Now that makes sience. If you dont have the avalability to have a dyno done, then TTS is for you. I would like to see a system come out that tunes your bike while you ride. No more dyno crap. I wonder if thundermax had done that yet ?

 

Thundermax would be great, but not available yet for TBW equipped bikes. PITA, I figure.

 

Fact is, they are lots of people around that know how to tune with the TTS including just about anyone that has one. A worthwhile feature of the TTS is allowing the owner to tune the ECM themselves without a dyno or "ordering" a map each time a change is made to the motor/fuel/AC/exhaust (you get the idea).



A more accurate statement might be that 90% of the bikes out there have no tuning system beyond what came stock from the factory.

But I will admit that if someone's not going to take the time to understand and learn a tuning system like the TTS, they'll just have to settle for mediocre.

 

Not too far down the road is "remote" tuning. Ride the bike, collect the data, and send it off via something like the internet. Then get back a "tune" ready to download.

 

Both Thundermax and PCV with auto tune attempt to do this for a price. Good theory but technology for the street is a compromise (sensor accuracy for one) and is not there yet. In practice it seems the auto tuners do just about as well as the average owner using a TTS tuning kit with with less fuss and $. I hear of several TTS owners that carefully followed the V-Tune instructions, then took the bike to a dyno tuner only to be told the tune was spot on, no improvements offered.

You can get into more esoteric tuning with any tool (some provide more buttons to adjust), including timing, for which you do need a good understanding of EFI to be effective (and perhaps a lot of spare time on your hands). Those pros that race, tune more to EGT to get as much heat (power) out of the fuel for the track time and quality race fuel without burning valves or pistons. Track and street tune have two very different objectives, I think. On the street you don't have as consistent quality fuel and you need to be able to run for hours without issue over varying temperature and altitude... decent mpg is more of a consideration.

So I think it comes down to what works for you, most riders can easily get a lot of riding satisfaction with a TTS do it yourself tune. If you only care about seat of the pants power and torque, I think many of the PC and fuelpack solutions would satisfy. If you just want to ride, just run stock....

As far as TTS vs SEST, I think I hear that the TTS is easier to use and a better tool than the SEST. Decent tuners could use either, but they general prefer the current TTS with or without the V-Tune feature.

 

Where did you get this info from? I've observed none of what you've described.

 

I just tuned my Sportster today with the SE Super Tuner. The software loaded in a Windows XP laptop. I updated the software, flash the VCI then flashed the ECM with the shipped map for stage I that comes with the SE Super Tuner software. Everything was very straight forward. I recorded a test ride and compared with the loaded map. The VE values are pretty close so I just keep the stock SE map. I will probably fine tune the bike again in summer when I ride a lot more. The performance gain is huge. I haven't figured out how much hp and torque gain yet but the bike used to climb a stiff ramp near my house in gear #3 or even #2 sometimes, now it rides thru the ramp in #4 easily. Acceleration is a lot more aggressive, a lot more torque at each gear. I feel like everything doubled. I am not really into racing but I wanted my bike to response quicker with the throttle and I am very happy so far with just stage 1 upgrade. I believe, with stage 2 and higher mods, you will unleash a monster out of a XL1200 engine.

 

Has there been any updates to the SEP Super Tuner? Most of the info in this thread is over a year old. The reason I am asking is that currently I am leaning towards the TTS however, the TTS is not available for a 2011 Softail, so I am left with either waiting for the TTS or getting the SEPST now. I already have pipes on the bike and the AC will be here in a day or two.

 

The SEPST is a good tuner and will do everything you want. You won't have to lug around a laptop for data collection and Smart Tuning.

Why wait. You can get the best deal from Zannotti's.

 

The SEPST will calculate your VE tables with use of the Smart Tune feature. You can view different tables on the SAME laptop at the same time with the SEPST. The misinformation about the SEPST is astounding. Neither one requires a dyno. Either one will do what you need.