Results from Testing of Chinese ECUs so far

[fallenmikethebike]

EDIT by KnackeredMk1:

Currently I have two ECUs from Lixianda (Mk2 and AR). I am sending these out to selected members of the forum to test. Whilst the tests can only be subjective without dyno work those that will be doing the tests have a lot of experience of motorcycles, and in general, many years of CRM ownership.

I will list the results below as they come in but I reserve the right to edit them where I consider there is an inaccurate conclusion or one is made without sufficient information. When there is enough compiled I will write up the results and put a permanent posting in the FAQ section.

The following post is from the first test by FMtB -


Hi all. Knackered MK1 very kindly allowed me to test the MK2 PGM that has been sent over by the manufacturer in China.
Here's my findings from a trip out a short while ago.
I put the unit on a bike that has not been started for several weeks. As we all know, this can be an issue, but the bike burst into life on the fourth of several fast full kicks, without any priming by the "rocking technique".
Normally this bike does require the technique to get it running, but it's not normally me starting it, so perhaps my kicking is better than the bikes normal rider.
I put the bike through some low speed, trials type use, and high speed cruising, [ indicated 75mph, so probably about 70 mph] and it was fine. There was the very slightest hint of the bike being more eager on the new unit, but almost imperceptible.
I swapped backwards and forwards with the units during the day, and had no issues whatsoever. So the components seem to be up to the job and at least match Honda's standard, [ and let's face it, the original units would have been made by a third party, but to Honda's specification].
Of course the matter of longevity is at present unanswerable, but if you can't get hold of a genuine Honda unit, [ and I know that's of great importance to some of our contributors] these units will get you back on the trail with no loss of performance, and a significant saving.
Would I buy one? Yes, based on what I've tested today, or up till,any possible horror stories about longevity emerge.
Would I pay the same in ££££,s for a second hand genuine unit of unknown provenance or buy a new unit from this source? My money would go on the new patent unit.
I hope this has been of use to some people, and it reflects my true and honest opinions.
Thanks Steve.
Regards Mike

[MikeWaller]

After enquiring at Leisure Trail about a spare genuine ECU for my AR I decided to buy a Chinese unit from Lixianda. I had no problem with my Honda ECU and decided I could run the Chinese unit and keep my genuine Honda as a spare, which I knew was good. After getting the unit, which was sent promptly, I plugged it in, checked the power valve was working ok, and just had to give cables a little tweak. I have been running the bike with the Chinese unit for several weeks with no problems at all. Starts and pulls very well. At half the price of a genuine unit delivered I think it's very good value.
Mike

[helisupp]

It would have been helpful if they were around a year or so ago.

I bought 2 new AR ECUs from L Trail just to keep as spares in case I need them............and not cheap.

[knackeredMk1]

This is a comparison from Orangeflash an AR owner from Australia. He is comparing with an original Honda unit that that has gone wrong in the most common way - inconsistent or no action of the power valve.

My old ecu had been playing up some times working some times not
On the day I fitted the new Lixianda ecu the honda unit was not working
Plugged in the new unit hey presto the power valve sprang back to life
Took the bike out for a two day trail ride
Covering about 140 km of varied terrain which really tested the ecu under constantly varying load
Overall I'm happy with the performance it does seem to come on pipe later and slower than when the old unit was working and it definitely revs out further than before
Now I have this unit I can send the old one to nick in Greece then I will have a more accurate picture of the difference between the 2
If you have a dead ecu this is a good option

[rich1960]

It would have been helpful if they were around a year or so ago.

I bought 2 new AR ECUs from L Trail just to keep as spares in case I need them............and not cheap.

I doubt that many CRM owners have the resources to buy two ECU's to 'keep in stock' - I know I don't

These look like a very good alternative....hopefully many more innovative solutions to keeping the CRM alive are coming through in the future. I suspect that there are no more new balancer shafts available, but a re-grind at half the price of a new one helps to keep us all riding our CRM's

Long live the CRM

[knackeredMk1]

A short report from Pudzie83 on a Mk2 ECU -

'I rebuilt mine today and it started easy after a two week sleep, a little shake and 3rd kick she woke up, usually its a "few" more kicks and some "kind" words if left longer than week.
Power valve was working fine so i hit the roads and i noticed instantly the longer rev range.
I'm happy with this there is a gain Delivery was fast and well packaged.'

[bogbike]

Delighted that all you guys are getting good results. Thanks for been brave to buy the units and thanks for the posts.
A blown ECU could scrap a fairly decent bike. Any experiences of Webmoto's rectifier ? Costing £90, they are a little bit cheaper than LT genuine H.

[fallenmikethebike]

Are they the Etrex Units?
"Skidmark" bought one and found it worked OK, but some inventive fettling was required to give it that " factory finished look".
Mike

[bogbike]

It is an Electrex on Wemmoto.com. Carmo Electronics in Holland list a universal rectifier. They claim it is very rugged and it will hold 3x30amps. Thanks for the advice. Liam

[knackeredMk1]

Report from AR about the AR version of the ‘Chinese ECU’ from Lixianda -

Took the bike up the road, warmed up slowly and then gave it a bit more revs. The bike revved out clean, smooth, and fully. However what I noticed when riding is that it seemed to be lagging, all round really however more so at the bottom. What you have to remember though is that I was comparing it to a Mugen ECU with a bike tuned to suit. I know there's very little difference in Peak Power in Mugen vs Honda ECU, but I know the power curves are different.

I observed the PV movement with the cover off once the bike was warm (apologies for no video). What I noticed was that the PV movement was rather jerky (I know they can be anyway), and it didn't always return to the alignment marks (sometimes stayed open slightly).

Once I popped the Mugen ECU back and took the bike out the next day I immediately felt more power, snappiness and response, especially from a low throttle position/off the mark as such. I also looked at the PV movement, which was clearly smoother, and returned to the 'shut' position each time the revs were dropped.

Thinking about it afterwards, I wondered if the PV position was out slightly across ECUs and hence the slight lag at the bottom? Just an idea?

Once warm though, the Chinese ECU started first time each kick, generally ran well, no mis-fires at any particular throttle positions, revved out fully and clean and I couldn't see any problems.

So in summary, didn't seem as powerful as mine, however worked well, I think on a standard bike with the average rider, you wouldn't notice, or would soon get used to any differences. I don't know how much the Chinese units cost, but if they're significantly less than Honda, then well worth a punt. There is the obvious reliability issues of course, but without long term use, we do not know?!

I think AR makes a good point here in that there can be slight differences when marrying any ECU to any power valve servo and that each time you change an ECU or a PVs you should check the PV alignment when the engine is thoroughly warmed through. I have sometimes found this to be different when checking ECUs & PVSs on my bikes in the past. I think perhaps this explains some of the power delivery differences in this case.

With regards to jerky PV movement – sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t using the same ECU/PVS combination. I don’t really know why.