Dyno tune Trike

have you tried using the Dynojet web site and their dyno locator

http://www.dynojet.com/DynoCenters/D...a_distance=250

it looks like there may be a shop with a 250ix dyno near the Rockingham Dragway

http://www.ehsracing.com/

check them out or use the Dynojet locator

I hesitate recommending dyno services who do ATV's as their primary business, especially when someone has a turbo or supercharged combination. If the shop doesn't have someone familiar with tuning a Harley it might not end well. There was a video floating around on another forum a few years ago where a poor souls engine grenaded on a dyno. The tech was used to tuning Harley's, he just screwed the pooch. He forgot to turn off the dyno brake when he opened the throttle for a WOT pull, the combination of too high of a gear and a dyno brake on scattered the guys engine. You would hear the carnage when it went boom.
 
I hesitate recommending dyno services who do ATV's as their primary business, especially when someone has a turbo or supercharged combination. If the shop doesn't have someone familiar with tuning a Harley it might not end well. There was a video floating around on another forum a few years ago where a poor souls engine grenaded on a dyno. The tech was used to tuning Harley's, he just screwed the pooch. He forgot to turn off the dyno brake when he opened the throttle for a WOT pull, the combination of too high of a gear and a dyno brake on scattered the guys engine. You would hear the carnage when it went boom.

m3, that is why TT is so great for info, guys like you that know what going on and the description of total destruction is just one great plus.

I've seen car & truck engines explode on dynos, but I sure don't want to be around a bike engine explosion, not much to stop the flying parts!!:AGGHH::D
 
m3, that is why TT is so great for info, guys like you that know what going on and the description of total destruction is just one great plus.

I've seen car & truck engines explode on dynos, but I sure don't want to be around a bike engine explosion, not much to stop the flying parts!!:AGGHH::D

If the person operating the dyno doesn't know what he is doing, damage is possible. My 06 Ultra has spent many of sessions on a dyno. I did happen to come across the one dyno I was talking about, the video is kind of long, it doesn't get good until the 6 minute mark, and boom in the 7 minute area .
 
Mike, Thanks for the video, the look on the operators face:AGGHH: after he moves his leg & looks at the camera tells it all :Shrug::confused:

I'll bet he had to clean his shorts afterward. When the guy who owns the bike posted the video on another forum there were a couple dyno operators who keyed right into where he screwed up. 2 of them instantly said he made the fatal pull with the dyno brake engaged, they saw where he hurried up and turned it off when the engine let go. The brake on the dyno is used to put load on the engine to test areas of the map which requires load to do so, when engaged you can really hear it pull the engine down. It is only engaged while at a steady state, not when the throttle is closed and then opened for a WOT pull.

One of the many reasons I won't let someone dyno any of my Harley's who doesn't know how to tune one. I've trailer'd bikes and trikes 200 - 500 miles to be placed on a dyno and tuned by a competent tuner. We have an ATV shop which is only 8 miles from my home, they have a DJ250ix dyno which would take a trike. Only way I would put one on their dyno is if they allowed me to work with the operator. Even then I would be hesitant because they could do something before I could say don't.

- - - Updated - - -

oops

:cxtv:

That would be one sick feeling in the pit of the stomach for sure. The dealer who scattered it actually stepped up and helped obtain a new engine for it.
 
My wife had a FRANKENSTEIN kit put on her 1200 Sportster, along with new short exhaust and new cleaner. My local guys tried twice to reset maps without a dyno but it never tuned well. Still backfires.
I called a local dealer with a trike Dyno machine and they quoted $350 to tune it. I already have the SS plug in for tuning before it was a trike and ran great with the first set of pipes/cleaner upgrades ( not the same as new ones on the trike).
This fee seems ridiculous to me!! That is almost 4 hours labor!! Has anyone ACTUALLY WATCHED their dyno tune to see how long it took. I can't hardly believe more than an hour could be used. I mean ACTUALLY WATCHED OR DONE, not stories?
 
My wife had a FRANKENSTEIN kit put on her 1200 Sportster, along with new short exhaust and new cleaner. My local guys tried twice to reset maps without a dyno but it never tuned well. Still backfires.
I called a local dealer with a trike Dyno machine and they quoted $350 to tune it. I already have the SS plug in for tuning before it was a trike and ran great with the first set of pipes/cleaner upgrades ( not the same as new ones on the trike).
This fee seems ridiculous to me!! That is almost 4 hours labor!! Has anyone ACTUALLY WATCHED their dyno tune to see how long it took. I can't hardly believe more than an hour could be used. I mean ACTUALLY WATCHED OR DONE, not stories?

