Simple Tuner

yegg

Member
Sep 18, 2015
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Is there such a thing as a simple tuner? I just got my CFR slip ons and am waiting to do a header or air intake. Everything I have read says I really do not need to tune for just slip ons but it would not be a bad idea anyway. The anyway is my current budget. I am going to pop them on right after I have the dealer do the first 1000 mile service. To be honest, I really do not see myself wanting to constantly tune the bike or make use of a ton of features. I just want to use a tuner after I make a change and then disconnect the thing and not worry about it. With that said,is there such a thing as a simple tuner?
 
I'll agree with Scott14sg. don't get any easier than the fp3. plug play. best $300 ive ever spent on my bike.
 
Doesn't get any easier than the Vance & Hines FP3 if you ask me.

I have an '09, and like yegg, I want sh*t to be as simple as possible. The FP3 is very impressive, but not compatible. Would the V&H FuelPak be the best avenue to head down?


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Just a quick reminder on FP3 to those that might find it not as useful as it may sound......if you are going to use it with V&H products then YES, it's the best thing out there however if you are going to use other product then you may find it not as good. I am using Freedom Performance True Dual with Liberty slip-on's and though the bike runs decent I am not getting full potential out of the setup I have. I spoke with a tech from V&H and he said because I use Freedom Performance True Dual I have to use Dresser Dual option which is not a performance tune and I can't expect much out of it which I refused to believe so I am checking with Freedom Performance tech support as they claim I should get 10-12HP from the full system and I also have Arlen Ness big sucker so I should be getting at least 15-18 +HP overall and I am not feeling that.

Dig deep before shelling out your hard earned $$$ so you won't be in my situation, if there isn't anything I can do then I may ditch FP3 or go with V&H Pro pipes 2 to 1 setup instead if that's what will give me more power than what I have now.....I will make sure I have this in writing from V&H before spending anymore of my hard earned $$$
 
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I have an '09, and like yegg, I want sh*t to be as simple as possible. The FP3 is very impressive, but not compatible. Would the V&H FuelPak be the best avenue to head down?


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I used the FuelPaK on my old V-Rod. It worked great, but had to manually "program" the numbers in. It worked perfect, but I also had V&H stuff on the V-Rod and I'd recommend that.
 
Just a quick reminder on FP3 to those that might find it not as useful as it may sound......if you are going to use it with V&H products then YES, it's the best thing out there however if you are going to use other product then you may find it not as good. I am using Freedom Performance True Dual with Liberty slip-on's and though the bike runs decent I am not getting full potential out of the setup I have. I spoke with a tech from V&H and he said because I use Freedom Performance True Dual I have to use Dresser Dual option which is not a performance tune and I can't expect much out of it which I refused to believe so I am checking with Freedom Performance tech support as they claim I should get 10-12HP from the full system and I also have Arlen Ness big sucker so I should be getting at least 15-18 +HP overall and I am not feeling that.

Dig deep before shelling out your hard earned $$$ so you won't be in my situation, if there isn't anything I can do then I may ditch FP3 or go with V&H Pro pipes 2 to 1 setup instead if that's what will give me more power than what I have now.....I will make sure I have this in writing from V&H before spending anymore of my hard earned $$$

Why not just use the autotune function then, starting with the dresser duals map? That is what it is there for. I'm also running Freedom Performance (Eagle) and Arlen Ness inverted and got ride of most all my lean decel popping after a good autotune. Sure feels better at midrange/top end now.
 
...got ride of most all my lean decel popping...

They added a new feature to get rid of decel popping so if you still have some you can give it 1 (or more depending on how much you have) firecrackers.

The best new thing is the speedo calibration. I checked mine again last night and it is spot on now to my GPS at 65 MPH.
 
They added a new feature to get rid of decel popping so if you still have some you can give it 1 (or more depending on how much you have) firecrackers.

The best new thing is the speedo calibration. I checked mine again last night and it is spot on now to my GPS at 65 MPH.

Yes, I did the speedo calibration as well with the new update. Nice!

The decel popping "firecracker" selection part seems a bit gimmicky to me since that is the very definition of running lean and a properly "tuned" air/fuel ratio bike shouldn't do that. Why would one want that?
 
[ty=velopod;46058]The decel popping "firecracker" selection part seems a bit gimmicky to me since that is the very definition of running lean and a properly "tuned" air/fuel ratio bike shouldn't do that. Why would one want that?

Read this:
http://wildfirehd.blogspot.com/2011/05/tech-tip-backfiring-or-popping-on.html?m=1[/QUOTE]

I understand the difference between deceleration "popping" and a backfire (which is why I used the term popping). I believe Vance & Hines actually increases fuel with rapid closing of the throttle (they even did this back with cabled throttle and the older Fuelpak - much easier with the new throttle-by-wire setup I would assume). On my old V-Rod with full V&H pipes and the older Fuelpak, even a 6k rpm abrupt throttle shut off gave a perfectly smooth dec growl that never had a pop at all. Perfect. I haven't quite got this yet with my Freedom Eagle pipes and Ness Inverted (that thing REALLY sucks in some air). The canned tune was decent, got a bit better after a careful autotune.
 
