Thundermax writes it's own maps based off of the data it gets from the wide band O2 sensors. They are Bosch sensors and very accurate. I have one on my 2007 1200c. I have changed intake and exhaust a couple of times since. After a few rides it set the tune itself. It's important to note that you need to hold the throttle in the places where it is rough until it smoothes out. No i don't recommend it for racing. But for boost and daily use nothing is better for the shade tree evo mechanic. Trask recommended thundermax for their turbos last I looked. But yea wait until you're out of warranty before screwing with tuners outside of HD approved.

 

As I stated, I'm not sure on the warranty work. You can look up the Magnuson Moss Warranty Act for a better idea of your rights.

As for Thundermax, if you can tune a carbureted bike's fuel and set the timing, you can do the same thing with a Thundermax. The difference is you'll do it through a computer. I use a little laptop with the program installed. Once you understand what the maps mean, it's pretty simple. Just tell T-Max what Air/Fuel ratio you want and it'll make it happen, thanks to the wide-band oxygen sensors. And, as an added bonus, you can adjust fueling all the way from idle to WOT. You can't do that with the OEM narrow-band sensors.

For me, it's even simpler than tearing down a carb and changing jets. But, that all depends on how comfortable you are with a computer. The nice thing is, you can download the program and play with it without anything connected (don't even have to have a T-Max) so you can get a feel for it and understand better what everything does. Cycle Solutions has some good videos on tuning.

I guess you could say I'm a fanboi for T-Max. Guilty as charged. But, I've used several other tuning programs and I'm comfortable with a laptop. That's why I just bought my third T-Max for my new bike. I looked at other tuners and T-Max just offers me the most tunability. YMMV. There are so many other way to tune bikes, it comes down to choosing the one that's right for you and being satisfied every time you twist the throttle. Good luck!

 

I will be adding this tuner, a 468 cam, and Boarzilla to my 117 engine in November. Regarding the tuning and using a laptop, do you know if the software works with a Mac or do you need a Windows-based PC?

Thanks

 

That is a GOOD question. I use a PC, or more accurately, a cheap laptop. Not sure if you can run the ThunderMax program on a Mac. I would probably ask the folks at T-Max. Their support folks have always been very responsive to any questions I've had. support@thunder-max.com
Sorry I couldn't help any further.

 

I appreciate the response, I will contact them. If it's PC only, I have a couple of 10-year old PCs I might be able to use - not a big issue to go buy a cheapie either as the prices are minimal. Macs aren't cheap though and mine is 8 years old now LOL. I'd have to re-learn Windows hahaha.

 

I run Parallels on Mac for PV WinPV and Powercore.