Hi.

I've been reading and reading about EFI tuning and now I'm more confused than ever.
Background:
I have sold my sporty and bought a new ('08) Street Bob that I'll get in april. Like most people I want to get the most out of it (sound and power), but my 1. priority is to have a bike that runs perfectly. Then comes the sound, and then the power.

Although I've read that even a new stock bike ain't tuned correctly (too lean), that would bea thing I could live with since my 1. prioritywould be achived (almost), but then I'm afraid I would miss the "harley sound" pretty soon. My dealer don't have a dyno, and my impression is that he only uses the HD downloads when tuning.

Possibillities (and questions):
1. Everything stock. Bike ought to run perfectly.
2. HD slipons for more sound (no tuning nessesary). Ok sound, but no more power. Bike ought to run perfectly?
3. Rinehart slipons for more sound. No tuning nessesary? Will the bike run ok?
4. HD Slipons + SE AC + HD download. More sound and power, but will the bike run perfectly?
5. Rinehart slipons + SE AC + HD download. More sound and power, but will the bike run perfectly?

I would have chosen 5 if I new that the bike would run perfectly. Let's say it won'r run perfectly... what can I do? Buy a SERT? Will I be able to tune the bike with a SERT (I have computer experince), or would I have to take the bike tothe dealer?

I have a many questions and many of them havemost likely been asked by others, but as I said... I'm very confused. Any comments would be most appreciated. Sorry for poorEnglish.

 

Sofus... # 5 Reinharts and the High Flow A/C and buy the Sert.. Have the dealer installthe Sert 45.00 and a map from the Sert disk that best matches your choices in Exhaust and A/C ..... Do notGet the HD. Stage 1 down load... It's useless... If you do get the stage 1 down load , have them re flash the ECM back to stock ( the first time is free)..The SERT comes with a Disk with a whole lot of different Non Street Legal Maps for 07 and up,that will get you going and run much better and Cooler than Stock.. Then you can go in and tweak it your self... No need to go back to the Dealer ever again, unlessyou want to have it checked some where ona dyno... Your Lap top will be your best freind... Read the manual on the SERTa couple times and you'll be fine... After awhile you'll be comfortable enough to go in and adjust for the air density changes with the seasons changes...Enjoy

 

I'll second the SERT, but I would also add try to find an independant shop that will tune your bike with a dyno, and watch them do it.That way you can see how your bike is running and you 'll know weather it's running perfectly or not.

 

Sofus, I can just tell you now that you'll drive yourself crazy trying to find a definitive answer to most of your choices above. I've been going through the same thing for about a year now and the responses are never consistent and I don't mean just from this forum. Take what you learn and try to make the best decision on what to do based on your expectations and your budget. I was happy with the stock power but wanted more sound so I just added slipons. My dealer and about half of any other group I asked told me I should be okay running everything stock with slipons. The other half told me I was risking running my bike TOO lean and should also add a high-flow a/c and either have it tuned or buy a tuner. I finally decided to err on the side of being safe and recently added a new air cleaner (a/c) and fuel manager (fuelpak) to get a more correct air/fuel mix to try to avoid being TOO LEAN. That doesn't mean I had to do it or that you do - it was a decision I made based on all of the information I gathered.

As for number 1 above - the bike is not going to run perfectly, completely stock. It will/should run as it was designed to to meet environmental standards but a lot of potential power is surpressed and it will be on the lean side.

As for number 2 above - HD slipons aren't going to give you much more sound and very little more power. Unless you can find some pre-2007 models, anything you buy from HD is going to sound close to stock. Other 3rd part companies make slipons that will give you better sound. You should choose one that gives you the sound and look you want as there are many different styles to choose from. This is what I did (actually twice now) and ran the bike that way until last week (had it a year). Sounded like a Harley but still at least as lean as pure stock if not leaner.

As for number 3 above - see my response to number 2. Specifically the last sentence.

As for number 4 above - If you buy a total stage 1 using current HD parts, the HD download may be okay but probably still too lean. But, like I said, if you want it to sound like a Harley, don't even think about the HD SE slipons.

As for number 5 above - I agree with others, don't bother with the HD download. Spend the extra money and get a tuner that you feel comfortable with. I bought a fuelpak because I am not looking for more power or a finely tuned Ferrari, I just want the bike to run "healthy" and maintain at least the performance I already had. If you want to go further than that, get a PCIII or a SERT but you WILL need dyno time to get it "finely" tuned. Yes, you can use some "canned maps" with them without a dyno but, similar to the fuelpak maps, they are basically just "best guess maps" for your setup. They are better than running with nothing but will not be perfect without the dyno.

All my responses are either based on experience over the past year or information I gathered from reading posts here and/or talking to other people. As you will see, as this thread grows with responses, you'll get conflicting information that, if you let it, will only confuse you more. Take it all in and make the decision that makes the most sense to you.

I think one thing most of us agree on here on this forum is, get your own tuner and don't wa

 

If u take my word for it, gofor V&H slip ons with quite baffle (still loud, but maintains some back pressure, runs healthier than standard baffles), SE air kit & Fuelpack. You can fit & install the package by your self, takes about 3.5 hours.

 

OK I'm confused. All you guys are saying don't bother with the download, just get the fuelpak or SERT. From what I've read here neither of these adjust the timing or bump the rev limiter like the download does. Why won't you want to take advantage of the performance gain that comes from those changes.

 

SERT can change anything. Could set my rev limit well above 7k if I wanted...

 

I think SERT and PCIII can adjust those (not sure). Have no idea what fuelpak adjusts other than air/fuel mix via changing the burst rateon the injectors. However, as I said, I'm not looking for more performance. If I get it, great, and I have noticed some. I'm just looking for a good sounding bike that is not running too lean or too rich. I was perfectly happy with stock performance. Not trying to build a rocket here.

 

Not true - I believe SERT adjusts rev limiter but don't go past 6200. Timing isn't really the issue, it's fuel/air mixture computer settings for the fuel injection throughout the rpm range. As Trotter points out, #5 is best bet (of the choices you give) and get SERT - do it once and do it right. However, you may want to run your bike stock for a while just so you have a baseline comparison as you make up your mind what to do next. And spend some time searching for a good dyno tuner in your area who can tweak your SERT set-up to get it running as near perfect as you can once the engine is broken in. JMHO.

 

Blast - adjusting the rev limiterwon't really do anything for "performance." And...as Chip said, don't go past 6200. Matter of fact, once you start messing with the rev limiter, everything else can get complicated as well. Most fuel management units boast better results from NOT doing the stock HD dl. As far as timing....I could be wrong, but 1) the HD DL does no true timing adjustment and 2) you don't really need to touch timing for a well-tuned Stage I. It will just add more unneeded complexity.

Keep it simple no matter which way you go, and the SERT or the PCIII won't do ya wrong for anything you may want to do in the future.