Sorry is this seems like a basic question, but can the forum members help me out with the differences between the SERT, Power Commander and Vance&Hines Fuelpaks?

I have a 2008 Street Bob and this is my first Harley. Slowly but surely making the mods to it. Right now I am just running the Vance&Hines Short Shots as exhaust with no modifications to the air intake or EFI. My next step will be just that, but I am a little lost as to the various tuner moduals.

Please consider (sadly) that right now, price is a major consideration here. Secondly, this is my first bike and I am 40. What I'm trying to say is that you might catch me going down the freeway at speeds that could get me a ticket, but you aren't going to catch me racing some guy from light to light. I am just looking for the best value in a tuning modual that will get me from point A to point B with no hassles. I understand something like the SERT is a better system, but would something like the Fuelpak serve my purposes for about half the price? Can you give me the pros and cons of the various systems?

Can anyone running a V&H Fuelpak give me your personal opinions?

 

SERT is probably much more than you need. The fuelpak is pretty easy to do along with the PC. The maps for PC are easily downloaded to the pc via USB. If you plan to do major engine mods down the road like a big bore kit (96" to 103"+) then get the pc. Fuelpak doesn't use maps. You go to V&H site, choose what you have and it will give you the values to enter into the cells on the fuelpak. Easy enough.

 

A SERT locks you into having it programmed by the dealer or some one who's trained to program it.. A PC you can buy with a map that would serve your needs, and you could have it fine tuned by having it run on a dyno, a Sert or PC could also be programmed for future mods such as cams and big bore kits. A fuel Pak comes with setting to program for your pipe and air intake, and hopefully these work for your bike as you can't have it dyno tuned, and it a Vance and Hines secret as to how whst the diffent setting do. Some people have never been alble to get their Fuel Pak right and would up replacing it. I have a PC-5 from Fuel Moto and the bike runs great.

 

If you want personal opinions on the fuelpak, be prepared to get what you wish for. The opinions vary and range from love it to hate it. I have it and it works great for me but others have reported that it didn't work for them. I know that the fuelpak codes are only created and tested to be used with stage 1 air cleaners so you would need to add that. And that may be the case for the other units as well, although I imagine the SERT could be dyno-tuned to whatever you want to use.

The reason I went with fuelpak is because I knew I was never going to want to do any engine mods or anything exotic to where it would require special tuning. I simply wanted to run stage 1 components and have the fuel adjusted to handle it. For me, it does that just fine. Fuelpak is not a tunable device. You have specific settings for a given bike, pipes, and air cleaner, and you plug the codes in and you ride. There is no adjustment unless you call Vance and Hines and they give you adjustments to the codes.

Power Commander and SERT are tunable but can also be setup with "canned maps" that are specific to your bike, pipes, and a/c. I know that you can order a PCIII from fuel-moto pre-programmed to your specs.

In my opinion, fuelpak is the cheapest and simplest way to go and SERT is on the far other end of the spectrum. To me a SERT is overkill if you aren't going to invest the time and money to get it dyno-tuned. PCIII lies somewhere in the middle in my opinion. If I wasn't sure what I wanted now or in the future, and didn't or couldn't spend the SERT money, I'd go with the PCIII.

 

ha ha ha ha NOT TRUE!!!! i tuned mine not hard at all! If you plan on doing motor work go with the SERT... if not Fuelpack is fine... doing motor work down the line, you may as well get the SERT

 

I have a FuelPak and the bike could be tuned better for sure, but it runs fine.

Personally I wish I had gone for a PCIII or SERT (not that i still cant) instead.

 

From personal experience i would not go with the Fuel Pak...... it seems they work for some but not all..... it did,nt for me. I,d go for something that can be tuned like a Sert or PC111. I went with the PC111 and it works great.
If money is an issue i,d wait and save the money and buy a unit such as mentioned.

 

From the prices I've seen lately, Fuelpack PCIII and PC-V are all in the same ballpark for price. I'm leaning heavily towards the PC-V because later I can add an auto-tune module if I wish.

 

I have a 2009 Street Bob with the factory security system. Even without the optional siren, there was not enough room to stuff the FuelPak and wiring harness into the "frame opening under the seat" as the FuelPak instructions suggest. I purchased the FuelPak without too much investigation and based largely upon the opinion of a single individual at West End Motorsports, who bashed the Screamin Eagle Race Tuner. My mistake. After much investigation (and agonizing about having spent $252 on the FuelPak), I bought the SERT and sold the FuelPak on the H-D Classifieds. The SERT was very easy to hookup, then download the "canned" map that most closely matched my setup. I installed V&H big radius 2-into-2 fitted with Thunder Monster baffles onto my Bob. Also installed the Screamin Eagle stage I heavy breather A/C. With this setup, I used canned map #67. The bike pulls hard and doesn't pop on deceleration. Haven't looked at the plugs yet, but intend to after several hundred more miles. The mileage went from about 45 mpg to about 42 mpg, so I think the canned map must be pretty close. Someday I might take it to be dyno'd, but I'll look for a shop with a good reputation. The local dealer says "any of our techs can do that," which I seriously doubt. Although the canned map is easy to install, you really need to know what you're doing to properly tune a bike with the SERT while on the dyno.

One more thing to consider about the FuelPak--I've heard that a defective FuelPak can fry the ECM (engine control module). Then you'd be looking to buy a new ECM and either a SERT or Power Commander. That would really suck!

By the way, this is my first Harley as well, and I love it! Good luck with your Bob!

 

A couple of good resources:
http://www.harley-davidson-forum.net...ead.php?t=7227
http://www.nightrider.com/biketech/m...i_upgrades.htm