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PC?? are they worth it? how much power do they add?


Jcroz91

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exactly. 2 weeks and thats like riding maybe 2 or 3 days a week. so with only like 4 or 5 days left im not going to bust ass to find a tire and all that.

That's perfectly fine. Just be cautious with a tire on cords. Bad things can happen if pushed.

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Sissy! :D

Technical difficulties. 520 sprocket failed. Want to go back to a 525, so I'm not gonna spend the money on a new 520 sprocket. But, I also don't want to drop the coin on a new chain/sprocket setup for the end of the year. Cash is needed elsewhere.

I haven't ridden in 3 weeks. It's killing me. :(

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Keep in mind. The bike was tuned for premium from the factory. Putting lower than premium in it will result in a decrease in power from the different burn rate and knocking. These motors are very high compression high revving pieces. Be nice to your engine and run premium. It costs, what, $1.00 more at most to fill up with premium vs regular. Don't be a cheap ass.
Ok, so to sum up this thread.

-Power Commander. If you have the money, get one. You can use it to smooth your bikes power curve and to properly tune for the correct air/fuel ratio. On most bikes, there's no monitoring equipment to tell the ECU exactly how much air the engine is getting. So if you go and put a new exhaust and intake/filter on it, you've now got more air going in/out than normal. This will lead to a lean condition. The PC is there to correct for this lean condition and to remove any drop in your power curve due to emissions regulations. It's a nice piece, it's smoothes stuff out, and there's really no downsides to it.

-Spark plugs. Your bike isn't a race bike. There's no need for anything other than what the factory recommends. However, if the factory does recommend a platinum plug and you want to save a few bucks, you can usually run a standard tip plug. I run NGK V-power. Standard plugs, and they work. At $2 a pop can't beat it.

-Fuel. Your bike was tuned from the factory to run on premium unleaded. These bikes are usually high compression motors, like 12.5:1. That means a high risk for detonation (or pre-ignition as it's sometimes called) if you use a lower grade fuel. The lower the octane, the higher the risk of detonation. Your bike is equipped with knock sensors. These sense detonation in the motor and will pull timing to save you from the "big-bang". While these are nice, don't rely on them. You will get the power expected out of your engine by putting in the correct grade of fuel and there's less risk involved.

Regular - $2.68/gallon x 3.9 gal = $10.45

Premium - $2.88/gallon x 3.9 gal = $11.23

Difference of $.78, so put in the good juice. ;)

-Tires. Shinkos are shit. Race-takeoffs = not for you. Buy a good high-performance skreet tire and be happy.

-Finally, if you don't have gear. Ya know, helmet, gloves, jacket, boots, etc. Then forget about spending any money on anything else and buy some damn gear. It does not make you "un-cool" to wear it. You may not live long enough to enjoy those extra items if/when you go down without gear.

And remember, shiny side up and have fun. :)

Holy shit Don! Both of these quotes from you are A+! Right on! Way to lay it out. I can't rep you right now, but I would if i could.

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i have a helmet and some leather gloves i wear. i just wear a black wind breaker jacket with a hoodie under. keeps me warm enough. ill get a jacket in spring.

i need tires first. my rear is showing a tiny bit of wire

that wind breaker wont help a bit when you hit the ground , youve not had road rash yet have you ?

and I have one extra set of powerone take offs right now if you want , I was gonna put them on in spring but I can part with them

yeah i know. but really how many days of riding do you think we will have left?

depends on the weather mabey alot I rode a couple times each month last winter

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Unless you have a big ol' emissions dip in your powerband that you'd like to go away. ;)

That's correct! Most all bikes now come extremely "leaned out" from the manufacturer to pass EPA emissions tests. A proper PC setup will help enrichen the fuel mixture... and typically clean up surging and/or hesitation due to factory fuel map config, even with a stock airbox and exhaust.

If stock, MPG shouldn't be impacted much at all.

Airbox & exhaust mods will impact MPG... more air thru motor means leaner mixture, thus O2 sensors detect and tell computer to put more fuel into motor to keep A/F ratio correct.

Good tuners will setup a PC for a "street bike" with a slightly "rich" map to protect the motor. Race setups will be tuned leaner to maximize HP but risk higher cyclinder temps, burnt pistons, etc...

I had a Honda VFR800 with stock setup that suffered freeway speed hesitation and bucking... very annoying! A PCIII cleaned it up very nicely and convinced me they are pretty manditory anymore...

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My personal experience: Bought stock bike, rode it for a while, noticed significant drop in power between 4,000 and 7,000 RPM. Installed full exhaust, K&N air filter, and PCIII supposedly tuned for that motor/exhaust combination. Compared to published stock ratings, the overall HP increase was minimal. The biggest advantage though, was that the big dip in power in the middle of the RPM range was eliminated. It pulls the entire way through the RPM range now. I believe there may have been a slight loss in fuel mileage, but I can't remember exactly what it was previously, I do however get 39 MPG at the moment, 45,000 miles later.

My main concern is that I believe it has been running too lean. It backfires upon throttle release. At first, I was lead to believe it was because the engine was running too rich and the backfire was caused by excess fuel being burned off. I have later heard from two other individuals that it is more likely that it is too lean. Any opinions?

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My personal experience: Bought stock bike, rode it for a while, noticed significant drop in power between 4,000 and 7,000 RPM. Installed full exhaust, K&N air filter, and PCIII supposedly tuned for that motor/exhaust combination. Compared to published stock ratings, the overall HP increase was minimal. The biggest advantage though, was that the big dip in power in the middle of the RPM range was eliminated. It pulls the entire way through the RPM range now. I believe there may have been a slight loss in fuel mileage, but I can't remember exactly what it was previously, I do however get 39 MPG at the moment, 45,000 miles later.

My main concern is that I believe it has been running too lean. It backfires upon throttle release. At first, I was lead to believe it was because the engine was running too rich and the backfire was caused by excess fuel being burned off. I have later heard from two other individuals that it is more likely that it is too lean. Any opinions?

I'm not an expert on rich/lean conditions. But, you could have a friend follow behind at night, grab the throttle and then chop off. If you see a small blue flame from the tailpipe it's rich I believe.

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I'm not an expert on rich/lean conditions. But, you could have a friend follow behind at night, grab the throttle and then chop off. If you see a small blue flame from the tailpipe it's rich I believe.

I have been told by friends that it does have a blue flame from the tailpipe under that circumstance.

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that wind breaker wont help a bit when you hit the ground , youve not had road rash yet have you ?

and I have one extra set of powerone take offs right now if you want , I was gonna put them on in spring but I can part with them

depends on the weather mabey alot I rode a couple times each month last winter

yeah i would.. but i dont have any $. ill have $ over winter. its no big deal thanks though bud

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