Rapid Bike EASY vs Rapid Bike EVO for the BMW R nineT
Customers looking for performance gains often ask us which are the best fuelling modules for the BMW R9T, and whether they are required when fitting kits such as our Air Box removal Kit or a full exhaust system. Here we try to give an overview of the difference between our two 'go-to' products, both supplied by Rapid Bike. See below our opinions on both units and suggestions for installation time.
Currently these units are designed for the 2014-2020 models only, due to the changed set up of the later 'ride-by-wire' throttles on the 2021+ models. Once we have installed and worked with the fuelling units designed for these later models, we'll pop up a new blog to detail our findings.
The Rapid Bike EVO fuelling module is an adaptive system which which means that it is constantly reading data from the bike's stock ECU and using this data to better deliver the power to the back wheel. The bike will keep learning as you ride and gives you the option to plug in into a simple programme on your laptop to update to some new maps, save and update your 'learnt map' and make sure the base settings are all as expected.
The ability to manage stock lambda sensor signal allows performing the exclusive auto-adaptive feature to secure that fuelling is constantly adjusted while riding the vehicle. The injection map becomes a dynamic value in order to match the changing weather conditions and driving style. This function is highly beneficial at low and medium rpm where the engine performance is poorly limited due to more and more restrictive anti-polluting regulations.
Fitting the EVO also allows for upgrades to a Rapid Bike quick-shifter unit.
The Rapid Bike EASY add-on electronic module is equipped with a microprocessor managing directly the lambda sensor signal to optimize the air/fuel ratio, improve the engine efficiency and eliminate the torque and power gaps typical of the low and medium rpm.
Install your EASY module to the stock lambda sensor connector and check for operating status thanks to a led. Now you are ready for the module fine-tuning: this is a very simple procedure (using two easily accessible gauges) without any need for additional software operations.
PCC Opinion
Personally speaking, we would always go for the EVO. The EASY works as a simple booster plug and allows a little adjustment to tell the bike how rich you would like it to run, it does a job but it's very basic (although this also means that it is easy to fit). We actually find that the EASY unit is better in the mid-range than the low RPM range, as quoted by Rapid Bike. Whereas the EVO is a fully adaptive unit that works in tandem with the bike's sensors and tells the bike's ECU on how best to use that information to provide a better, smoother power delivery depending on the conditions you're riding in. We believe that the power delivery of an EVO assisted BMW R9T is much closer to the liquid cooled BMW boxer engines. Since the unit is so good for bikes with both the air box fitted and removed, we would recommend it to everyone, especially if you're fitting as full exhaust system. Since the air and fuel ratio is being adjusted constantly, it's also a good time to upgrade to a performance air filter.
