04 heritage... hugely strong and dyno tuned @117hp..
suddenly became like normal motor.. for me, doggy..
gas mileage dropped by 1/3.
indy cant find anything specifically wrong..
he checked for leaks etc..
spent sev hrs w/ it..
said they could start tweaking and poking, but he wasnt
really confident bout it.. just kinda guessing the whole way..

says i could get it dyno tuned at dealer or get auto tuner..
which he recommends..

it has a SE tuner now..

indy named some options but the TM is very popular..

i was not expecting this atall ..

any thoughts here?

thx

 

Unless you are pretty technically-minded, like figuring stuff out, or trust someone else to make you a good map for your bike, I don't recommend the ThunderMax. I have one and it does a great job, but there are things I don't like about, such as having to hook up a Windows computer every time I want to load a new map or modify the current one.

Do yourself a favor, call FuelMoto (a sponsor here) and get a Dynojet Power Vision. You give them some info about your bike, they will load a custom map for your bike before they ship it out. When you get it, you just flash the stock ECM with the included touch panel and you're good to ride. You can get technical with the Power Vision if you want to, but it's the intuitive and user-friendly, yet powerful unit on the market right now, imo. This would be the unit I would get, if I had it to do again...

 

If the indy wasn't real confident while trying to find the root cause, you should go some place else.

You should start with having the fuel pressure checked, then move over to the fuel injectors.

 

I agree with Next- Something is going on with the bike and a tuner module is probably not going to fix it. Although I do prefer the PV-2 tuner over the TM.

 

Thinking further- I have a friend with an 08 Glide and last year his bike started acting up in a similar manner- turns out is was two bad sensor modules (I don't recall which ones, this was all in casual conversation), but the bad sensors were making the bike run at less than normal HP. It took him a few trips to a couple different shops to get it all figured out, sometimes the sensors would show as normal under diagnostics which made it hard to pin them down as the cause. FWIW.. Not sure if this is applicable to an '04 bike- To me, if the bike is running ok but just doggy, sounds like it could be the timing is running at a more retarded setting, advance is not kicking in, something along those lines.

 

I would have another shop try to diagnose the problem before swapping out the tuner. You could also test your current tuner to rule it out or pin point it as the cause of your problem. How old is your SE tuner? What are your engine mods? Someone previously mentioned they didn't like the T max because someone else would have to make your map for you. Not so, you can easily work up your own map just by selecting your mods from several drop down screens, or have it dyno tuned just like any other tuner. From that map the auto tune will fine tune the map making changes to your map as you ride. After awhile you'll be able to take the information gathered by the auto tune and create a final map, talored to your specific set up. Also mentioned was the pre flashed tuners offered by Fuel Moto. They can pre flash every tuner they offer, including the T Max. The T max does require a windows lap top to access maps, update firmware and software. I have had both the PCV and am currently running the T Max.

 

Did you recently change the spark plug wires? EFI bikes use ION sense to control spark knock or pre-ignition. Some aftermarket wires do not have the same resistance and are not compatible with ION sense and the ECU will retard timing which would make it feel like it lost power. ION sense is at the plug gap so if you haven’t changed the wires, try changing the plugs.

 

Talked with several ppl... after which I pretty much say screw it..TM it is..
Still not thrilled .. unplanned expense and all
Thx

 

"Well there ya go"

 

It will be an unnecessary expense once you figure out that replacing the ECM does not solve your issues.