Will I need a Power Commander?

[mocheeks77]

I have an 05 with a slip on exhaust.

I am looking to add a BMC filter, but am not sure if it will cause the bike to run too lean.

I was hoping to avoid having to add a Power Commander if possible.

If anyone has any expierience with this, I would love some input on it.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Your bike with no mods will be improved with a power commander. You likely won't NEED a power commander and your bike will run fine, but you won't get the full benefit of those mods without one.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Why would you want to "avoid having to add a Power Commander"? They are not difficult to install and they are not cost prohibitive.

 

[FJRMGM]

I have an '05 with Leo Vince exhaust cans and high flow Uni Filter and have been running it that way for over 80k miles with no PC.

you don't need a Power Commander.

There are many tales about how it smooths out the throttle response but its also followed by how the gas mileage is much lower so a PC is not for me.

 

[mocheeks77]

I wanted to avoid a Power Commander, if it is an uneccesary expensive. Mostly because I am cheap. I spoke with a friend who is a motorcycle mechanic and he said there was a way to bypass the fuel map by grounding a connector wire from the
Carbon/Oxygen sensor.

Anyone ever heard of or used this method?

 

[gixxerjasen]

Don't know if there was a difference between Gen I and Gen II, but my MPG difference, as measured by calculation at the pump vs miles ridden, was very minimal. Less than about 1 mpg on average. Now, what my readout says on the display (which was inaccurate from the start) is very different, but my display only ever shows ambient temp (which is also off by a smidge.)

By the way, I'm in the cheap crowd. It was more necessary for the Gen II and was a worthwhile investment. I'm not sure how worthwhile it'd be on a Gen I.

 

[Fred W]

No need to ground anything. Just pull the plug on the O2 sensor. That leaves the ECU constantly in "open loop mode", which is a good start toward eliminating the standard leanness of the bike.

No, you don't need a PC. Many guys do not feel anything wrong with their bkes running the standard lean fuel maps. That doesn't mean that their bikes are any different, or run any richer, just that they do not feel it.

Will you lose a few mpgs, yep. But with a good fairly rich map producing butter smoothness, you can still average around 42 mpg on a 1st gen. How good is the stock mileage? Maybe 45 on a good day?

Is it worth 3 mpg worth for having to put up with the herky jerky throttle and lean surging at cruise? That depends entirely on the rider.

(I should note that I do have one and I am willing to fill up 15 miles sooner to get the improvements to my bike)

 

[red2kcbr]

Power Commander was a good investment on my '05. Running the Wally Smooth map with Hole Shot mufflers and the throttle spring unwound one turn yields a linear and predictable throttle response.

The biggest influence on fuel mileage, in my experience, is finding gas without the 10% ethenol added. That's tough to find here in north Texas, but I notice a considerable jump up in fuel mileage when I do use it.

Mowers run better, too, on real gasoline.

 

[Fred W]

Way up northeast here we don't have many places to get "real gas" anymore. A few places in VT, but you have to buy the highest Octane fuel to get it, which sort of negates any financial savings on the losses of the EtOH. E10 has a max of 10% EtOH. The ethanol has less BTU value than real gas, but at a 10% max volume you are only looking at losing (or gaining) 3-4% mileage total.

I can use and lose more than that with frivolous and carefree use of the right twisty thing, or by running into a stiff head wind. IOW, not a big concern of mine.

 

[mocheeks77]

In Va. there is almost nowhere to find ethanol free fuel.

You can find "ethanol free" fuel, but the majority of the time it is just ethanol added fuel with ethanol treatment in the fuel.

Even worse, I am already hearing about E15.

15%, but the strange part is I have seen a varrying amount of ethanol that came from the gas station near us.

Anywhere from 8-13%.

 

[Fred W]

Pure-Gas.org is a good resource for finding "real gas" stations. There are a whole lot of stations listed in Virginia. 262 to be exact.

Try looking in the six New England states (ME,NH, VT, MA, RI, CT)

 

[3dogs]

I have a stock 05 with a PCIII. The PC made a real difference. I originally uploaded the Wally Smoothness map and my MPG dropped about 4 mpg. I modified the mid range RPM/Part Throttle cells and got the MPG back up to stock (about 43 to 46 mpg on the hwy). My fuel map has the best of both fuel econ as well as smoother acceleration at all RPMS. The map also solves the surging problem that I had at 70 mph and part throttle. The PC is worth getting for even a stock bike. Thoses that say it doesn't make any difference have not ridden my bike (or one with a proper map installed on a PC).

 

[gixxerjasen]

If you are worried about the fuel mileage, here's something I posted on another thread.

It WILL affect the mpg's as shown on your display. As for real MPG's as calculated based on fill up and miles traveled....here ya go.
Before G2 and PCIII

42.5, 42.9, 43.2, 42.0, 41.9, 43.2

After G2 and PCIII - Bold indicates SS1K run, the rest is pretty much daily commuting.

41.1, 38.7, 40.0, 41.9, 45.1, 39.5, 43.5, 46.0, 46.6, 42.6, 42.5, 42.2, 41.9, 43.1, 42.3, 42.8, 40.6

Take a look, and tell me if you think that hit on MPG's is bad enough to not do the mods.

 

[mocheeks77]

I appreciate all the input.

It looks like there really isn't a reason other than beign cheap to put one on