Your two posts read such that you did the hardware without the remap such that you didn't actually complete the stage 1 upgrade. Doing that would of made the mixture lean and no wonder you thought it was a waste.

By purchasing the tuner you were able to match the petrol required for the air your bike could breath thus completing the stage 1 upgrade.

I did the reverse - I got a tuner and richened the mixture whilst still having the stock hardware and it made a marked difference to the way the engine ran.

 

I got the bike from the dealer new, it had screaming eagle pipes but stock air cleaner, I installed a screaming eagle air cleaner and paid for the stage one download to change the the air fuel ratio... I noticed almost no improvement....I rode it a while then decided to buy a power commander 3 pre loaded with a map from Fuelmoto and it made a significant difference that I noticed.

i should’ve just went the Fuelmoto way right off the bat but the bike was new and under warranty...All part of my learning experience I guess...

 

I bet using the HD tuning service would of corrected the fuel ratio for high flow air filter but still set lean to comply with your EPA.

 

yes it was very weak because of compliance. When I say stage 1 I mean with a factory download. I think some refer to it as just slipons and a air cleaner...I really don’t know what all the stages are.
plus I’ve changed so much in 13 years and 105000 miles.