Healtech Quick Shifter from Blue Monkey Motorsports: Installation & Review

[reenmachine]

EDIT: Full installation details posted a few posts down!

I apologize in advance for this being a bit of a tease for a few days, but I've been working with Todd at Blue Monkey Motorsports on the Healtech QSE-1 application to the RC390 and everything's looking very positive!

I can confirm that the QSE-1 with QSH-F2A harness fits the RC390. Installation is plug and play and there's plenty of harness length for flexibility in routing and component placement options. I'd call the installation "intermediate" as you have to move the fuel tank to get to the fuel injector (at least I did). I didn't take the tank all the way off -- just loosening it and moving it to the left side gave me enough room to reach in from the right side and make the connections. I mounted the module in the cargo space under the seat and there's still enough room left for the toolkit and a Clif Bar.

I may reroute some parts and tidy things up in general after I'm done testing -- there are several good options for placement. It would be extra clean to mount the module up in the battery box but that would take extra work to route the sensor wire, and I wanted to get on to the road testing as quickly as possible.

Full ride report and review after the weekend!

 

[mr-fabricator]

Good work , been looking at one of these myself

 

[Formula390]

DUDE! That installation / cord management on the shift linkage is Ghettooooooooo! LOL Hope you shore that up prior to the riding this weekend!!!

In all seriousness, thanks for being the guinea pig here for us. I know a few were interested, but you put the $$$ down first, and that's what counts. Put up or shut up... so now that you've pioneered the way for us time to get that group buy on. LOL

 

[reenmachine]

DUDE! That installation / cord management on the shift linkage is Ghettooooooooo! LOL Hope you shore that up prior to the riding this weekend!!!

In all seriousness, thanks for being the guinea pig here for us. I know a few were interested, but you put the $$$ down first, and that's what counts. Put up or shut up... so now that you've pioneered the way for us time to get that group buy on. LOL

Haha don't worry, it was all about getting it on the road quickly to confirm fit & function (confirmed) and get testing underway. It all gets torn back apart this weekend to make it purty!

 

[reenmachine]

Original post updated with final, cleaner sensor installation pic.

It's basically invisible now unless you know to look for it.

I also changed the pic of the module mounting to the final location in the battery compartment instead of under the seat. It came out great! Full details later.

 

[reenmachine]

The full install

Ok -- I've done the install a couple times a couple of different ways, and I think this is an example of a clean installation. I'm very pleased with the performance of the unit -- I have had zero missed shifts or false neutrals so far. Everything from part-throttle mid-RPM to WOT at redline has been crisp and positive.

Overall, the installation will be easy for an intermediate hobbyist.

Setup is a snap with an Android device and most of the settings can be left at the defaults and tweaked from there if desired. I'm an iPhone guy so I borrowed an old Galaxy SII from a friend and it worked great.

To order, it's the QSE-1 + QSH-F2A harness.

Here are the installation details:

Remove the seat

Remove the battery cover by pulling the release cable under the seat

Remove the fuel tank cover:

Remove the fairing and cover fasteners indicated (4 per side)​

Remove the fasteners that are the forward mounting posts for the seat

Remove the seven (7) fasteners mounting the fuel cap and temporarily set the fuel cap aside

Gently pull the upper fairing edge away from the tank cover

Pull the sides of the tank cover outward, freeing the four grommets (two per side) from the posts they engage

Lift the tank cover up and away

Place the fuel cap back in place on the tank to protect from debris


​

Remove the battery

Remove the two (2) fasteners mounting the aft fuel tank bracket to the frame

Remove the two (2) nuts in the battery compartment that secure the front of the fuel tank

Remove the small screw in the lower front part of the battery tray, allowing the tray to lift up

Lift the fuel tank and move it forward and to the left to gain access to the fuel injector connector, which is located on the top of the throttle body facing forward.