That price is actually cheap, I've paid on average $400 - $500 with one tune being closer to $700. Don't just look at it based on a labor rate, you have to consider the folks doing the tuning are working out of a 6 figure dyno cell. The Dyno it self is a touch over $70,000, then throw in fans, exhaust, noise control, computers and a host of other odds and ends. Most places have a special room constructed just for the dyno.

tgondyno(1).jpg
 
I street tune and dyno tune.

A street tune can take all day

A dyno tune can take an average of 4 hours or more.

Fact:

Some tuners roll your bike in and do one heck of a job tuning it. You can feel the difference and see the TQ band in the chart.

Some tuners roll your bike in and do a chart run, change a few things on the fuel mixture table and print out a chart from another bike and hand it to you. Charging you for a full tune.

You asked for real and seen events not stories... OK, here's one.

I looked at a dyno tune per request from a member on the other site. I compared his tune to the original library calibration from the tuning manufacturer. There were no changes. The dyno operator flashed the library calibration and went to lunch charging $400 bucks for his work.

Here's another... A very well known person sent four, count them 1, 2, 3, 4 new calibrations to his customer when the customer complained about the calibration being used as a so-called "Dyno tune specifically for the bike components". After trying all four (4) of these manipulated calibrations sent by this person I was asked to look at what was going on. All four (4) calibrations sent to this customer were identical in all ways with only one change... The name of the file.

Last one... I had someone from the other forum give their bike to a Dyno operator for a tune using a popular flash tuner. The bike was picked up after paying the $385 for the tune. A dyno chart was handed to the owner with his receipt. The owner wasn't very satisfied so he asked the dyno operator to look at it again. He picked up his bike and wasn't very satisfied for a second time. This owner asked me to remote into his computer and look at his tune. I searched for a flashed file but didn't find one. Come to find out the tuning device was not married to any bike at all. The dyno operator just handed the guy a sheet from another bike, collected $385 and gave the bike back to the customer. That's right... let me be clear. The tuner was not married to the ECM so the bike was never flashed with any calibration. After presenting his case to the owner the dyno operator lost his job and money refunded.

These are real life cases and examples of operators not doing their job. There are way more stories that I have with great dyno or street tuning results. $400, give or take 50 bucks, is a proper rate to pay for a tune. If you don't want to pay that or take your chances with someone else tuning your bike then do what I did years ago... learn how to do it yourself. It doesn't take a Wizard. :D
 
I had 2 trikes dynoed by the same shop. I was there in the shop both times the whole time watching the work. First tune was to a 2007 HD 103 Police Roadking with a Champion conversion. The interface was a Power Commander III. The tune took 5 hours. The second was a 2013 HD Tri SE tuner and the tune took 6 hours. The tuner person took a 1 hr lunch a 2 smoke breaks. A good tune does take time.
 
Dyno Tuning you trike; getting your money's worth....

A good point has been raise, how do we know we are getting our money's worth when we get a dyno tune from a shop? This is a question, I HAVE PONDERED A LOT OVER THIS WINTER.......

Now, my plan was to take my trike to Roeders Racing; and they have a really good reputation; I am given to understand. When I talked to them on it at the beginning of winter, they told me they would nee the trike for a couple of days and the cost would be around $500.00.

So, that was my game plan. I even pre-bought a Harley Race Tuner as recommended for the tune.

But now, over winter I have been reading about the ProVision system and one of its significant aspects is its ability to teach itself.

So, now here is the question to ponder:

Is it better to get a dyno tune, or to invest that money into a tuning system that can teach itself?

I keep seeing the $500.00 for the dyno-tune as a one-shot deal....but, that same money into a tuning system that can teach itself as more flexible and a better investment toward the entire lifecycle of the trike and the changes I could make to the trike long-term.

So, what do you guys think?

Springman
 
A good point has been raise, how do we know we are getting our money's worth when we get a dyno tune from a shop? This is a question, I HAVE PONDERED A LOT OVER THIS WINTER.......

