our legal position when we advise you that due to Australian federal and state legislation, as the manufacturer’s representative and authorised importer and distributor of Kawasaki motorcycles to Australia, our company is legally constrained to comment or suggest any modification away from standard as per the manufacturers original design and factory shipment unless offered by Kawasaki Motors as an authorised Kawasaki factory alternative.


Response from Kawasaki NZ:

Unfortunately, as a distributer we cannot promote or recommend tuning or modifying the LAMs range of bikes for them to be full power bikes. (plus if you crash and your insurance company finds out it has been unrestricted you could run into trouble)

As far as I’m aware, the Ninja 400 is around the 44 HP mark which is the same as the UK and USA model.

So no real surprises there. Would be keen to hear from a Northern Hemisphere member as to what the listed Maximum Horsepower is in your manual. It's on page 22 in my book under General Information / specifications / Performance.
Thank you.

Found one more information: CAL also has the 16163-0922 Throttle Body.

Kiwi the answer from Kwaki in Germany was the same, the only part that was more is their reference to Euro4.

Please keep in mind, that a 2 mm wider throttle means 5% more power.

 

[RedRider2k2]

Would be keen to hear from a Northern Hemisphere member as to what the listed Maximum Horsepower is in your manual. It's on page 22 in my book under General Information / specifications / Performance.
Thank you.

Canadian bike here. No listed HP numbers in the manual.

 

[Warp12]

Magicians those ECU-Tuner - really impressiv...

Please read https://www.kawasaki.com/Press/Release/2018-Ninja-400-ABS on Page 2/6
Note:
"Kawasaki’s modern fuel-injection tuning allowed for the elimination of the sub-throttles on the Ninja 400 providing for additional weight savings."

Nothing more to say, except once again:
From a qualified European ECU Tuner (Translation from German language):

Be careful to use any of the US ECU Flashtools.
These tools offer only limited programming capabilities, they are designed only for the American market.
Since the programming options for these tools are very limited it can happen that the ECU can no longer be reset to its OEM condition.

When you live on a small Island there is not a lot of options available to you.

I have quite a bit of Woolich flashing tools, but have not used them in a while. I could have sworn that when I bought mine, they were centered in Austraila? But now I see a US address. When you are looking to flash your ECU, there will be a BIN file that corresponds to your ECU part number, in most cases. Usually the BIN files get populated fairly quickly. With the Woolich interface, you will be able to see the settings of your ECU, and then make changes from there. My experience is limited to the ZX-14 (ZZR1400) series, so YMMV.

Now, of course for a brand new model, there are things to learn by the developer. Sometimes "features" that are listed are in development, so it is best to check. What I see on the Woolich site for the 400 is, "boiler plate", as far as ecu mods. The nice thing about buying the tools is that you can "experiment" a bit. For "experiments", I usually try to find a second, cheap, ecu...to be safe. Since the 400 is so new, that could be tough.

I wonder how many ECU flashing places will buy you a new ECU if they "brick" yours? Or do they say, "hey, it can happen...so be warned"?

 

[jonfonts]

If you were to brick your ECU you should just be able to bench flash the stock BIN back.

 

[Kiwi Rider]

I have quite a bit of Woolich flashing tools, but have not used them in a while. I could have sworn that when I bought mine, they were centered in Austraila? But now I see a US address. When you are looking to flash your ECU, there will be a BIN file that corresponds to your ECU part number, in most cases. Usually the BIN files get populated fairly quickly. With the Woolich interface, you will be able to see the settings of your ECU, and then make changes from there. My experience is limited to the ZX-14 (ZZR1400) series, so YMMV.

Now, of course for a brand new model, there are things to learn by the developer. Sometimes "features" that are listed are in development, so it is best to check. What I see on the Woolich site for the 400 is, "boiler plate", as far as ecu mods. The nice thing about buying the tools is that you can "experiment" a bit. For "experiments", I usually try to find a second, cheap, ecu...to be safe. Since the 400 is so new, that could be tough.

