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[kojack]

How unreliable is reading the plugs now?  we do not have e85 gas here,  I always used reading the plugs when tuning other machines with great results.

[INDEPENDENT_1]

With leaded fuel, reading the plugs was a lot more reliable way of tuning than it is with the fuel we burn these days. I still prefer tuning with 4 gas but obviously there are tons of bikes out there that run butter smooth that have been tuned with readings from an O2 sensor. Neither 4 gas nor AFR (O2 sensors) are worth a damn if they are not being used properly or in the hands of the guy who knows how to use the equipment. Also that mans willingness to spend the time required to do things right. A guy may have a warmth of knowledge on tuning it but if he's in a hurry or bad mood or for whatever reason if he is not applying the knowledge and cutting corners or skipping certain things that help make the engine happy, it's not going to do as good as it could have. The details in tuning techniques and procedures are what makes the final map loaded into the bike stand out as a real well mannered and great running bike and should be something the owner notices each time he rides how good the bike runs, starts, warms up, accelerates, throttle responds, how hot or cool it runs, how well it starts hot, warm or cold etc. That goes without saying, obviously, all the components of the build need to be working in harmony with one another. The best tune in the world can't make a bike run as good as it could if the parts or even one part is not right for the engine being tuned.

[kojack]

totally.  but like I said,  if my plugs look good,  I may have a safe tune to ride my bike.  im sure theres more in it,  but,  no dnyo is a big problem

[kojack]

well upon more riding,  I took a good run on the highway today to try out my new windshield,  my bike is not surging while keeping constant speeds like it was before,  temps were between 80-90 on my guage, again on the highway when I let off the throttle their e is no or minimal popping.  I feel the bike is running really good at this time.  I am guessing the previous owner did put a tune in the bike,  and the surging and popping was the crap gas, some buldup and stuff from sitting so long.  It probably took a while for the junk to burn out of it.  I am going to keep an eye on things but at this time I feel its running good.  if the surging comes back,  or the popping,  I will get a tuner at that point.

[kojack]

Looks like a fuel controller is in my very near future.  As soons as the temps went up here,  we are in the 90s right now,  my bike started popping on decal etc.  Now,  to get a fuel moto PCIII or a cobra fi2000 powerpro....

thoughts?

[Twolanerider]

Looks like a fuel controller is in my very near future.  As soons as the temps went up here,  we are in the 90s right now,  my bike started popping on decal etc.  Now,  to get a fuel moto PCIII or a cobra fi2000 powerpro....

thoughts?

Thought that thread had come and gone.  The Cobra device is to tuning and overall control as to tissue paper stuffed in a bra is to boobs; for a variety of reasons.  Even the Power Commander that will work on your bike pales in comparison to other engine management systems but it's the best option out there for a Marelli bike.  So, short of doing a significant Delphi conversion, call Jamie at Fuel Moto.

Tell him the build as well as you can, hope to hell the original ECM is still stock as any overlay map is using it as a baseline, talk to Jamie all you can and all he'll listen about what you've got, spend your money and cross your fingers.  Either that or make a roughly 3500 km round trip over land and sea and head to Big Boyz in Maine and actually get the bike tuned.

[kojack]

fuel moto it is.  If I plug the PCIII in stock,  with no map in it does it read whats going on now?  Or is it one way communication?

[Twolanerider]

fuel moto it is.  If I plug the PCIII in stock,  with no map in it does it read whats going on now?  Or is it one way communication?

You'll have to load a map.  That's why you're talking to Jamie.  He'll pre-load something based on your description of the bike's current engine build.  The unit will do absolutely nothing on its own.  the map is its instruction set for +/- changes overlaying the base map in the ECM.

[kojack]

Ok, so It does not log anything now like air fuel ratio etc. 

I am just wondering how it works.  I know in order to change the way the bike runs,  you need to load a map.  Cool...thanks,  I will keep you up to date on how she runs.

[East Coast]

Are you not able to contact the seller to obtain any more information regarding the motor build and fuel management that was used/installed on the bike?

A nice road trip to the states with the intention of getting the bike on dyno sounds like a fun trip to me. 

[Twolanerider]

Ok, so It does not log anything now like air fuel ratio etc. 

I am just wondering how it works.  I know in order to change the way the bike runs,  you need to load a map.  Cool...thanks,  I will keep you up to date on how she runs.

It works by adding +/- incremental changes for fuel and timing over the stock map inside the ECM.    PC III for Marelli doesn't "know" nor "learn" nor adjust on the fly to anything.  It doesn't even what the base map in the ECM is that it is adding to or taking from.  It is just a tool that gives instructions that cause pre-set of increments of fuel and/or degrees of timing to be taken from or added to whatever the base map is.

That's why it's so important to know what the base map is as it is the foundation over which everything else will happen.  Since you don't know if this "built" engine of yours ever had a tune done along with it you've really got no clue what the foundation is.  So you've got no clue what a map loaded in a PC III will be working from so can't know what affect it will have. 

Having said that, it's not like you've got a lot of other options.  At the very least the PC III and some map will be a tool you can work with if the loaded map isn't close.  The Power Commander software is very simple.  You just pick a cell and add or take away.  The attached is an example of a PC III map page.

[kojack]

Are you not able to contact the seller to obtain any more information regarding the motor build and fuel management that was used/installed on the bike?

A nice road trip to the states with the intention of getting the bike on dyno sounds like a fun trip to me. 

That trip is not in my cards.  Family is first.  The bike was bought from a used wholesale bike shop.  He did not know what is done.  The Harley dealer here said don't screw with it.  They have it now and said it runs great.