Dyno Tuning My ‘11 Storm

[SparkyMan]

Hi. I’ve had a ‘11 T-Bird Storm for a little more than a year. It came with air box delete, O2 sensor delete, unknown but likely freer-flowing exhaust (which I replaced with Dave Platt cans and Cat delete), as it’s a Cali bike the evap system has been removed, and a Power Commander V (PCV) with a tune for free flowing exhaust (to my knowledge this is the only tune available other than stock).

With all the mods made to this bike, as well as the absence of a proper tune, I’ve elected to have the bike Dynotuned. There’s a certified Dyno tuner only 30 miles from me and he has availability to do it in 3 days. I asked what the process entails but he was pretty light on details.
One thing he mentioned is that he needs access to the PCV and the coils. I told him no problem, but afterwards realized that, unlike my other two Triumphs, the coils on the Storm connect directly to the plugs.
My two questions:
1. Has anyone here had their T-Bird Dyno tuned? If so, would you please give me an idea of what to expect, as well as your impression of your bikes performance afterwards?
2. Are the placement of the coils going to be an issue?

Thanks in advance!
-Sparky

 

[sikatri]

Looking forward to your report on the dyno! Interesting how your motorcycle had all sorts of emission stuff removed. My Thruxton was a California motorcycle and had most of the emission including EVAP canister removed as well.

 

[atomsplitter]

Dyno tuning is a lot of trial and error testing. Competent tuners can get the maps adjusted so the engine puts the power to the pavement thru the ECU, but a lot of guys like to use the Power Commander because it's easier to play with than adjusting numbers by percentage on a chart. Unless you like decel pop (I don't) make sure to tell your tuner to fatten the mix on the last 6% of throttle to quell the noise on deceleration.

 

[SparkyMan]

Any thoughts regarding access to coils?
Thanks.
-Sparky

 

[atomsplitter]

Any thoughts regarding access to coils?
Thanks.
-Sparky

It has to do with optimizing the ignition timing. The coils are individually mounted on the spark plugs but they can be jumpered if necessay. An automotive timing light uses the magnetic surge in a coil's wire to detect spark timing. A high tension jumper lead attached to the coil output terminal and the other end attached to the spark plug shouldn't be hard to find since the plug uses a standard attachment point for a plug cap or a cap coil (they didn't redesign the spark plug for cap coils, they attach like a standard wired cap). Also there are two plugs per cylinder and either one will fire the combustion stroke. My old Gunson Color Tune uses a spark plug jumper (attaches to a special spark plug and the other end to spark plug coil lead), so it shouldn't be any problem if the shop is competent.

 

[SparkyMan]

Thanks. Just what I needed to know.
-Sparky

 

[SparkyMan]

The tuning went well. I gained 16 HP and 18 ft/lbs of torque, and that’s something that I could instantly feel. Nice to know that my bike is now performing optimally.

@atomsplitter, during our first cool-down break I brought up what you said about fattening the mix on the last 6% of throttle, and he said “Already done,” which made me feel that I was in good hands. Decel popping has been almost eliminated and what remains is negligible.

With 26 years as a Dynojet certified tuner, he did an impeccable job and left me so pleased that I now want to have my ‘09 Bonnie done.

Thanks.
-Sparky

 

[SparkyMan]

Looking forward to your report on the dyno! Interesting how your motorcycle had all sorts of emission stuff removed. My Thruxton was a California motorcycle and had most of the emission including EVAP canister removed as well.

I find emission controls on motorcycles just another overprotective thing which California has become famous for. And it felt great pulling all the hoses and hardware involved, cleaning up and simplifying things on a pretty ‘busy’ bike.

 

[sikatri]

I find emission controls on motorcycles just another overprotective thing which California has become famous for. And it felt great pulling all the hoses and hardware involved, cleaning up and simplifying things on a pretty ‘busy’ bike.

Agree. I’m pretty happy with my Thruxton in that regard. What the previous owner had not removed, I did once it was in Texas. LoL. Motorcycles in general do not make up a huge portion of the motor vehicle sector. Glad to hear your tune was successful! Enjoy riding!

 

[SparkyMan]

Took a leisurely 70 mile ride afterwards and got a whomping 44.6 mph. The best gas mileage the bike has ever gotten. That was a hoped-for benefit of getting it tuned, but I didn’t really know what to expect. What a wonderful surprise after averaging 33 mpg over the past fifteen months.

 

[atomsplitter]

The tuning went well. I gained 16 HP and 18 ft/lbs of torque, and that’s something that I could instantly feel. Nice to know that my bike is now performing optimally.

@atomsplitter, during our first cool-down break I brought up what you said about fattening the mix on the last 6% of throttle, and he said “Already done,” which made me feel that I was in good hands. Decel popping has been almost eliminated and what remains is negligible.

With 26 years as a Dynojet certified tuner, he did an impeccable job and left me so pleased that I now want to have my ‘09 Bonnie done.

Thanks.
-Sparky

If the decel pop is tamed he got your fueling about right. I fiddled it on my old Rocket III for about 6 months until it was almost gone. Fuel economy on that bike was never more than 33 miles to the gallon (with the lone exception of riding in a herd of Harleys to Washington DC in 2009, then it got 50 because I spent most of that trip getting off my throttle to avoid hitting the guy in front iof me).