Now, my plan was to take my trike to Roeders Racing; and they have a really good reputation; I am given to understand. When I talked to them on it at the beginning of winter, they told me they would nee the trike for a couple of days and the cost would be around $500.00.

So, that was my game plan. I even pre-bought a Harley Race Tuner as recommended for the tune.

But now, over winter I have been reading about the ProVision system and one of its significant aspects is its ability to teach itself.

So, now here is the question to ponder:

Is it better to get a dyno tune, or to invest that money into a tuning system that can teach itself?

I keep seeing the $500.00 for the dyno-tune as a one-shot deal....but, that same money into a tuning system that can teach itself as more flexible and a better investment toward the entire lifecycle of the trike and the changes I could make to the trike long-term.

So, what do you guys think?

Springman

Roeders Racing is a good shop, I'd take one to them if need be. Them needing it a couple days means they are taking the time to do it right, they are making sure they adjust any tables for a good cold start, and also a hot start. A truly good tune is much more than setting the AFR and VE tables, which is what most folks who tune their own do. Timing is a good example, sometimes more can be had by working on the timing tables, not every engine likes the same thing. With timing sometime less is more also, less timing can increase torque, it can also make the engine run smoother when done right.

Only you can answer whether or not a DIY tune is best for you, and whether or not you can do it. I will say a mild cam swap or stock engine tune is much easier than something with wilder cams, ported heads and higher compression.
 
A good point has been raise, how do we know we are getting our money's worth when we get a dyno tune from a shop? This is a question, I HAVE PONDERED A LOT OVER THIS WINTER.......

Now, my plan was to take my trike to Roeders Racing; and they have a really good reputation; I am given to understand. When I talked to them on it at the beginning of winter, they told me they would nee the trike for a couple of days and the cost would be around $500.00.

So, that was my game plan. I even pre-bought a Harley Race Tuner as recommended for the tune.

But now, over winter I have been reading about the ProVision system and one of its significant aspects is its ability to teach itself.

So, now here is the question to ponder:

Is it better to get a dyno tune, or to invest that money into a tuning system that can teach itself?

I keep seeing the $500.00 for the dyno-tune as a one-shot deal....but, that same money into a tuning system that can teach itself as more flexible and a better investment toward the entire lifecycle of the trike and the changes I could make to the trike long-term.

So, what do you guys think?

Springman

Just to fill you in on a little more information.

No tuner, not the SEPro you purchased, not the Power Vision nor the TTS or any other tuning device on the market can teach itself. You may be misunderstanding what may be called either the, "Smart Tune" or "Auto Tune" or "VTune" as an automatic learning device where you can do a plug and play then forget it. These are programs available to you for using the tuning product. This software will assist you with recording data so it can be applied to a better calibration to install/Flash in to your bike computer or ECM.

The only device that teachs itself is the ECM. It uses adaptive values which overlay the calibration file in the ECM. Each time you Key on/ Key off your bike these adaptive values are added to improve your performance.

Paying a good Dyno guy is usually the ticket if you don't have time to learn the tuning software however, if you plan on doing more motor upgrades/modifications in the future then you will need to pay the tuner again.
 
Roeders Racing is a good shop, I'd take one to them if need be. Them needing it a couple days means they are taking the time to do it right, they are making sure they adjust any tables for a good cold start, and also a hot start. A truly good tune is much more than setting the AFR and VE tables, which is what most folks who tune their own do. Timing is a good example, sometimes more can be had by working on the timing tables, not every engine likes the same thing. With timing sometime less is more also, less timing can increase torque, it can also make the engine run smoother when done right.

Only you can answer whether or not a DIY tune is best for you, and whether or not you can do it. I will say a mild cam swap or stock engine tune is much easier than something with wilder cams, ported heads and higher compression.

Yes, I am very sure that Roeders can and will do a first rate job; it's why I sought them out in the first place. But as you say, is it my best path? It very well may be, as I am by far not the savviest in the tuning realm.

I now see the key to this question is in my abilities....maybe it is best to stay with my original plan and enlist Roeder's services....they have a lot more experience...

As for motor-work, I want to keep mine simple: I changed the air cleaner and mufflers; decatting the headpipe; and, I think I want to go with the TTS-100 cams; also, I decided to upgrade the charging system. That is all I think I will do on the motor for a while......

Springman
 

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