Explaining Power Commander

[Medic09]

Finding all sorts of little things as I get to know my newly acquired '02 Tiger.

The bike has a Power Commander III.  Can someone explain succinctly and understandably to this non-mechanic what the Power Commander is for, and is it much to my advantage?

Thanks!

[abruzzi]

A fuel injected bike has a computer that controls the FI system.  It reads inputs like throttle position, rpm, manifold pressure, etc, and calculates how much fuel to deliver to each cylinder and when.  The Power Commander overrides the computer's values, with ones the user (or his mechanic) sets.  It is the fuel injection version of fiddling with carburetor jets. For more power or whatever.

They are less common on triumphs because there is software--TuneBoy--that can write directly to the stock computer gaining all the benefits of a PCIII without having to hack anything.  Some still use PCIIIs simply because lots of mechanics know them.

Geof

[Medic09]

Great answer, Geof.  Thanks!

I see we're neighbours, sort of.

[abruzzi]

I see we're neighbours, sort of.

Ha!  I didn't notice.  I will tell you (since they are not too far from you) I've found PJs in Albuquerque to be a great shop, and they do know power commanders, so they may have been the ones that installed it.

I found the PC unnecessary and just had them install the truimph offroad tune on back when I had my 955.  Sure custom tunability is nice, but these aren't race bike, and I'm usually happy with the engine performance.

Geof

[Medic09]

I agree about PJ's.  They've serviced my Sprint for the few years I've had it, and they're also really nice about just providing info and advice when I'm attempting my own work.  Both my modern Triumphs were purchased used, but they've always given me help and good service as if I'd spent the big bucks there.  I'm taking the Tiger in a for a major service there next week.  It has 36,000 miles on it, and we know nothing of how it has been serviced.

[Cos]

So, if i want to get a different pipe for my bike and don't have access to a dealer unless i load the bike on a ship  :( , how can i go about it?

[TheMule]

So, if i want to get a different pipe for my bike and don't have access to a dealer unless i load the bike on a ship  :( , how can i go about it?

Your only option might be purchasing a Tuneboy. I'm a long way from a dealership and have thought about making the purchase.

good luck,

[Cos]

Anybody got a Tuneboy for rent?  :lol:

[coachgeo]

Anybody got a Tuneboy for rent?  :lol:

I thought everyone in Reno went to Sac. every 6 or 8 weeks for something? Not so much so in the winter obviously.  Seemed like that when I lived there except we did so more in the winter cause it was our season.  

Is there a dealer in Sac. or is it further away than that?

[Cos]

Anybody got a Tuneboy for rent?  :lol:

I thought everyone in Reno went to Sac. every 6 or 8 weeks for something? Not so much so in the winter obviously.  Seemed like that when I lived there except we did so more in the winter cause it was our season.  

Is there a dealer in Sac. or is it further away than that?

Shit, i forgot to change the location in my profile.  :lol:

The Tiger and I moved to Cyprus.

[Bixxer Bob]

I bought a Tuneboy/Tunedit recently; you can have loads of fun with it and I'm learning about how different changes affect the way the bike runs.  You have to be careful, of course, that you don't do something stupid that's going to hurt your motor.  Tuneboy shows you all about what the sensors are doing when the motor ir running and is free, although you need the cable.  It also allows you to re-set trims.  Tunedit is free also, but the fuel map part doesn't work until you buy a key (read about it on tuneboy.com), which is locked to your ECU and isn't transferrable, although you can buy other keys if you wish.

Loading a new map takes about 15 seconds.

[Cos]

Where'd you buy it from Bob?

And since we're on the subject of tuning, are you still happy with your Blueflame?

[abruzzi]

Anybody got a Tuneboy for rent?  :lol:

Unfortunately, Tuneboy licenses are tied to the ECU serial number.  So you can't use it on another machine.  I suppose instead of shipping the bike to the mainland, you could take out the ECU and ship that.  The Triumph tool lets you load triumph maps to any bike, but costs a lot, and doesn't let you build customized maps.

Geof

[Stretch]

You can use a Tuneboy on other bikes, but you first have to send off to Tuneboy Inc for a special code, costing about a hundred bucks.

It's an anti-piracy measure... to ensure a guy can't buy one Tuneboy and then charge folks to re-tune their ECU's, with Tuneboy getting nothing.

[Bixxer Bob]

Where'd you buy it from Bob?

And since we're on the subject of tuning, are you still happy with your Blueflame?

you can only buy it from Wayne at Tuneboy.com as far as I know.  I re-read my post and realised I wasn't very clear about the software key hence the other comments.  Tuneboy software is free and lets you see what's going on sensor-wise in your ECU.  You need the Tuneboy cable to connect it.  I tried other serial / USB cables with no luck.  Tunedit software is also free (you can download these for free from the website and have a look to see what they can do).  To use the ECU interrogation or remap facility in Tunedit, you need to buy a software key. To do that you download your ECU serial number using the Tunedit prog and Email it to Wayne.  He sends you a key which you import into the software then you can load maps.  If you want to use your Tunedit software on another ECU, you need to buy another key.

The Blueflame is still awesome, and sounds even better now I've leaned out my fuel map some.  It's got a more aggresive rasp now.  Just take care to seal the exhaust joints properly or you'll get even worse backfires due to air getting in.