Today is the end of one journey and the start of another, as finally the Thunderace engined GTS1000, which is connected to a cased MicroSquirt using the stock wiring loom and ancillaries started to idle. It was a little lumpy, but as it's only day 1, but first impressions are it seems snappier on part throttle looking at the video, which suggest it will be quicker revving. The engine also has a higher compression, so the maximum torque figure should be higher, but as to what the cam timing, port differences and the EFI do, it's just guesswork.

There are a couple of videos, one is 20MB, the other 11.5MB, and you’ll need Quicktime
http://gallery.me.com/mike.crane/100071
http://gallery.me.com/mike.crane/100074

The ignition timing needs tweaking, and for some reason the coolant temp is too low and the air temp too high, so I am going to load the latest alpha 3.0.3t, which fixes a few things. Also the injection event is slightly off, or at least it sounds like it is, with that lumpy idle, but again I am running tired stock coils to create an electrically noisy environment, which is not ideal. I will be fitting my R6 stick coil conversion once I get smooth idle, and nice throttle response (unloaded, until I dyno or go down the road)

There is no lambda or O2 sensor in the exhaust yet, which needs tweaking (more upswept) too, before I can go down the road, but I will be fitting an Innovate LC1 wideband, once I put in the bung.

The bike is going to go to the this years European Treffen at Harz, but it's a friends hack bike (that had a rattly GTS engine) with my engine fitted. This means it has to be rebuilt properly to pass its MOT, before it is taxed to go down the road. He also needs to upgrade a lot of the tired metal and plastics, swap the shocks for Öhlins, different seat, swap to Krauser panniers and higher windshield for touring.

When the bike is roadworthy, I am sure it will bring a smile to our faces, dispel a few myths about the GTS engine superiority, and give others the opportunity to explore this conversion, if they want too. It won't stop there for me, as I will be fitting different throttle bodies and injectors later.