Dr Rossi / Gabro / Forza Aprilia Falco chip

Message

D-Rider · #46 Post by **D-Rider** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:52 pm

Aladinsaneuk wrote:perhaps try the search facility?

They don't need to - I've been busy finding all the info and eventually tracked it down so people can click the link

Aladinsaneuk · #47 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 11:21 pm

was a little aide memoire for you old boy - i know just hard dementia can affect the memory for you older folk

D-Rider · #48 Post by **D-Rider** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 11:30 pm

Aladinsaneuk wrote:was a little aide memoire for you old boy - i know just hard dementia can affect the memory for you older folk

?? was busy searching from the moment I posted - and I do know how the search works !

blinkey501 · #49 Post by **blinkey501** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 5:20 am

I find your research very interesting geoff, thanks for taking the time and effort and posting up your findings.
The way i read into it.. Its not about graphs etc but every day use of each chip.
I will bear this in mind when i purchase one

flatlander · #50 Post by **flatlander** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 8:04 am

Pretty much yes Jay, the only really anal bit I hadn't mentioned was that I found the Gabro more tolerable on a damper day where I am supposing the atmospheric pressure and technically the air would have been affected. These were also the days where I tended to over gear

As you say graphs can give an indication of whatever you want but I do know that when I was filtering the words oh sh1t and that was close were coming out a lot more with the Gabro.

None if the chips were customised to my bike and I am pretty sure as I said earlier that any of these guys would tweak a map for a particular setup.

For that I would suppose that they would look at the various characteristics of the equipment list you provide and take it from that. However IMHO that. Would be pretty much negated by variations in climate etc.

Put another way if I had too exact a setup I think I would notice the different performance fluctuations far more on a trip to Spain than if I went say round Cheshire every Sunday

It should be noted that the article Andy refers too also talks about feel as well as the graph. It also says he believes it was a R2 chip. What that article is comparing as I read it is a custom tweaked chip against a chip that MAY be a Renegade chip. MAY have the appropriate map for the setup. MAY have been bought with the setup. MAY have been written for a much more humid environment and a far more modified bike. Who knows ?

Which is kind of the point I have made all along and which you seem to have understood. A graph is a graph I can send a graph about incidence of diabetes in teenagers in Castilla Spain, really I can :) , but it ain't going to be much use in curing Tourette's in Doncaster! LOL

I know the FA chip was meant to have been written for the Falco with open airbox and cans as that is what I asked for. I know the Gabro was meant to be the same as was the Rossi. I don't know if specific air boxes cans etc where used or just a generic range. To be honest and it just is my opinion if you are looking at things that specifically you would be having custom maps written in any case and if you weren't you should be recognising that any defeciencies are likely to be yours not the chip.

Which hopefully brings me to one last point of the chips I tried on my bike and whilst recognising, and hopefully indicating such, the one that least suited my riding style in the conditions where I ride the least was the Gabro. Good throttle response feels fast feels sporty great if on a Sunday you want to indulge in fast tours round the county or your favourite routes. Not so great as you approach the back of a transit cutting lanes across you when filtering.

For my riding in the conditions I ride with my riding history I found the Rossi not the fastest but most fun and the FA the most practical with the best amalgamation of characteristics.

I hope that clarifies things but if not I refer you to my sig when reading the write ups ;)

Cathcart · #51 Post by **Cathcart** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 9:14 am

flatlander wrote: but I do know that when I was filtering the words oh sh1t was close were coming out a lot more with the Gabro.
;)

This made me laugh, brilliant way to put it!!!

If this isn't an "in your pants" description then I don't know what is.

D-Rider · #52 Post by **D-Rider** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 9:20 am

flatlander wrote: but I do know that when I was filtering the words oh sh1t was close were coming out a lot more with the Gabro.
;)

So is the power delivery a bit rough and unpredictable at the bottom end or something?
i.e. what caused the "oh sh*t" moments?

Cathcart · #53 Post by **Cathcart** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 10:16 am

I'm assuming from his reference to it being a more sporty chip that power comes in fast and heavy as we previously spoke about, but, this is only an assumption and we know that to assume can make an ass etc etc.
Its interesting that 3 different chips can make a bike feel so different.

flatlander · #54 Post by **flatlander** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 11:01 am

basically because the perception of actual speed is more deceptive on the Gabro and the roll off isnt as sharp... so I use engine braking a lot when filtering ... one of the big things I prefer on the Falco over other bikes is this really helps me get through sharpish...

