I have a Power Commander on my bike and it works great. Have changed exhaust multiple times and all I needed to do is call Fuel Moto. If you are not planning to do any more mods then go for dealer download. But if you are which you will get a tuner. Don't waste your money on download if you are planning any mods such as cams etc.

 

My bike pops like a weasel on decel with screamin eagle ac, hd slip ons, and hd map.WHY? I have 103 upgraded 96. Dealer computer showed stage two when hooked to bike

 

[quote]Don't waste your money on the download. Just not worth the money for what you get." seems to be a parroted phrase by people who own tuners. I think they're just trying to justify the expense of having bought something that don't really need. I repeat, for a simple stage one upgrade (which is all 75% of us will ever do) the dealer remap is all you need. If you wanna go cams, stage 2, bigger pistons, etc. then maybe you need a tuner, otherwise, it's overkill.
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I think the confusion on the "harley download" is that, at least at my dealer, there are two different ones...one for $150 that basically raises the rev limiter and also one for $250. that adjust a little timing and adds a little fuel. The first one is a total waste of money, the other one will be a little better...but do you really want to drop $250 bucks on a little better...your choice.

You have a quality tuner that has all the makings of your bike running at 100% of capability. The problem is the dyno operator. Before you spend any money on a tuner, talk as many of the dyno operators as you can in your area. Find the best you can as this will be the one that makes the difference.

I personally would never buy a piggy back tuner that has to be hooked up to my bike. It's a electronic box that can fail at any time and if it fails after the warranty is up you have to spend money all over again. IMO I would only buy a tuner that would reflash and be done with it. Both the TTS and the sertpro are excellent choices.
My dyno tuner also told me that dynovision just introduced a program where you can buy the licence fee and reuse somebody elses tuner (like the one the dyno operator has) He was saying he could do a one time tune for $450 complete. That would include a custom map designed for your bike, not a generic one used by most tuners.

So to sum things up, I use the TTS tuner, had it professionally dyno'ld with a custom map. I have a total of $550 into the tune and the bike runs perfect. It's not just about squeezing every last pony out of it, but it's also about having the bike run the best it can at cruising speed. I understand a lot of you think your bikes are running great without being properly set up. I use to think that way about my XEID's. But until you really get the bike dialed in, you will never know just how well it can really run. It is cheeper to do it right the first time, and just keep riding.

 

First off the OP is looking for advise. Here on a forum you have alot of members with personal experience with both tuners and the download. I can only speak from my personal experience. I got the download from the dealer ( 150 ) when i put slipons and a stage 1 ac. With this setup bike ran fine and no increase in power. Once i swapped to a full exhaust and a more free flowing ac the bike was running hot. I had seen my exhaust near the heads glow red at night. So i bought a PCV. Bike ran much better and cooler. After talking to my service manager at my dealer he said take that power commander off ( like you mention). He has seen to many problems with them. So with his advise and listening to others i decided to replace it with the TTS tuner. Bike is like a rapped ape now. Even my dealer pushed the TTS over the sreaming eagle tuner. So ultimatly i wasted that 150 i put out of my pocket for the download. With the download there are no adjustments to be made for any upgrades or even changes. Now if i would have saved that 150 and the 250 ( from the pcv ) and just bought a good tuner in the first place " I " would have been much better off.

I second what ROOTI is saying 100%. Its not about squeezing every pony out of your motor, its about getting your bike dialed in to run its best for longevity and performance. I never liked the idea of a piggy back tuner rather one that flashes your exisiting ecm. The power commader is in place to trick your ecm into doing something else.

 

[quote]So ultimatly i wasted that 150 i put out of my pocket for the download. With the download there is adjustments to be made for any upgrades or even changes. Now if i would have saved that 150 and the 250 ( from the pcv ) and just bought a good tuner in the first place " I " would have been much better off.
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Both me and Pontiac have double spent money on upgrades trying to save a buck and it cost us both more in the long run if we just did it right the first time. That's all we're trying to say really. Do your homework and do it right the first time. If you don't have the money right know just buy the XEID's for 100 bucks (nightrider.com) enjoy the bike until you do have the cash. IMO the XEID's will do better then either harley downloads. It cost me 40 bucks to use them for 6 months (I resold them the first week) I did 6 months of research on the tuner and the dyno before I decided. It worked out well for me. Take your time and get it right the first time.

 

I bought my PC3 USB for $50, and I went with a tuner because I KNEW I would go through a few sets of pipes before I found what I wanted. As far as I'm concerned, if you're just gonna do the pipes and whatnot, and not change it again for a LONG time, do the download. I personally like the flexibility of the tuner. I hooked up my laptop and fired up the bike, did some real-time monitoring, made a few fuel curve changes here and there, rolled on throttle and backed off through different RPM ranges and just used vibrations and sound to set it wher eit 'felt' right to me. Not a single backfire, plugs look great, and I'm not roasting nuts anywhere near what I used to.

 

Patrick, I've watched the mods you've done and what you have paid for them. You are the king of frugel and just goes to show you that you don't have to have a lot of cash to do what you want to do to your bike. For 50 bucks you can run it as long as you still like it or until it craps out and not really be out any money.

What did you pay for the tatoo? lol

Good job finding the deals

 

I traded a Glock 27 for a Tactical Mossberg Mariner Special Duty 12 Ga, the Harley Tat, My Gibson tat, and my wife's shoulder tattoo.. (the one on the left)

 

2012 SB with full V&H system and SE heavy breather, dealer stage 1 download. Pops and farts like a good 'un. "They all do that sir" was the dealers response. Im still working through the running in process (<3000 rpm etc etc) but have found a local performance centre who are dyno specialists so will be approaching them for advise and see what they can do. Ill post back when its sorted (Hopefully ) Im not planning on doing anything else to the engine so believe that the stage 1 tuned correctly will be enough for me. I get the impression a tuner may be a little overkill for an exhaust and a/c replacement, but WTFDIK

 

How is having your bike run the best it can overkill? You will have to get a tuner for the dyno operator to dial it in.

On option is dyno vision just announced they will sell licence fees to use someone elses tuner....If your dyno guy has dynovision you may be able to get the bike done for 450 total.