Sitting here with a strong coffee (summoning up the courage to go and see if I can find that 'dropped battery bolt' without losing my temper again) I was reading bits and bobs about power commanders and came across the below two comments made by the owner at BSD Performance in Cambridgeshire. If you read the modifications of my bike at the bottom of the post you will understand my concerns. The Ackro was fitted by Marshal Honda when it was brand new prior to me collecting it so I doubt they would have fitted it without saying something, plus when it went in for its first service the techy (who fitted it in the first place) commented that it sounds much better now the baffle is removed, he made no comment about possible damage to the motor. The shorty ASV’s I fitted myself at the end of last year and I am not sure I like them anyway so they could be coming off again. 2011 Honda CBR1000RR with Power Commander PC V Dyno and set-up This CBR1000RR came in with a PC V, 02 Eliminator and K&N filter, bolted on by the owner. Now these Hondas are tricky to fuel with an open pipe fitted; to be fair, Honda said so when the bike was first launched. Taking away the back-pressure of the standard system does dramatically change the engine’s set-up, so with a can fitted you have to look very hard at the fuelling. It needs fuel in some areas, but there are areas where some has to come out. Critically, at a steady cruising speed – say 90mph – on 10% throttle the engine could run hideously lean, for hours at a time, which is very bad news in the long run… Be warned – if you have one of these ‘Blades, with an open can and nothing else, you’re asking for trouble. A Power Commander PC V and some Dyno time is the only real answer. Thinking of fitting short levers? Think twice…! Just a small word of warning… we’re seeing this problem more and more. People are buying short, adjustable levers for their bike – for the right reasons (so they can be more comfortable reaching the lever). But what they don’t realize, if you were to measure the actual cable-pull of the original lever, compared to the adjustable replacement you’d find a small difference. The stock lever pulls more, so what this means is that the clutch is not being pulled far enough to separate the plates. There are two distinct issues here; first, the actual leverage in the first place, secondly, the span adjustment. As this is generally why these things have been bought in the first place, fair enough. But the reality is nowhere near enough cable is being pulled out – the result is a supposedly ‘sticky’ gearbox, as you end up forcing it in and out of gear. We’ve had a rake of customers this year complaining about grabby gearboxes – and it turns out the shorty levers are to blame. This R1, which was in for some setup time on the Dyno, is a case in point. So for the front brake, that’s your choice; just don’t change the clutch lever.
A good find Freedom, Can't say wether or not it's just scaremongering, I'm sure Bats picked up on something similar pertaining to the brembo levers he fitted, and indeed a few others, I'm sure he modified something or other to stop the bike creeping whilst in gear, with the clutch disengaged?
I have used BSD for about 6 years and have had quite a few chats with Mark. He is quite a modest person but he is very highly regarded. He was an engineer originally and has an engineering workshop which he still uses, which is a good job as he has done several bits for my bike. He does everything from minor mods, servicing to engine builds. I have seen articles he has written in several bike publications and he also does a lot of dyno testing for motorbike reviews. He has advised me on numerous things I wanted to have done to my bike, several of which he advised me against which would have netted him my money. Personally, I trust him explicitly, if he says something is or might be an issue I would believe him. He definitely does not need to look for work, as he is always over run with people wanting him to do their bikes. Great bloke , very knowledgeable and tries to save you money rather than spend it unnecessarily. Sorry it's been long winded, but just trying to be helpful.
Thank you Exfire, that says it all really. I have just noticed there is another thread running regarding BSD, perhaps someone in the know can combine the two threads into one as I think it would be useful having everything in one place. So, it looks like I will need to give him a call and get a PCV fitted and mapped properly. Is he expensive?
Hold the panic button Freedom there are always two sides to any story .How many thousands of bikers have the mod but have no issues like me for example .I once had a PC on a ZX10 and at the time was a little disappointed but when I was selling the bike I removed it prior to sale and the bike run a lot better without . My take is if its not broke Dont fix it and throwing 500 quid at something that's not broke doesn't stack up .
I could agree and disagree with some points. I was talking to my dyno tuning friend about the fuelling issue of no PC but having other mods.he was saying yes in the long term it will cause damage but up to 20% throttle the standard narrowband o2 sensor will help(not cure) the horrible fuelling but above that of course it will fall back on the standard map.I asked how bad it is and he said well unless you have done big mods you wont be seeing an engine crapping itself anytime soon.the clutch lever thing I can see where he is coming from but I think its more a problem if you have it adjusted in towards the bar as close as it gets.think about it the next time you are doing a few downshifts with your stock levers, do you pull them in until they are tight against the bar every downshift.I think most will find they only do about 3/4 a pull especially if like me you dont do two finger clutch downshifts. now look at the short levers,I would pull them in further as now when I do my two finger downshifts I wont be trapping my last two fingers between the lever and bar.the only difference is when you are stopped and have a full grab but here is the next thing to think about, with the standard levers you leave cable slack in the clutch to stop drag but with shorties you adjust nearly all of it out because the the spring returns the lever preventing drag so would this not make up for the lost pull? of course the only way to test this is to get a set a vernier and test before and after clutch pulls but this is my thoughts on it
Hi Freedom, his prices are very reasonable, I can't remember how much it cost me because I had lots of other things done. I travel there rather than use my nearest Honda dealer, Mark charges £20 ph less for labour than they do....and he does the job properly. Arthur rates him as well btw. I understand what Givover is saying, I am sure there are counter arguments and I am not qualified to comment either way. I believe the issue relates to longevity of the engine and I expect few owners keep their bikes long enough to experience any problems themselves as they will have got shot of it years ago. Before I had mine done I would not have known the bike was not running as well as it could do. What I would say from experience is that I have two maps and a switch for mine. One map to run with the baffle in and the other baffle out, there is a performance difference of 6 BHP between the two . The difference between the two is noticeable and the bike runs much better when running on the correct map lol....I have forgotten to switch over a couple of times....not good. The difference between my bike pre PCV and dyno set up and after was considerable. At the end of the day we make our judgements on various criteria, I intend to keep my bike so I personally would not risk it, apart from the longevity, the bike just runs so much sweeter.
