I heard this a couple of times now about the power commander when changing exhaust systems. I had V&H longshots put on my '02 over the winter. I have not put a power commander on yet. Is it necessary on every 1500? What exactly does the power commander do? Will it hurt the bike or performance to run without one? We are getting close to finishing the makeover and the riding season is upon us here so I would like to be ready and not have any issues when it's time to take her out for the first run of the year. Thank you all for the help and advice!
Pete . . .
You don't need one if your only engine mod is pipes. I run the same pipes on mine and found that the improved breathing actually improved performance. I would suggest doing the reed / coaster valves or at least marbling the system though. It'll take care of the exhaust popping you'll likely have after this change. I marbled and put a small hose clamp on each side of the marble to keep it in place. It's been there since 2008 with no issues. Here's some info on these mods....
http://www.gadgetjq.com/smogstuffremove.htm
http://www.gadgetjq.com/rv_removal.htm
Thanks, I did read about the reed valve issue, popping and whistles and will either marble or remove them. I have to wait to get my bike back before I can make these mods. Thanks for the advice. Greatly appreciated! I will post more pics when I get her back. Just received my Corbin two up the other day and dropped my single seat off to be re-upholstered in a dark brown. Looking to weld and rack for the back of my single seat so I can put a small backpack to go to work. Again, have to wait til I get my bike back to do that. I'm still planning on getting a set of Osprey bags for the two up for trips with my better half. Gettin' real itchy! Take care.
Pete . . .
Quote from: nhtrikes on March 14, 2013, 07:26:25 AM
Thanks, I did read about the reed valve issue, popping and whistles and will either marble or remove them. I have to wait to get my bike back before I can make these mods. Thanks for the advice. Greatly appreciated! I will post more pics when I get her back. Just received my Corbin two up the other day and dropped my single seat off to be re-upholstered in a dark brown. Looking to weld and rack for the back of my single seat so I can put a small backpack to go to work. Again, have to wait til I get my bike back to do that. I'm still planning on getting a set of Osprey bags for the two up for trips with my better half. Gettin' real itchy! Take care.
Pete . . .
What kind of re-upholsterer did you take your solo seat to? A car seat place, or some other leatherwork place?
A private guy, his business is called West Side Uphostery. He's been an upholsterer for over 30 years doing everything from furniture to cars, motorcycles & boats. He only does motorcycles and boats now as he is had medical problems with joints for the past 10 years. Doesn't advertise, just word of mouth jobs as he can't keep up if it gets too busy. Works out of his barn. Only does one or two jobs a week depending on how difficult it is. I showed him my Corbin 2-up and asked about putting in gel if I find it to hard, said he wouldn't touch it. Leather is glued to seat throughout, pan is fiberglass and riveted, too difficult because of his medical issues. He said he would be afraid he couldn't get it to look as good as it does now. He's a perfectionist. He does great work on the jobs he does take but is obviously picky on what he will and won't take for jobs. Take care,
Pete . . .
Thanks for the info, Pete! 8)
Sorry for getting off-topic. Now back to our regularly-scheduled program.
USUALLY, you don't need an add-on box for just a pipe change, assuming you don't do an air box change at the same time. But not all pipes are made equal. I did need one when I changed from oem to BUBs big willys. I got a Cobra FI2000 which corrected the decel popping problem I had at stock settings.
For simple installation and correction I suggest the mapless controllers like the Cobra box. With a PC you should get the bike dyno'd for best performance.
Hmmm, I have the V&H Longshots with the baffles that come with them, like the OP, and only needed to marble the engine to have it running right.
What exactly does the add-on box do? Adjust air intake for the FI? Not planning on touching the airbox right now, Chief, though you never know ;). How will I know if I need to add one? What are the symptoms I should be watching for that will let me know? I"m hoping my mechanic will take it for a test drive before giving it back to me, soon I hope, to let me know if it needs one. He said he didn't think so but wasn't sure. Sorry for the many questions :P! I've never messed with exhaust on a motorcycle before. My old bike, '76 Triumph Tiger 750 had a single carb and I only changed out the mufflers not the pipes. Might be selling her this summer, maybe not. Hard to part with her 'cause I've had her for 26 years, lotta memories.
If you get backfiring and/or deceleration popping... you will need to get something to control it.
The following might give you some background... this is the new one Cobra has but the essentials are there. The box just continuously monitors and adjusts the air/fuel mixture beyond what the EFi is capable of doing.
http://www.fi2000r.com/html/knowledge_center.php
I had a little popping before I marbled it. $1 for a bag of marbles and a couple of old hose clamps and the popping was gone.
