If the Bajaj bike was on display at an exhibition, last month, Hero Honda launched

India’s first fuel injected motorcycle, the Glamour FI, and very recently, Bajaj said that
the Pulsar DTS-Fi would be on the road by September.
 
Now most people who spend their time reading motorcycle magazines already know
what FI, or fuel injection is, but for the bulk of you who don’t know what FI is, here’s the
deal.
 
The FI system, or more accurately, the EFI or electronic fuel injection, does exactly what
a carburettor does, which is jetting fuel into an intake valve, but only much better. As
engine designs become more advanced and engine mapping gets more precise, the
limitations of the analogue type carburettor become apparent.
 
With the engine running, the electronic control unit, or ECU, which is the microprocessor
brain of the bike, monitors the progress of the bike, a thousand times a minute, checking
on all parameters such as engine speed and temperature, including outside air temperature
and throttle position.

The EFI uses a microprocessor to track the engine operating conditions, analyses the
data, and chooses from its pre-loaded maps, or operating guidelines, the right air-fuel
mixture, spark and valve timing, so when you slip into gear and twist the throttle, your
bike gives you the best it has to offer.
 
Now a carburettor can also be controlled by a microprocessor, but the key word here is
accuracy, and no carb can ever come close to the accuracy level of a fuel injector.
 
Now, I know what you are thinking – sure, this would make a difference in a big bike like
an R1 or a Fireblade, but in a puny 125cc like the Glamour?  It does, but slightly. Precise
fuel air mixture means that the engine will run smoother and respond better to every twist
of the throttle. The choke also goes out of the window, as the chipset makes starting in
rain, cold and high altitudes, much easier. Maintenance is less as there are fewer moving
parts and there is also a bump in fuel economy and performance.
 
As of now, there’s only one downside to this new technology, and that’s the price.
The Glamour FI is priced at roughly Rs 5,000 more than regular carburettor bikes.
Bajaj is keeping the price of the DTS-Fi a complete secret, but did let on that the bike
will be less than a lakh, we think it would be about Rs 85,000.
 
Don’t let the high price faze you though because with an increase in production volumes,
prices are set to tumble, as Hero Honda, Bajaj and TVS have said that more fuel injection
models are on their way, and with the way things are going, it looks like carburettors are
on their way out.
 
Ofcourse, with the sophistication required in repairing these bikes, it looks like the
streetside mechanic is also on his way out. 
 

ECU (electronic control unit) monitors

 
 Changes in ambient temperature
 Engine temperature
 Throttle position
 Fuel Air mix
 
EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) Advantages
 Cleaner burn
 Better performance
 Low maintenance
 Easy Cold starting
The disdavantage is the price.