When I bought my bike last fall, I had the dealer install Rush Slip-Ons and a SE Air Cleaner and do a "Download" Map.

To me, the bike seems to run pretty well.

I want to make sure the bike is running as good as possible and I don't want it running any hotter than it needs to, but I don't want to throw money away on an unneeded Dyno Tune either.

For those of you that started with a "Download" and later had a Dyno Tune with a SERT, did you notice any major improvement?

 

Well let's see. There are several thousand forum members, so you will probably get close to that many opinions. However, almost all will agree on one point. The HD download is a waste of money. It does nothing but raise your rpm limiter. I have Rush slipons with K&N a/c (came from the dealer that way) on my '09 Heritage. It runs very well but a bit on the warm side. I have since added a PC V to it. Mostly for performance improvements. The PC V gives it quicker throttle response and seems a bit more power. As I said though a lot of this is personal preference. So good luck.

 

Had the "dealer download" done when the bike was new.Stage one air cleaner and pipes.Ran like crap.Surging in town when hot and alot of decel popping.
Put a ThunderMax on and it ran alot better,but I still had popping at times.Even with the decel fuel cutout enabled.I would get a pop when shifting.
Well I went back to the stock ecm and bought a SE pro super tuner.Loaded the closet map and the bike runs great.No more decel popping.I can't tell on the heat issue yet as its still cold out.When the weather warms up I'll do a couple of smart tunes and we'll see how it does.I haven't had it dynoed and not sure yet if I will.
Now I am not knocking the ThunderMax.but I just couldn't get it to my satisfaction.Gas milage was only 35 per gal.at best and I just got tired of playing with it.I just want to ride.A lot of people have good luck with them.
So in answering your question,yes it will run alot better with a tuner and a dyno.

 

I'm running into this right now. Had my sporty converted from a 883 to a 1200 using Harley parts. Dealer doesn't want to tune it until it breaks in (1000 miles.) So they loaded it with new maps that they said will allow me to get around, though I may run into a few pops from the exhaust.

100 miles later I'm continuously popping and surging at any constant speed over 2500 RPMs. Went back to the dealer today to find that they only have 1 guy that tunes and maps and he's hospitalized until who knows when.......

That being said, whenever the bike was tuned it ran with no issues at all.

 

I would research all your available options before jumping, and then make a very educated decision about which one is right for you.

Thundermax w/auto-tune
TTS Mastertune
PowerCommander V (with or without auto-tune)
Whatever the latest software is called from the dealer (sert/sepst/etc).

I'm sure I may have forgotten one or two.

 

I did exactly what you are talking about.
HP increased by 1.69 and torque increased .53
There was a big difference in air/fuel balance.
BUT... the bike is back at the Dealers..they are going to re-dyno because of excessive decell pop

 

I won't argue that a tune is better but mine has no surging or popping with just the download.

 

Didn't do a download, thought it was a waste of money....

did stg1 and sert and dyno at the 1k service,,, ran and started flawless..

to make a realy noticebale difference U have to do some cams...

do all the above with a change to syn oil in all three hole and then U'll notce a big difference in power and Ur motor will run 25-30 * cooler and a lot stronger....

 

Altitude plays a role in this decision also.

There are a lot of different downloads - some with devices you put on your bike and ride around for a day... then the tuner dials in your map based on what that device recorded.. others are just brainless downloads...

Honestly I don't know much about them.. but I suspect most are pretty generic.

As I said at the start, altitude is an issue. A download set to run a bike at sea level won't be optimum if you live at 7000+ ft elevation (which I do).

Downloads are generally cheaper - and could be good for your general riding, if you fit into whatever "normal" the creators of the download have decided... and if you live at a moderate to low elevation.

If you can afford it.. go with SERT or some other tuner, and find a good technician.

 

I bought my bike with the download and it runs great, I won't spend the extra money on a tuner and dyno tune. But if my bike was new and I was adding a stage one I'd get a tuner because upgrades to the engine don't always end with just a stage one.