I had already removed the smog stuff and used coasters, so "marbles" weren't needed. I prefer the coaster method and total removal of all that useless stuff. The Big Willy's breath well apparently so the box was necessary.
Quote from: nhtrikes on March 14, 2013, 13:13:16 PM
. . . . . I"m hoping my mechanic will take it for a test drive before giving it back to me, soon I hope, . . . .
And what makes you so sure the mechanic is going to give it back to you? He won't want to, after taking it out for a ride. ;) ;D
Thanks for education Chief! That link explained it pretty well, easy to understand. That Fi2000 is pretty amazing, what they can pack into a tiny little box nowadays! I will start with removing the reed valves 'cause I too like the cleaner cylinder look. It doesn't sound like I'll need the box but if she starts to act up, lack of power or continued popping, then I'll have to put one on. I'll contact Joe Norris so I can get those coasters before I get the bike back, I hope ;)
The mechanic did seem a little too excited the last time I saw him after the paint job, DC. Now ya got me even more worried. I don't who was drooling over the bike more, me or him. Kinda glad I have both seats right now, helps keep the mileage down :o
Take care,
Pete . . .
I put V&H pipes on mine, and I am running a Power Commander III USB; great unit, was having a bit of trouble programming it, so called them, a techy logged into my laptop while it was hooked to the bike and programmed it. No popping on decel, got more acceleration power, pipes run clean. Haven't looked at the Cobra unit though.... ???
The Cobra Fi2000 PowerPro doesn't seem to need programming. It's auto adjusting to all conditions with or without O2 sensors. It monitors the system more than 80 times per second and makes adjustments continously.
"This is the product that continuously tunes your fuel-injected motorcycle every time it accelerates. You get the perfect fuel so that your bike produces the most power every time you snap open the throttle." Cobra.
So they say. It's priced at @$200. I don't know if that's pricey or not. Hopefully I can get by without it, if not, I may have to dip into the piggy bank and get me one, unless of course the Power Commander is much more economical. It's great that they will help you program it, shows good support from the company.
Joe got back to me right away and has the coasters in stock. Ordered a set. One of several little projects when (hopefully) I get her back! I have another question regarding my Corbin 2 up seat but I'll start another thread for that.
Thanks again everyone!!!
Take care,
Pete . . .
The power commander is like 2x that much....
Ouch! Thanks for the info Troll . . . and I thought 200 was a lot :P
if you plan to have the bike dyno'd and you want the most adjustment go with the much more expensive PC - new model whatever that is - or one of its clones. There are existing maps which will help tune the bike... at least put it in the ballpark until you dyno.
For simplicity and a lower price, go with the Cobra or one of its clones/competitors. I wanted simplicity and the low price... There are others out there so you might want to do some research to determine which one serves your needed.
Finally found the time this weekend to remove the reed valves and associated emissions stuff and install the coasters. Those instructions from gadget's page were perfect. Very easy to follow. Hardest part was getting my fat fingers in there to remove the little clips from the hoses and getting the valve on top of the cylinders squeezed through the frame and cylinder heads. Took her for a ride and the less popping but seems to have more backfire. Either that or now I can hear more backfire on decel now that most of the popping noises are gone. Will have to go with a power commander. Is the backfiring a sign of running lean? I am looking at the Cobra FI2000 powerpro with CVT. Seems like the easiest and lowest price. It sounds like it will take care of the problem. Anyone have any experience with this model? Thanks!
Take care,
Pete
I run the 2001 1500 I have that has the straight cobras that were stock and its smooth and fast. I also have a 1500 nomad carb model and the drifter has a lot more pickup and go than the nomad by far.
surpriseingly though I have a 1200 voyager and it will outrun both of them. That inline four is a beast.
t6
It's probably unrelated, but I ran a can of Seafoam(tm) through a tank of gas and my backfiring is gone .. . . . . knock on wood.
I had similar decel popping and backfires after installing my Big Willys pipes (and doing the coaster mod). The Cobra FI2000 was perfect for me... worked out of the box, though I did make one tweak.
What tweak was that Chief? Did you adjust one of the pots? Will be attempting to put it in either tonight if it stops raining or tomorrow in the heat. Thanks!
Take care,
Pete
Yeah, one click on one pot... not a lot of difference but a bit. Try it straight first. It is intended for the pipes you have.
Thanks Chief, I'll let you know how I make out.
Put the FI2000 in last weekend and road a couple of days with pots set to factory. She seemed to pop/backfire after a while on a 2 1/2 hour ride mostly in the upper gears on decel after higher rpm rundown. I stepped pot 1 up one notch. Seemed to do the trick. Running very smooth on accel and decel. Might get 1 loud pop now and again but not often enough to bother me. Thanks for all the help again!