So you have a combination of reduced engine braking roll off ... which may be a false perception caused by misjudging the approach speed, but doesn't seem so as I have tried it from various speeds whilst concentrating on it.

When the power comes in it is not lumpy but it is quick hence feeling that the throttle response is faster and if you drift off you are more likely to be imgining haring round Laguna Seca than on the others ... unfortunately for me when filtering it can feel like going into that corkscrew drop bit of Laguna Seca a bit too quick :

The Gabro likes going forward it aint so keen on not doing so. Yes to a purist and a sports orientated rider it will be better but to a palin old rough arse grinding their way to work I would say the more predictable nature of the others is more valuable

HisNibbs · #55 Post by **HisNibbs** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 11:32 pm

The reason why I have kept the Gabro chip in my bike is that it provides a softer initial pickup from low revs and small throttle openings than the original Aprillia racing chip, that came with the RC cans.

I thought this softer pick up was due to the chip supporting a shift in ignition timing as the revs rise which many other chips don't. It may be that the RC chip is way more "agressive" than the others on test here but I find the Gabro easy to live with on slippery corners etc.

flatlander · #56 Post by **flatlander** » Wed Oct 31, 2012 8:38 am

I agree in principle but for me that is the throttle response itself which (lets be honest yours is far more controlled than mine

) that can be a boon or a curse. In general terms I find that with most of these chips its like anything else you have you get used to it.

You never realise your tv is crap till you see a better one for example.

That is to some extent why I thought it best to get the first impressions down as it would be things that stood out. For me the Gabro is something I could live with but in comparison to the others these were just the points I noticed.

It feels more hurried than the others more sport focussed the low down control for town etc. I did say was ok for me but ti seems happiest in certain areas mainly anything above 80 IAS and it seems useful around certain rev bands. Mainly 6k for me once on the go, after that then it is into what I think is its area of strength which is the top end of the dial... allegedly.

Maybe its a semantic thing that I am not explaining well when I say hurried but I find I feel like I have less time to make decisions yet I don't get anywhere any quicker, that said that is pretty much true for all these.

I don't think they make you quicker just change the character of the quickness

One thing that was a pleasant surprise was that the Gabro was the best for MPG maybe because I found myself riding far more cautiously with it

DavShill · #57 Post by **DavShill** » Wed Oct 31, 2012 1:52 pm

This is probably the shortest response in this thread.....

Where can I find Gabro's contact details?

DavShill · #58 Post by **DavShill** » Wed Oct 31, 2012 1:58 pm

Ignore that.... just found it in one of pete's early posts on another thread.

Aladinsaneuk · #59 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Wed Oct 31, 2012 5:58 pm

/insert parent rant

if i can ever get a fucking break from minding the sodding kids for long enough to do some work on the bastard bike I will whip out the renegade chip and send it to White Boot Mansions.....

and I have been a rum un in my time and fought all sorts of nasty shit - assorted twats in parkas, millwall skins and so on - but to really rule the world, all you need is a an elite squadron of hormonal pubescent 10 year olds with a serious case of attitude.....

Viking · #60 Post by **Viking** » Tue Mar 26, 2013 10:25 pm

Just to add my two cents worth to this thread....

Having moved from a stock SL chip (I presume this matches the SL carbon cans I have) to a Gabro "Gina V4/V6 DEA8" chip I can make a fairly balanced comment. (I wanted a dual-map setup on the Gabro chip for either a stock airbox or a Renegade kit.)

Running the Renegade kit and Gabro chip, there is a lot of crackling / booming on the over-run or when making small throttle movements at low speed. There was none of this with the SL chip. I'm in two minds about this - part of me likes it and part of me is worried that it's rather anti-social and going to destroy my mufflers.

Power-wise, the Gabro chip comes on hard and fast. The exhaust note changes from a growl to an insane roar above 5 or 6000 RPM, particularly if you give the throttle a good twist. The Gabro chip makes it far too easy to ride faster than you should.

For low speeds and filtering, the Gabro chip is a bit of a pain in the arse. It feels "fluffy" and seems to choke a bit below 3000 RPM when you open the throttle a little bit.

I have to agree with Flatlander - for a track day or sported riding through the hills and twisties, the Gabro wins. For commuting my stock SL chip is better.