I wonder how many ECU flashing places will buy you a new ECU if they "brick" yours? Or do they say, "hey, it can happen...so be warned"?

Thanks for the info. Woolich are an Australian based company but I see now they have a USA and a Europe ph no. on their website, so they are expanding globally. They seem to have a good name.

Luckily I'm not planning on getting this job done till after winter so heaps of time for the N400 software package to get updates and for me to get to the bottom of the restriction or no restriction issue.

 

[Engine-R]

I have quite a bit of Woolich flashing tools, but have not used them in a while. I could have sworn that when I bought mine, they were centered in Austraila? But now I see a US address. When you are looking to flash your ECU, there will be a BIN file that corresponds to your ECU part number, in most cases. Usually the BIN files get populated fairly quickly. With the Woolich interface, you will be able to see the settings of your ECU, and then make changes from there. My experience is limited to the ZX-14 (ZZR1400) series, so YMMV.

Now, of course for a brand new model, there are things to learn by the developer. Sometimes "features" that are listed are in development, so it is best to check. What I see on the Woolich site for the 400 is, "boiler plate", as far as ecu mods. The nice thing about buying the tools is that you can "experiment" a bit. For "experiments", I usually try to find a second, cheap, ecu...to be safe. Since the 400 is so new, that could be tough.

I wonder how many ECU flashing places will buy you a new ECU if they "brick" yours? Or do they say, "hey, it can happen...so be warned"?

For a better description let me add one very important point to your post.

With an ECU-Tuner from the free market you have the ability to change the tables that are used for the calculation or at least most of them.
What you can not change is the way how the calculations are made and you cannot see how all the values are used together.
The ECU's in the cars, or to be more careful with what I say, nearly all of them have secret tables and they in many cases restore the changes made from outside back to original.
Some motorcycle already have a GPS-Modul within the ECU, some type of the EX300 had this also, and this means when the engine is running the manufacturer also has the ability to turn any changes back via ota.
The next point might not apply in US or CA, but is valid for sure in all Euro4-Compliant ECU's: Any and every change or manipulation made within must be made visible and the manufacturer must deliever the tools for that - since Euro4 nothing is easy anymore and this is what your tuner might not tell you, since he wants to sell his tools.

What you say is only possible with an Open Source tools, like MicroSquirt (some call it MegaSquirt also), where you have the true ability to setup everything.

And here I stop with my descriptions about the ECU. In the future I read yours and really don't hope that you hold back your knowledge but share it with others.

 

[jonfonts]

For a better description let me add one very important point to your post.

With an ECU-Tuner from the free market you have the ability to change the tables that are used for the calculation or at least most of them.
What you can not change is the way how the calculations are made and you cannot see how all the values are used together.
The ECU's in the cars, or to be more careful with what I say, nearly all of them have secret tables and they in many cases restore the changes made from outside back to original.
Some motorcycle already have a GPS-Modul within the ECU, some type of the EX300 had this also, and this means when the engine is running the manufacturer also has the ability to turn any changes back via ota.
The next point might not apply in US or CA, but is valid for sure in all Euro4-Compliant ECU's: Any and every change or manipulation made within must be made visible and the manufacturer must deliever the tools for that - since Euro4 nothing is easy anymore and this is what your tuner might not tell you, since he wants to sell his tools.

What you say is only possible with an Open Source tools, like MicroSquirt (some call it MegaSquirt also), where you have the true ability to setup everything.

And here I stop with my descriptions about the ECU. In the future I read yours and really don't hope that you hold back your knowledge but share it with others.

To be honest, that is a grossly mis-representative summary of what you can and can't do. You can absolutely find any "secret" tables, and make your own modifications of said tables and even change and modify how and what data it uses and calculates with. That ability is not necessarily limited by the tool, but by the amount of time someone puts into decoding everything. If Woolich wanted to put the time, they could, but that takes a lot of dedication to define tables, and build custom code add/modify or inject data. A more useful approach in terms of man-power efficiency is open-sourcing it but you still need the right people to play nice and not monopolize their findings.