Why not just use the autotune function then, starting with the dresser duals map? That is what it is there for. I'm also running Freedom Performance (Eagle) and Arlen Ness inverted and got ride of most all my lean decel popping after a good autotune. Sure feels better at midrange/top end now.

I did use AutoTune and the outcome of it is not as it should, I am still lagging power low/mid range, high end range I have tons of power, I am happy with high end range but need a bit more out of low/mid range. I have tried aggressive mode, I will try Race 1.1 next for low range but not sure about mid range. I am still waiting on reply back from V&H support & Freedom Performance support.
 
OK, here is where I am at. I am on a tight budget (the wife is watching me like a hawk) and I bought new slip ons. I went with CFRs and they should be in tomorrow. My plan is to wait until I take my bike in for its first 1000 mile check up and have them do it. I seem to be getting conflicting information across the board and am very confused.

The dealer where I bought the bike and CFR both say I need a tuner.
Three independently polled dealers, 2 local and 1 not local, all say I do not need a tuner.
The reading I have done says I do not need a tuner. But then again I am a safe and vault guy, not a mechanic.

I am not changing my head pipes not my air cleaner at this time.

If I have to get a tuner, I am thinking, based on everyone's comments, here and elsewhere, that I am going to go with the Vance and Hines FP3.

Please help put my mind at ease.

Thanks.
 
OK, here is where I am at. I am on a tight budget (the wife is watching me like a hawk) and I bought new slip ons. I went with CFRs and they should be in tomorrow. My plan is to wait until I take my bike in for its first 1000 mile check up and have them do it. I seem to be getting conflicting information across the board and am very confused.

The dealer where I bought the bike and CFR both say I need a tuner.
Three independently polled dealers, 2 local and 1 not local, all say I do not need a tuner.
The reading I have done says I do not need a tuner. But then again I am a safe and vault guy, not a mechanic.

I am not changing my head pipes not my air cleaner at this time.

If I have to get a tuner, I am thinking, based on everyone's comments, here and elsewhere, that I am going to go with the Vance and Hines FP3.

Please help put my mind at ease.

Thanks.

No tuner needed for just free flowing mufflers. There are several threads available that have useful information. Access them using the search function.
In short; if the A/F ratio going into the engine via the intake system does not change then the exhaust coming out is not changed. The only thing you are changing by adding different muffs is the back pressure.
 
You do not need a tuner for just slip ons. Of course, Harleys run pretty lean right from the factory and you may run even leaner, but modern fuel injected/computer controlled engines can adjust fine (your O2 sensors are in your head pipes) to some variation, so true backfires are very unlikely (though you might hear some popping on decceleration).

I assume you are putting on pipes just for sound and to pay your "Harley Tax" then?
 
I assume you are putting on pipes just for sound and to pay your "Harley Tax" then?

What is the Harley Tax? But yes, I want a better sound. When I ride, to me, it sounds like nothing more than a loudly turning gear train.
 
OK, here is where I am at. I am on a tight budget (the wife is watching me like a hawk) and I bought new slip ons. I went with CFRs and they should be in tomorrow. My plan is to wait until I take my bike in for its first 1000 mile check up and have them do it. I seem to be getting conflicting information across the board and am very confused.

The dealer where I bought the bike and CFR both say I need a tuner.
Three independently polled dealers, 2 local and 1 not local, all say I do not need a tuner.
The reading I have done says I do not need a tuner. But then again I am a safe and vault guy, not a mechanic.

I am not changing my head pipes not my air cleaner at this time.

If I have to get a tuner, I am thinking, based on everyone's comments, here and elsewhere, that I am going to go with the Vance and Hines FP3.

Please help put my mind at ease.

Thanks.

I'll tell you what my dealership told me when I was considering the CFRs (14 SG). They said if I went with the CFRs I would need to upgrade my A/C and do a stage 1 download. I went with the screaming eagle 4" street cannons and the SE Agitator A/C with the download. No popping and plenty power


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This may sound silly, but to me, as a new rider, I like the "performance" I have now. Maybe if I rode something different and was told to expect something, it might matter. I just want a better sound. OK, maybe a bit less heat on my right leg too.
 
This may sound silly, but to me, as a new rider, I like the "performance" I have now. Maybe if I rode something different and was told to expect something, it might matter. I just want a better sound. OK, maybe a bit less heat on my right leg too.

I got off a gsxr1000 onto my SG. I too, like you just wanted better sound other than the sewing machine it sounded like. I heard a pair of the Street Cannons and loved the sound. I added the air cleaner and download and got a bit more power and the sound is awesome


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I'll tell you what my dealership told me when I was considering the CFRs (14 SG). They said if I went with the CFRs I would need to upgrade my A/C and do a stage 1 download. I went with the screaming eagle 4" street cannons and the SE Agitator A/C with the download. No popping and plenty power


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I call BS on that dealer. Just trying to sell you more stuff.
The CFR's are extremely free flowing and have a reputation for being hard to tune, most likely they do not provide enough back pressure as a result of the mild, low RPM friendly, cam provided in the stock HD engine. IMHO CFR muffs are more suitable for a stage 3 or 4 engine that live at higher RPM
The HD Street Cannons, HD air intake, and vin specific ECM download is a proven combo that makes the bike run well and efficiently. It's All that's needed for a very street able bike typically about 82-3 hp and around 98-100 tq
 


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