general tuning info needed - remapping power commanders etc.

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Sep 20, 2007 | 07:02 PM

Tat2u

Thread Starter

Road Warrior

Joined: Aug 2007

Posts: 1,392

Likes: 43

From: South Australia

general tuning info needed - remapping power commanders etc.

OK, firstly, g'day from Australia, I'll shout you a Fosters and throw a shrimp on the Barbie and all that.
Now I've never had a Fosters, there's plenty of other good Aussie beer over here and the Bar-b-que is in constant use but never with shrimps, good old steaks here.

Right, I've been lurking here for the last few weeks as I plan to get my first Harley within the next few months and have settled on the 2007 Street Bob.
The first thing on my list to change will be the exhaust with V&H Short Shots likely to get the nod.I've read many posts here saying wheather a remap is needed or not if just changing the exhaust and "no" seems to be the the most common answer.

Being a fist time Harley buyer and having been out of the bike scence for quite a few years, what I am really after is a good guide on mapping, power commanders and tuning of harleys etc. If some one could point me towards something that explains all this in a relatively brief but accurate way,it would be great, especially as I live about 300 kms from the nearest dealer.

Some of the things I don't understand are:

re mapping - is this something that only a dealer or authorised Harley mechanic can do and do you need a Power Commander (or similar) to do it?
Can anyone buy and use a power commander to tune their bike?
can a bike be tuned without being re mapped ?
can a bike be tuned without using a power commander?
If I was to just fit new pipes to a bike should it be at least re-tuned?
So basically what is mapping and a bit about tuning.
Sorry for what is probably some pretty basic **** but it's all new to me.

Cheers n beers,
Dazz

Sep 21, 2007 | 03:10 PM

sprtnallover

Intermediate

Joined: May 2006

Posts: 26

Likes: 0

From:

RE: general tuning info needed - remapping power commanders etc.

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re mapping - is this something that only a dealer or authorised Harley mechanic can do and do you need a Power Commander (or similar) to do it?

Anyone can re-map the ECM but you will need some type of fuel management option. HD Race Tuner, Power Commander, Fuel Pak, etc.

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 Can anyone buy and use a power commander to tune their bike?

Yes, anyone can buy and use any of the options available for tuning.

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 can a bike be tuned without being re mapped ?

Kind of......I think the V&H Fuel Pak, and the HD Race Fueler only adjust the amount of fuel but don't have the ability to advance timing, and such.

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 If I was to just fit new pipes to a bike should it be at least re-tuned?

This is a hotly debated issue. Most agree though that with just changing mufflers you should not have to re-map. If you are considering a full exhaust then I would think you would......I'm no expert tho.

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 So basically what is mapping and a bit about tuning.

Basically the ECM ( computer ) on the bike controls how the engine operates at certain temps, throttle pos's etc. The factory has configured the peramiters for a lean condition to meet EPA regulations....which means restrict the airflow and restrict the fuel. Re-mapping is a term used to change those settings to help the engine run smoother, cooler, and some times to produce more power. You're re-programming the ECM to operate how you want it to instead of how the MoCo wanted it to. It's kind of like programming a DVR, or TiVo maybe. You tell it when to start recording, when to stop, skip this program or skip commercials or whatever.

Sep 21, 2007 | 06:28 PM

Tat2u

Thread Starter

Road Warrior

Joined: Aug 2007

Posts: 1,392

Likes: 43

From: South Australia

RE: general tuning info needed - remapping power commanders etc.

cool, thanks for your response.
I've been doing a fair bit of searching on my queries since posting, both here and all over the net and I'm starting to grasp it now.

Cheers,
Daryl