So I just bought this bike. Its got 5000 miles on it. The previous owner had the Stage 1 SE A/C, download and SE slip-ons done. I will be ditching the slip-ons for a V&H big shot system next week. I don't plan on doing any further performance mods to the bike.

I used to run X14iED's on my Sporster, but I knew it was only a bandaid, and I didn't care because I knew I wouldn't be keeping the bike long term. I'm planning to keep this ride for good.

I'm thinking of installing a Power Commander(III or V) instead of the XiED's. My goal is to have a smooth running bike that is going to last. I have heard from many that the Harley download is a joke. Would I be wasting my money installing a power commander since I'm really only running pipes and an A/C.

I don't feel comfortable leaving the bike as it is now with just the download. It seems to be getting pretty hot, but otherwise running well. I'm just thinking long term here....Am I overthinking this?

Should I just leave the bike alone since it seems to be running fine? Or should I install a tuner for peace of mind over the long term? What do you think?

 

Well it will last for a long long time but the smooth running part........not sure about that one.

 

My opinion is to get a really good tuner (SERT or MasterTune) and get the bike dyno tuned by a competent tuner (not easy to find one). It is certainly more expensive, but then your bike will run really well - you KNOW it is doing what it should at every point - open or closed loop. If you can afford it, it is the way to go. No canned maps, no guesses.

Steve

 

 

I bought a 2011 fat boy lo in October with a stage one SE air filter kit and stage 2 kit where they said it was just a cam change with some python exhaust. The bike had 1900 miles on it and i put about 1200 miles sense i got it . I was installing a battery tender on it today cause I've heard good reports about how it will extend the life of the battery. Well while doing that i notice it has a dynojet power commander v installed also don't really know much about it but i can say the bike has never malfunction sense i got it and has a very good pickup and lots of power from what i can tell. It's my first Harley and I've never driven one with out the power commander so i really don't know what the difference would be, but i can say the bike runs very smooth with lots of power and riding in a lot of stop and go traffic i notice my legs don't feel any heat from the engine where my buddy complains about his legs feeling the heat from his engine, so apparently it runs a little cooler with the tuner I'm guessing. Hope this might shed some light on your question.

 

The only way to go to get it right...

 

Harley download is not a joke, but it is extremely ovre-priced for what it gives. They charge you 200 + $ more or less when it should be 20 or 25 max. but don't have it removed if it's already in there. If your changeing out your exhaust then i agree with the others here, and get a good tuner. Ultimately the more you spend the better your chances. but almost all tuners will give you a power and torque boost while making the ride even smoother. The only 2 bad things i've heard were about s.e.r.t & V&H fuel pak. But if I do mine over i shall go with tts.

 

No it's not!

If you really want hassle free and do not want to have to visit a Dyno tuner should you ever change pipes or AC flow, get the Thundermax with Autotune, far superior to PC, I have run the Fuel Pak, PC II and TMax all on this bike and the TMax is by far a better tuner, and each time I made a change, it adjusted for it.
The difference is real world, not anecdotal. With the PC my aboslute best 0-60 time was 4.6, with the TMax I can easily run 4.2. My Dakota has that function built in, another fun toy.

 

I just did this and put on a new exhaust system too so I will chime in to hopefully help you with your decision. There's a lot of paths to go regarding various tuners and everyone has their opinion, here's what I did after lots of researching, reading on here, and advice from the exhaust manufacturer. In regard to my own expertise on the subject, I have none. But I really looked into it from all angles I could think of and maybe this will help:

When you change out the exhaust or intake and/or higher-flow filtering, you have to tune it, period. I bought a Power Commander V (PCV), a K&N filter element only (did not change the intake), and a full-on dyno tune by a leading industry expert. A good dyno guy will cost about $250- $300 to tune it.

Dynajet, the makers of the PCV, came out with a new auto-tuner called the power vision (PV) for about $550 but apparently it has a couple of quirks they are still working out. That scared me. I'd rather be conservative and use a time-tested device over a "beta" device, especially with electronics, my choice.

The PCV has an add-on auto tuner that works fine right now and works in conjunction with the PCV for about $250 more than the PCV alone, I didn't get that. When coupled together, those two devices are about same price as the PV and do about the same thing. The PV claims to do lots of tweeks and has a plethora of pre-sets that sound really cool, but I came to the conclusion I didn't need all those choices, I just want my bike to have more than average power, run cool, and last a long time. Straight up.

When my dyno guy installed the PCV, there was function in it that wasn't operating correctly or fully and he sent it back for a replacement. The bike is running like a bat out of hell, but he said nope, it's going back because it's not 100%.

I wouldn't have known that, only a true expert would, hence the recommendation to send it to a true dyno expert. I may add that auto-tuner later on to my PCV but that will only be IF I do a full on intake too. I doubt I will, like I said, I have serious power now and with the exhaust, pcv and higher-flow filter, I'm calling it good. However, like the PV, if I do add something in the future that auto-tuner add-on will adjust my system for it, just like the PV.

Doing it that way, I saved the $250 on the auto-tuner and $350 on the intake. the K&N filter is only about $50 online. That savings enabled me to invest $300 into changing out my front springs to a high quality system and keep the $250 for the auto-tuner in my pocket.

hope this helps.

 

Thanks for all of the replies. Some good info here.