Long time lurker, first time poster.
I Started with a 1972 Honda CB200 as my first bike which I rode for 6 months and then wanted something with more power and better for riding two-up so I bought a 1982 Suzuki GS850, which I absolutely loved. I took my motorcycle safety class on this bike, got my endorsement on this bike, and it was my only mode of transportation for ~3 years (In Ohio) while finishing up college after an enlistment in the Marines. I spent a lot of time learning motorcycle maintenance on this bike, changing spark plugs, changing engine and gear oil, re-jetting and tuning carbs, etc. It had a ton of top speed while being incredibly reliable. Eventually I thought I needed a Harley so I got a 1998 sportster 1200. I kept this for about 4 years, but got rid of it after I had my first kid as I didn't really have enough time to ride it and ultimately never really loved it.
Flash forward to 2022 and I wanted to get a new bike. I wanted something that could handle some Appalachian gravel if it needed to, would do great in the city, could handle a long distance trip I planned for my 40th birthday, and I absolutely wanted it to be fuel injected with a digital dash. After doing lots of research on reddit and YouTube I watched the Daily Rider episode about the Versys 650 and this sold it to me, especially since i saw there was a refresh for the 2022 version of this bike that ticked all my boxes. I found a dealer with one in stock, took a test drive and bought my first ever brand new motorcycle, a candy lime green 2022 Versys 650 ABS. I've added a few things, new horn(stock one crapped out), crash bars, handguards, Shad top case, a Puig windscreen and now it's exactly what I want my motorcycle to be.
Initially the bike seemed like I was leaping into the future. Traction control, ABS, digital gauges, easily adjustable suspension, adjustable wind protection, liquid cooled engine, adjustable levers, so many creature comforts and rider aids that I had never been exposed to. It was an absolute dream. I quickly ended my break in period in the first couple of weeks, did the first maintenance, and then really started to get used to the bike. I was totally happy with the top end and I was learning how to really lean the bike into corners and turns, but very quickly started to hate how the bike performed at low speed, low gear maneuvering. The engine braking was so severe and you can tell there is no trailing fuel on this bike. Taking a corner at low speeds just never felt good. My GS850 was just as heavy and probably had a higher center of gravity, but handled so much better, I had the carbs perfectly tuned and it always felt like a dream, but this Versys always made me feel like a total noob when trying to take a turn at 15 MPH.
I quickly found this forum and found everyone talking about Steve with Shoodaben Engineering and how his ECU flash was a total game changer. I looked into getting a Power Commander, but the cost benefit didn't make sense since an ECU flash is cheaper and accomplishes more things than I could ever do on my own with a PC. The downside was Shoodaben didn't have a flash for the 22 yet, but eventually I saw he was offering it on his website. I immediately contacted Steve, removed my ECU and shipped it off to Steve and got it back last week. I can't express enough how much this is necessary for this bike. I took it for a 100 mile ride yesterday and every qualm I had with this bike is now gone. Feels great in the mid range, corners perfectly, throttle feels way less twitchy at low speeds, but I still have some engine braking there for when I need it. If anyone on here is on the fence if this flash will fix some of those low speed issues I just want to say that this absolutely does. Thanks Steve!
I Started with a 1972 Honda CB200 as my first bike which I rode for 6 months and then wanted something with more power and better for riding two-up so I bought a 1982 Suzuki GS850, which I absolutely loved. I took my motorcycle safety class on this bike, got my endorsement on this bike, and it was my only mode of transportation for ~3 years (In Ohio) while finishing up college after an enlistment in the Marines. I spent a lot of time learning motorcycle maintenance on this bike, changing spark plugs, changing engine and gear oil, re-jetting and tuning carbs, etc. It had a ton of top speed while being incredibly reliable. Eventually I thought I needed a Harley so I got a 1998 sportster 1200. I kept this for about 4 years, but got rid of it after I had my first kid as I didn't really have enough time to ride it and ultimately never really loved it.
Flash forward to 2022 and I wanted to get a new bike. I wanted something that could handle some Appalachian gravel if it needed to, would do great in the city, could handle a long distance trip I planned for my 40th birthday, and I absolutely wanted it to be fuel injected with a digital dash. After doing lots of research on reddit and YouTube I watched the Daily Rider episode about the Versys 650 and this sold it to me, especially since i saw there was a refresh for the 2022 version of this bike that ticked all my boxes. I found a dealer with one in stock, took a test drive and bought my first ever brand new motorcycle, a candy lime green 2022 Versys 650 ABS. I've added a few things, new horn(stock one crapped out), crash bars, handguards, Shad top case, a Puig windscreen and now it's exactly what I want my motorcycle to be.
Initially the bike seemed like I was leaping into the future. Traction control, ABS, digital gauges, easily adjustable suspension, adjustable wind protection, liquid cooled engine, adjustable levers, so many creature comforts and rider aids that I had never been exposed to. It was an absolute dream. I quickly ended my break in period in the first couple of weeks, did the first maintenance, and then really started to get used to the bike. I was totally happy with the top end and I was learning how to really lean the bike into corners and turns, but very quickly started to hate how the bike performed at low speed, low gear maneuvering. The engine braking was so severe and you can tell there is no trailing fuel on this bike. Taking a corner at low speeds just never felt good. My GS850 was just as heavy and probably had a higher center of gravity, but handled so much better, I had the carbs perfectly tuned and it always felt like a dream, but this Versys always made me feel like a total noob when trying to take a turn at 15 MPH.
I quickly found this forum and found everyone talking about Steve with Shoodaben Engineering and how his ECU flash was a total game changer. I looked into getting a Power Commander, but the cost benefit didn't make sense since an ECU flash is cheaper and accomplishes more things than I could ever do on my own with a PC. The downside was Shoodaben didn't have a flash for the 22 yet, but eventually I saw he was offering it on his website. I immediately contacted Steve, removed my ECU and shipped it off to Steve and got it back last week. I can't express enough how much this is necessary for this bike. I took it for a 100 mile ride yesterday and every qualm I had with this bike is now gone. Feels great in the mid range, corners perfectly, throttle feels way less twitchy at low speeds, but I still have some engine braking there for when I need it. If anyone on here is on the fence if this flash will fix some of those low speed issues I just want to say that this absolutely does. Thanks Steve!
