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[TwoToes]

I always use 91 in all my bikes. Check out the ThunderMax Auto Tuner. It replaces the ECM on the bike, never needs a dyno even if you do mods later, and can be removed if you sell the bike and used again on the new bike, you just replace the stock ECM on the old bike before you sell it.

[Heatwave]

You should always buy the highest octane possible with an air-cooled Harley. Anything less could result in pinging with the right combination of altitude, load (2up for example), ambient temp, slow speed operation or some combination, particularly if the bike was tuned with high octane fuel and a light load on the dyno. With an air cooled bike its always better to be prepared for any of these conditions by making sure you have a tank of the highest premium gas available. The higher the compression of the engine, the greater the need but any Harley will benefit from having higher oct fuel if you load it with high external temps, high engine temps, load and/or altitude.

If you're looking to run a bike on 87 or 89 octane you're much better off getting a watercooled bike.

[Envithyx]

What if you replace the ECM on a bike? How does the new ECM learn the VIN?

Dealer uses Digital Tech plugged into the diag. port to reflash the VIN on to the new ECM.

[mjb765]

I was hoping it's one of those, "send it to the mfg and they can erase it for a fee", kinda thing.

I'm hoping Steve Cole is going to chime in, as I didn't see a "Contact Us" link on the TTS website.

And btw, apparently my dementia only kicked in this year- I just went thru all my gas receipts for last year, and I have been putting in 91- just f-ed up for this year.

If you look around the forum, that question has been brought up many times before. The dongle is married to the VIN and there is nothing anybody has ever been able to do about it. That's why whenever you trade in or sell a bike most people will include the dongle since it will be useless on their new bike and it can't be sold used since it won't work on anything but the original bike it was married to. The best advice would be to see how the bike runs after you start using the proper fuel and if all is good, then sell the SE Tuner BEFORE you hook it up to your bike.

[dartman]

sell the SE Tuner BEFORE you hook it up to your bike

Ditto, Good advice why compound you memory lapse with another major expenditure, It wont run any better.

[grc]

You might want to talk to the folks at TTS before you open that box with the SEPST.  They might know of someone who can tune your bike with the device you already own.  Since the TTS is basically an updated and improved version of the original SERT (that they made for Harley, btw), I find it hard to believe that a "tuner" would say he is able to use the SEPST but not the SERT/TTS.  I'm no expert on either, but I would imagine it's worth saving over $400 US to make the call to those who are the experts.


Jerry

[FNGw/08SERK]

You might want to talk to the folks at TTS before you open that box with the SEPST.  They might know of someone who can tune your bike with the device you already own.  Since the TTS is basically an updated and improved version of the original SERT (that they made for Harley, btw), I find it hard to believe that a "tuner" would say he is able to use the SEPST but not the SERT/TTS.  I'm no expert on either, but I would imagine it's worth saving over $400 US to make the call to those who are the experts.


Jerry

While certainly no expert here either, I have used the TTS software, and played with the SEPST software although never used it directly. The software is remarkably similar by all appearances. Not sure why a tuner could tune one but not the other.

[geezerglide]

North Star,

Steve's phone number in Lake Havasu, AZ is 928-505-2912 or info@fullsac.com. From Toronto it is a 3 hour time difference. He is very helpful.

Hope this helps.

geezerglide

[North Star]

Thanks for all the advice.

I'm going to go back to the original plan-to have the tuner guy (the good one) do a dyno run, and see how much room for improvement there is, if any.

If it's good enough, then I'll probably sell the SEPST locally, as I will most likely break even that way (since they are over $500 at Cdn dealers, and the US dealer price is $100 cheaper and the Jenni discount is another $100 cheaper on top of that, I shouldn't lose anything).

I haven't run the bike with the proper gas yet, but that's obviously the issue. Like I said, after checking last years gas receipts, I'm sure glad I've run the right stuff last year- just had a brain fart this year for about 2 tanks.

[Dr.D]

At least you did not use kerosine. Since I put in the hc pistons I use the 93 and a fuel conditioner. Waste more money is my motto.

