Tuners
Thread Starter
|
Road Master
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 992
Likes: 2
From: TN
Tuners
It seems that performance tuners have become so proprietary that it would be impossible for a performance shop to adequately train for this. Thus...if for instance you a tuner that is a Power Vision but the local dynoguy does not or cannot breech its software, you might have to travel several hours to one that does or be forced to buy an inferior unit that can be dynotuned locally. Let the manufactures establish a common interface for dyno tuning and let the best product win...
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
We shouldn't be surprised that each one is different! When buying a tuner we have to choose between: learning to operate it ourselves; or visit a local shop to get it set up. In the second case buy the tuner the shop recommends! That way they will tune your bike and not turn you away, because they have no experience with the product you bought as the 'best'.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 14,670
Likes: 139
From: East of the Sun, West of the Moon
It seems that performance tuners have become so proprietary that it would be impossible for a performance shop to adequately train for this. Thus...if for instance you a tuner that is a Power Vision but the local dynoguy does not or cannot breech its software, you might have to travel several hours to one that does or be forced to buy an inferior unit that can be dynotuned locally. Let the manufactures establish a common interface for dyno tuning and let the best product win...
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 6,532
Likes: 132
From: SoCal
My guy tunes em all. He does like one better than the rest but doesn't twist your arm into buying that one or anything like that. If a person is selling his services as a tuning expert he damn well better be trained in how to tune using all the available tuning interfaces.
Thread Starter
|
Road Master
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 992
Likes: 2
From: TN
My guy tunes em all. He does like one better than the rest but doesn't twist your arm into buying that one or anything like that. If a person is selling his services as a tuning expert he damn well better be trained in how to tune using all the available tuning interfaces.
Last edited by dochawken; Apr 25, 2014 at 04:03 PM.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 14,670
Likes: 139
From: East of the Sun, West of the Moon
got to invest in your trade to keep it alive. I know ex-tuners that would tune only Power Commander devices and never invested time or $ into anything else. Now that the flash tuners are so popular, they are merely mechanic shops now with very few people wanting PC tuning done.
They all do have a common interface. It's called J1850 and CANBUS and that is supplied by HD not the tuner or tuning device.
They all do have a common interface. It's called J1850 and CANBUS and that is supplied by HD not the tuner or tuning device.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 6,532
Likes: 132
From: SoCal
Competition is key to innovation. Keeps everyone striving to be better and the market gets a better product.
Trending Topics
Road Master
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,026
Likes: 4
From: Lansing, MI
It seems that performance tuners have become so proprietary that it would be impossible for a performance shop to adequately train for this. Thus...if for instance you a tuner that is a Power Vision but the local dynoguy does not or cannot breech its software, you might have to travel several hours to one that does or be forced to buy an inferior unit that can be dynotuned locally. Let the manufactures establish a common interface for dyno tuning and let the best product win...
No way I want Big Brother stifling innovation by mandating interfaces.
HD Forum Stories
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Verdad Gallardo
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In
Verdad Gallardo
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Verdad Gallardo
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept
Verdad Gallardo
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Verdad Gallardo
10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026
Verdad Gallardo
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,648
Likes: 37
From: Monroe, Louisiana
My 2 cents. I have never seen a dyno other than pictures, but have learned to make maps and tune with TTS, Power Vision, SERT, SEPST, and PC III, and PCV. The flash tuners are very similar to each other and mostly use the same tables for the same grouping of bikes such as touring 2010 to 2013 being mostly the same. There are excellent videos and manuals on learning to use them. The biggest thing you have to know if you don't have a dyno is what the engine needs and are the changes you make doing what you expected. If you can't tell if it is rich or lean you have a problem. What causes hesitation or stumbling or surging or pinging or detonation. Making changes to the maps is easy, making the right changes is the difficult part. It also helps to understand if the issue is tune related or hardware related, such as air leak, bad plug, poor compression etc. You can tune all day and not fix any of these issues. If the map was working yesterday and you didn't make any changes to the system and it is not working today something mechanical is wrong. If you plan to learn them you need to have plenty of time as it takes many hours of studying and using the various tuners and that could get expensive. I build maps for lots of people and get a chance to work on lots of different equipment. The autotune features and canned maps aren't a means to an end but will help get you there. No where did I say you don't need a dynotune. Some dyno tunes are better than others and if you learn to tune the ride ability area you will be way ahead. I like the J1850 but the CanBus has it beat with much better resolution and speed, but still tunes the same way.
Thread Starter
|
Road Master
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 992
Likes: 2
From: TN
My 2 cents. I have never seen a dyno other than pictures, but have learned to make maps and tune with TTS, Power Vision, SERT, SEPST, and PC III, and PCV. The flash tuners are very similar to each other and mostly use the same tables for the same grouping of bikes such as touring 2010 to 2013 being mostly the same. There are excellent videos and manuals on learning to use them. The biggest thing you have to know if you don't have a dyno is what the engine needs and are the changes you make doing what you expected. If you can't tell if it is rich or lean you have a problem. What causes hesitation or stumbling or surging or pinging or detonation. Making changes to the maps is easy, making the right changes is the difficult part. It also helps to understand if the issue is tune related or hardware related, such as air leak, bad plug, poor compression etc. You can tune all day and not fix any of these issues. If the map was working yesterday and you didn't make any changes to the system and it is not working today something mechanical is wrong. If you plan to learn them you need to have plenty of time as it takes many hours of studying and using the various tuners and that could get expensive. I build maps for lots of people and get a chance to work on lots of different equipment. The autotune features and canned maps aren't a means to an end but will help get you there. No where did I say you don't need a dynotune. Some dyno tunes are better than others and if you learn to tune the ride ability area you will be way ahead. I like the J1850 but the CanBus has it beat with much better resolution and speed, but still tunes the same way.