Powercommander! is it worth the price?

theyalldothat · Post by **theyalldothat** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 3:17 pm

Just looking for opinions, for a tag of approx 450.00, is the PC worth buying. Is it plug and play and how much noticable difference is there.

Thanks!

theyalldothat · Post by **theyalldothat** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 4:17 pm

anybody? doh!

BobFV1 · Post by **BobFV1** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 4:25 pm

You should be able to get one for about USD 300 or so - that's just the unit. not too difficult to install yourself. If you have a stock bike or one with more common mods (eg: Stainune can and K&N filter) then you can probably get a "map" to tune the bike which should be pretty good, but not as good as a custom map, which requires a dyno, a real good tech, and several hours.

I have one on my Yamaha R1, but that is primarily a track bike and it runs lean with the mods I have made to it. In my personal opinion, a PC on a Roadster, ridden primarily on the road, is not worth the investment. I would spend some of the money instead on diagnostic tools to keep the throttle bodies synch'ed up real well, and on some other mods like air and oil filters, etc.

Interested in what others have to say.

theyalldothat · Post by **theyalldothat** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 4:39 pm

Bob, what do you recommend for the very novice mechanic with regards to keeping the throttlebodies in sync? also, can you do they anytime without having the vavles adjusted first?

thanks

BobFV1 wrote:You should be able to get one for about USD 300 or so - that's just the unit. not too difficult to install yourself. If you have a stock bike or one with more common mods (eg: Stainune can and K&N filter) then you can probably get a "map" to tune the bike which should be pretty good, but not as good as a custom map, which requires a dyno, a real good tech, and several hours.

I have one on my Yamaha R1, but that is primarily a track bike and it runs lean with the mods I have made to it. In my personal opinion, a PC on a Roadster, ridden primarily on the road, is not worth the investment. I would spend some of the money instead on diagnostic tools to keep the throttle bodies synch'ed up real well, and on some other mods like air and oil filters, etc.

Interested in what others have to say.

AZ1150 · Post by **AZ1150** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 5:23 pm

I've got one on my K12RS with a Staintune exhaust. I ended up with 122 RWHP and 81 Ft. Lb. Tq. That's not bad for a K12 but it did require a lengthy dyno tune session and about $150 beyond the cost of the PC.

Is it worth it? Probably not, unless you're like me and just can't leave well enough alone.

You might give Chris at San Jose BMW a call. He probably has more experience tuning oilheads than anybody else and also sells Power Commanders for most current BMWs.

Harry

Post by **arkline** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 5:53 pm

Here's a not so old thread on the Power Commander III:

http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?t ... hlight=iii

Inconclusive...at best.

BobFV1 · Post by **BobFV1** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 7:28 pm

theyalldothat wrote:Bob, what do you recommend for the very novice mechanic with regards to keeping the throttlebodies in sync? also, can you do they anytime without having the vavles adjusted first?

You need a "TwinMax" or Carb Stix, a 10mm wrench, and a screwdriver - less than a USD 100 investment. Here's a great how-to:

http://advwisdom.hogranch.com/Wisdom/TBS4Dv1.0.pdf

If your bike has less than about 25K miles on it, then I would check the valve clearance when I did the throttle bodies - in any case they should both be done at no less than the factory-recommended 6K service intervals.

fnfalman · Post by **fnfalman** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:21 pm

I'll let you guys know how my Rockster will perform after PCIII installation and dyno tuning.

BTW, the BMW PCIII runs around $495.00 MSRP. Power Commander for other bikes run around low $300.00.

Post by **rdsmith3** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:29 pm

fnfalman wrote:BTW, the BMW PCIII runs around $495.00 MSRP. Power Commander for other bikes run around low $300.00.

shhh ... don't tell Dallara ... that is a 65% price premium for BMW

guest1 · Post by **guest1** » Fri Oct 07, 2005 2:02 pm

LOL, My thought it that when you mess with the stock mapping, that reliability will be affected? Any thoughts? As in , the mother ship dialed her in that way for a reason?

Post by **CycleRob** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 9:42 pm

I voted NO for the PC at it's $300 price tag. At $495, it's a no brainer.

The PC would have to require either a new/different O2 sensor or a disconnect from the stock one so the Motronic doesn't try to correct the PC's too rich mixture.

Post by **arkline** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 10:50 am

My understanding is that the "new" PowerCommander for the 1150R can be had with a new "wide band" oxygen sensor at ~$100 per. That and the PowerCommander itself jacks the price up to ~$600, a stunning achievement over the Techlusion. So far, I haven't seen any word of mouth that this thing is the best idea since pneumatic tires, so...

Post by **boxermania** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 7:13 pm

I don't want to be blamed for "I told you so", but I must side with my newly married friend and cohort CYCLEROB.

I would blow $500 on loose women and hard booze before a PC III, but don't tell the missus'

BTW....How's married life, old geezzer....has anything changed....

fnfalman · Post by **fnfalman** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 3:26 pm

I already blew plenty of money on good booze and loose women. It's time to spend some of it on a bike that I love.

Okay, got the PCIII installed. It is a wideband PCIII, so maybe that's why it's more expensive than a typical PCIII. It also comes with a new O2 sensor.

Bad news first: for some reasons the tuner's laptop doesn't communicate with the PCIII. So we can't tune the fuel map ratio and get rid of the big flat spot at around 5000-RPM.

However, it does work somewhat because the power curve is much smoother than before. It's generally the same shape with the flat spot, but instead of a bunch of little dips, the curve is more continuous. And it seems to gain a solid 5-hp and about 2-lbft of torque. The bike is a little more rev happy right now.

The standard PCIII comes with a map that sets the fuel-air ratio at 13.8 and that helped a lot with smoothing out the power curve, with the exception of the flat spot of which could be gotten rid of if we can get the PCIII to talk to the laptop.

The laptop is fine because the tuner just did a GSXR1000 before me. So the tuner will get with DynoJet and see why the PCIII isn't communicating with his computer.

Like I said, I was going to be the guinea pig and I'll keep you guys updated. However, is the price justifies the performance? Hell no. So why do it? Well, why not? It's only money. If I don't spend it on the bike, then I'll spend it on something else. Big deal.

dallara · Post by **dallara** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 4:02 pm

DUH-AMN!

Now they are even charging a "Roundel Tax" on Power Commanders!

$5 Ben Franklins for a PC-III? Sheese! For that it better solve all the "mapping issues" with the Oilheads...

Oh well, I have blown more money on that on booze, broads, bikes, etc. at one sitting, so I guess it is all in the eye of the beholder. Can't wait to hear how it works!

Cheers, and Good Luck!

Dallara