Many people kept telling me that the HD dealer could remap the ECM to adjust for the Stage 1 upgrade so I called them and they confirmed they could do it, this being the case why would someone elect to add a piggyback system to the bike rather than just remap the on-board computer for a fraction of the cost??

 

As far as I know, the HD dealer can only go "so far" with the remap of the ECM for a stage 1 upgrade; it is not legal for them to go beyond a certain point/number to remain EPA street legal, hence the aftermarket [read: off road] tuners, which come in three flavours..."piggy back," whereas it plugs inline before your factory ECM [and you have to make room for it somewhere], a direct replacement of your ECM, and lastly a Power Vision tuner that can flash/remap your ECM through the bikes diagnostic port and removed, or it can be left tied in and mounted on the bike to log/display data.

If you were to have the dealer remap your ECM you are at their whim to remap the best they can [again, they are bound by legalities] for your current mods, and if you change your configuration later on down the road by adding a different exhaust, removing that etc., then back you go to the dealer again for another remap. There goes your $$ savings if you go that route.

Of course you could also bring your bike to a tuner and have them dyno it and adjust everything to near perfection "for a fraction of the cost" of a tuner, but again, if you want to do any further mods, chances are you will again have to go back for another dyno session, meaning more $$.

I wondered the same thing and for weeks I about went crazy looking at all the options out there, but after all was said and done I went with the Power Vision for many reasons...first off my bike is an '09 883 Iron, which someday may get upgraded with cams or 1200-1250cc, I may change out the exhaust someday, I like the idea of flashing it and taking it off AND having the ability to mount it and monitor data AND the ability to log data to edit at a later date if I was so inclined. So, with those thoughts in mind [and you should keep them in mind also as nobody seems to keep their bikes entirely stock] the Power Vision was the one for me and is miles ahead of any remap HD could perform by virtue of it's simple upgrades, free MAPS, flexability, multiple abilities, and of course, the added perfomance the HD dealer just cannot [legally] provide.

=8^)

 

Dealers map will not get you the best performance, and when ever u change something or want to adjust, your scheduling service and paying them ...
250.00 for a PC and your done, do what ever u want and make all your own adjustments for free.

 

Your bike, when new, had to comply with EPA regulations on emissions. The dealer remap makes an adjustment to keep it in that range. The piggy back systems allow for us to change settings away from EPA, to optimise performance and is essential, especially for changes beyond a basic stage 1.

 

That all sounds pretty much right however, it is my understanding that the HD dealers cannot use aftermarket products on the bike that are not EPA approved BUT if the bike owner installs the questionable parts prior to going to the HD dealer, the Dealer can remap the bike for the AC intake and exhaust that is already on the bike, therefore adding a different Map to the ECM to allow it all to run smoothly together.

for an older bike the Power Commander would be a good pick because it is the only one I know of that can make adjustments for Stage 1, 2, 3 and beyond.

 

A dealer can supply and fit a genuine HD SEPST, which is able to do what most of us are after.

 

also depends on ur dealer too... Some say SE, and some are PC reps and install and support them. I have 4 local dealers (all within 45 min). 2 say HD only and the other 2 say PC. so all depends...

 

ib5150:
I have a 2012 883 Superlow with SE slipons and SE stage 1 aircleaner,as these are the only performance changes I plan on making I went with the dearler download.I wasn't expecting much difference in performance,but I CAN tell some is there.....My seat of the pants feel is about a 5-7 HP increase and much better throttle responce.My understanding is the download works best with SE stage 1 setup and not so well when after market items are substituted as it was developed with SE parts.I feel I got what I paid for and was expecting.If you are looking for more,go with an after market tuner,best bang for the $ imho.

Glock Man