Unplug the original connector from the fuel injector and connect it to the mating plug on the QSH harness indicated by a red square. Connect the original fuel injector plug to the adjacent opposite gender QSH fuel injector connector. (Note: the two unused fuel injector connectors on the QSH harness may be connected together)

Lay out the routing of the QSH harness. The main part will run forward, roughly along the path of the battery cover release cable, with the large connector ending up in front of the fuel tank near the battery cover latch.

Place the fuel tank back into position.

Connect the ground wire to a good nearby chassis ground as shown.

Bundle the excess harness and secure it in an open space away from hot surfaces and sharp edges.

Mount the QSE-1 module to the front left corner of the fuel tank (or other suitable location) as shown. This position is limited by the length of the sensor cable; it is recommended not to finalize the position of any component until all are in place.

Mount the QSE sensor. Place the conical washers on either side of the sensor in this configuration: (O). Pay close attention to the routing of the sensor cable – it must be secure but with adequate service loop to allow free shifter arm motion and to prevent fatigue. For different mounting options refer to the sensor install guide.

Route the sensor wire upward inside the fairing to the QSE module. Secure in multiple locations to ensure it is away from sharp edges and hot surfaces, especially the exhaust. One path is to follow the overflow hose and use the clip on the inside surface of the fairing.

Connect the sensor wire to the QSE module.

Confirm all wire routing and proceed with setup and programming per the QSE-1 install guide.

Once setup is complete, reassemble all components in reverse order from removal, confirming safe placement of all components and harness routing away from hot surfaces and sharp edges.

That's it!

Follow the instructions that came with the unit to perform the setup. Do the data logging process to determine the appropriate force setting for the sensor, and set that value in the software.

Don't forget to upload your settings to the unit!

For example:

All of my cutoff durations are 10ms greater than the defaults (95, 95, 90, 90, 85, 85, 80, 80, 75).

Pulses per rev: 0.5

Sensor threshold: 22 N-s

First RPM: 4000 (unit inactive below this value)

Last RPM: 10500 (tells it where your limiter is set)

Cut-off delay: 15ms

I'm going to continue to ride & test, and I'll post updates and setting changes here.

 

[Formula390]

I'm kinda shocked only two of us thus far have signed up for the group buy for this shifter.

 

[micahpearlman]

I'm kinda shocked only two of us thus far have signed up for the group buy for this shifter.

PCV should have a quick shift option.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[cjwell]

PCV should have a quick shift option.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It will, I'm working on placement/rods/etc now for my PCV's....

 

[bluemonkeymoto]

Just to be clear though...we're talking apples and oranges here. The Healtech QSE is considerably more robust in features, options, usability, long term durability, and customization. The Healtech QSE is competing with the higher end quick shifter kits.

 

[micahpearlman]

Just to be clear though...we're talking apples and oranges here. The Healtech QSE is considerably more robust in features, options, usability, long term durability, and customization. The Healtech QSE is competing with the higher end quick shifter kits.

I have never used a quick shifter before (and to be honest I've been doing clutch-less upshifts no problem racing this bike so I'm not completely sold on a QS anyways). I certainly wouldn't mind you expanding on what the benefits are of the Healtech are over the PCV given that I'm fairly ignorant of either product?

 

[cjwell]

You certainly can do clutchless up shifts without one. However it is rather hard on forks, drum, dogs etc. It will take it toll eventually on everything in the trans... It will take it for a while in a track environment but not forever. There is a greater risk of a mis-shift too without unloading the Trans prior to monkey footing the shifter. A "good" well built "slick" gearbox it's much easier to do without as well, I wouldn't consider the 390 in that category either.

 

[micahpearlman]

You certainly can do clutchless up shifts without one. However it is rather hard on forks, drum, dogs etc. It will take it toll eventually on everything in the trans... It will take it for a while in a track environment but not forever. There is a greater risk of a mis-shift too without unloading the Trans prior to monkey footing the shifter. A "good" well built "slick" gearbox it's much easier to do without as well, I wouldn't consider the 390 in that category either.

