Back quite a while ago, I posted a thread asking WHY the T-dub does not have fuel injection. Well, a large percentage of answerers came back with, "I'm glad it's not fuel injected, can't work on it". Or, some also stated: "If they (Yamaha) had to go to fuel injection, they'd PROBABLY drop the TW". Well, to me, those two points don't have a lot of merit. One, there's a few reasons manufacturers have gone to FI for quite a while. One, it's CONSIDERABLY MORE EFFICIENT, two, since FI's been around for decades, and, has been more and more improved over the years, those systems compensate anything and everything, including attitude Hills/grades/steepness, and, altitude, as in running at sea level and, 10,000' in the mountains with no input or alteration from the owner.
There's a tiny computer that runs the whole thing and, also a some form of a small fuel pump that supplies what's needed for a small engine. And because they've been around for such a long time, and again, have been more and more improved, the need for anyone to WORK on them, has dropped to almost nothing. I've had multiple fuel injected vehicles over the years and as of yet, not one of them has ever failed in the fuel injection system. The two Goldwing's I've had, and one I still do, have FI and without a doubt, If my finger comes close to the start button, IT'S RUNNING! And, to those that think or, are under the assumption that Yamaha would drop the T-dub if it was forced to go FI on it, while I'm not an engineer or bean counter for Yamaha, I doubt very seriously that Yamaha would drop that little bike, JUST BECAUSE it was either forced or, decided it was a better move, to go to FI. Yamaha, like Honda, Suzuki, Harley, BMW, and any other M/C maker, has dabbled in FI for years with other models.
For them to adapt to a small version of its already present FI system, would be child's play. Not exactly sure why they haven't but, I supposed it's because they haven't been forced to by EPA or any other government entity or, their system has been working so far, so why change it? But, for those have been accustomed to FI on motorcycles for a while, you know how well it works, how well it handles any form of weather, altitude, attitude, cold and hot starts, plugs last longer, and more.
For the Suzuki to go FI on the Vanvan, was a smart move. Not exactly sure why they ceased to sell them after only a year or two or three. Probably 'cause there just wasn't that much call for it vs the following of the T-dub. But, the Dub's got a rep for handling pretty decent off roading as well as street cruising. Where as, the Vanvan, as has been stated, *looks* to be way more suited for street ops. If one goes to YouTube and looks up some test drives on the Vanvan, it appears that the bike moves out pretty good. But, it appears the same for the test drives on the Dub.
So, back to the original plot here. I've never ridden a Vanvan, and, in fact I was pursuing one prior to purchasing the Dub I have. But, price was prohibitive due to there were no used ones on the market, at the time I was looking and, $5,500 Out The Door was just too much for me, due to the fact that it was gonna be a part time, small, cruise around bike anyways. So, the used Dub I purchased has sufficed quite well and, I've been quite happy with it.
Scott