[North Star]

Just an update regarding my tuner situation- I went to the good tuner today for a dyno run, and an assessment as to how he thinks the bike is performing. Just to back up a bit, like I said I ordered the SEPST and went down to Buffalo to pick it up yesterday, so I took the SEPST and my TTS to the tuner, as he ended up saying he used to tune with the TTS and that if it needed some minor tweaking, he could do it on the TTS and save cracking open the box with the SEPST.

He did some dyno runs, and ended up saying I have perfect hp/torque curves, and suggested leaving it alone until I'm ready to do his 110 Performance package work in the winter. Corrected numbers were 93.7 hp and 115 tq- very respectable, and a testiment to the quality of the canned TTS map provided by Steve George at Fullsac.

Btw, his 110 performance package work consists of head work on the flow bench, throttle body porting, and re-degreeing the stock cams- total cost would be $3,500.00, which includes a dyno tune (with the SEPST), and our 13% tax. He has done 12 110" bikes so far, and consistently gets 105 hp/130 tq.

And as an added bonus, I sold him the SEPST that I didn't end up needing, and broke even on the deal, since I got it in the US for a good price. Win/Win really, he bought it for much less than it would have cost him here, and I didn't lose anything for having to buy it un-necesarily.

So, all I plan on doing now is to remember that my bike takes 91+ octane, and enjoy!!!  

[Envithyx]

And as an added bonus, I sold him the SEPST that I didn't end up needing, and broke even on the deal, since I got it in the US for a good price. Win/Win really, he bought it for much less than it would have cost him here, and I didn't lose anything for having to buy it un-necesarily.

So, all I plan on doing now is to remember that my bike takes 91+ octane, and enjoy!!!  

Great to hear everything worked out great in the end! 

[prs2xs]

Get rid of the platinum plugs, as your delphi ion sensing does not work well with them. You may be hearing ping because the knock retard function isn't sensing properly. Just use the regular harley plug. Also, platinum plugs are self cleaning and run too hot, which also contributes to the detonation problem.
Hope this helps.

[North Star]

Get rid of the platinum plugs, as your delphi ion sensing does not work well with them. You may be hearing ping because the knock retard function isn't sensing properly. Just use the regular harley plug. Also, platinum plugs are self cleaning and run too hot, which also contributes to the detonation problem.
Hope this helps.

Thanks for the advice, but I'm curious why they sell the Platinum plugs for our bikes then? Some might say, "well, they'll sell anything to make a buck", but I really can't see HD selling them for their bikes if they are harmful. I just checked mine, and they are the HD-6R12 type, which is what my owners manual calls for.

So which one do you recommend? The regular, or what about the HD gold?

Not to doubt you, but I think I'll call a dealer or two for a second opinion on this. Btw, my pinging is gone since I put in the proper 91 octane.

Welcome to the forum btw- what part of Canada are you from?

[grc]

Platinum electrodes have absolutely nothing to do with how "hot" the plugs run.  That is a function of the total design of the plug, including the insulator length, tip length, etc.  If you use the correct heat range, platinum or iridium electrodes don't make the plug run any hotter than the standard electrode plugs.  And they aren't any more "self cleaning" than standard plugs of the same design either.  The advantages of platinum or iridium as electrode materials have to do with their resistance to erosion.  Erosion of the electrodes is a major part of what causes the voltage requirements of a plug to increase, eventually to the point that the coil can't consistently fire the plug.  If you change your plugs often, the extra money is wasted.  If you run your plugs 50,000 miles, then platinum or iridium makes sense.

The Delphi engine management system does use something called ion sensing to detect incomplete or abnormal combustion.  That system uses the plugs and wires as a form of sensor to provide feedback to the ECM, instead of separate knock sensors or other types of sensors.  Use of nonstandard plug wires and some types of nonstandard plugs has been known to affect that system.  I'm not aware of a big problem with the use of normal style platinum plugs with this system, but many low resistance supposedly high performance plug wires will affect it.  Thus the recommendation to stick with stock type wires.


Jerry