Coming from dirt track and wearing a hot shoe I have a really terrible habit of taking my foot off the peg and heal kicking and ankle hooking the shifter so I get a pretty positive shift -- though it is going to have to stop for road racing. I'm interested in a QS, especially if it will help with stability in mid corner upshifts. I'm more curious though about the difference between the PCV QS verses the Healtech -- especially since I already plan on purchasing a PCV as my ECU?

 

[reenmachine]

Just to be clear though...we're talking apples and oranges here. The Healtech QSE is considerably more robust in features, options, usability, long term durability, and customization. The Healtech QSE is competing with the higher end quick shifter kits.

I don't have experience with the PCV so I can't make a comparison, but with the Healtech it sure is nice to be able to whip out the phone and make adjustments wirelessly on the fly. You can literally just pull to the side (or into the pits if you're on the track), open the app, tweak your cutoff durations or whatever, and be back in action in like 30 seconds total.

 

[cjwell]

NFC or Bluetooth? Nfc is only android right?

 

[reenmachine]

NFC or Bluetooth? Nfc is only android right?

Bluetooth, but the app is android only. I only have iPhones, but it took me five minutes to find a friend with an old android device in a junk drawer and it works great.

 

[Formula390]

You certainly can do clutchless up shifts without one. However it is rather hard on forks, drum, dogs etc. It will take it toll eventually on everything in the trans... It will take it for a while in a track environment but not forever. There is a greater risk of a mis-shift too without unloading the Trans prior to monkey footing the shifter. A "good" well built "slick" gearbox it's much easier to do without as well, I wouldn't consider the 390 in that category either.

I've only been clutchless shifting mine, up and down. I find it's impossible to shift without dipping the throttle / unloading the transmission, albeit only briefly. I know with doing it manually I'm still slower than a quickshifter would allow, so I'm REALLY looking forward to a quickshifter, even tho I'm only on the street, tho I do have plans to endurace race it eventually once parts development is completed. Still, at least on the track that would easily make a measurable difference if one were able to keep the throttle WFO and just kick away as you approach the limiter. I find the clutch engagement WAY too slow typically to be pulling the clutch for shifts. The springs on the clutch plates are just too weak, or something. I dunno. If you keep the throttle held high tho when you dump the clutch it seems to just slip. Going clutchless keeps the clutch fully engaged, so one can still get decent acceleration. I have only noticed missed shifts from 3rd to 4th generally, tho I've missed 5th once. The bike is in gear, but I wouldn't say it was FULLY in gear. You can't kick the next gear when that happens until you pull the clutch in, "finish" the shift, and then you can keep shifting up. The gear indicator on the dash goes blank when you've missed the shift too. I actually REALLY like the transmission on the RC390. I mean a LOT! Of the 25+ bikes I've owned, I would say it's my favorite transmission to date. Heck, it even will do clutchless from 1st to 2nd brilliantly.

For downshifts, it depends on when you are doing the shift on if you need to dip the throttle or blip it up to clutchless shift it. If you are compression braking (ala riding The Pace on the street) you have to do the opposite than if you are all brakes and then need to bang gears down to pick up the throttle again (ala racing) so I'm quite curious to see how the quickshifter works with those two scenarios for downshifts... if the Healtech deals with that, if it even does! Obviously the PCv would only do upshifts as it's sensor only senses in a push OR a pull, not both.

I do have to admit, the small sensor of the Healtech unit is far more preferable to me from the clean installation point of view. The sensor for the PCv is friggen HUGE comparatively!

Chad, do you know which style of the PCv shifter you'll be using with the kit? Tension sensor (I'm guessing) or linear travel?

I'm also very curious about the differences there would be between the HealTech and PCv options, and what one would have over the other, and if the two could be used in tandem or if one precludes the other.

 

[reenmachine]

The Healtech software does allow for activation during downshift but I haven't messed with it.

 

[Backmarker]

Just wondering where the group buy for this quick shifter went? I want one if it can be shipped to Canada. Thanks

 

[Formula390]

Just wondering where the group buy for this quick shifter went? I want one if it can be shipped to Canada. Thanks

I believe it got deleted due to the vendor not being a sponsor of the site.