Power commander needed or not???

ok, here's where i'm at.... Have been quoted $629 for the 'Yoshi' R77 (stl/less with carbon tip) as-well as $79 for a 'K&N' air-filter, All from the dealer where bike was purchased. My next question is will I need to look into a 'power commander' to avoid any potential damage to engine if i decide to do a 2000+ k trip?? Or does the k&n filter do away with any possible problems??
p.s The opposition to my dealer has beaten their quote by $30 on pipe and will match or better price on filter just to give em the shits!! But they've always been good to me and i am a loyal customer...

I'll get out voted( ) but i'll still say dont fit a K@n or a power commander unless you have money to burn .

nothing wrong with a reusable filter,save $ in the long run...whats a paper filter worth with every time you have to change it?

gus wrote:I'll get out voted( ) but i'll still say dont fit a K@n or a power commander unless you money to burn .

A muffler at that price he has money to burn

There are so many ways to improve the bandit (and rider) without increasing power.
Your bike. Your choice.

That's less than I paid for my R77 Carbon can . I didn't change the inlet side as I was after a better look and a louder noise, not performance enhancements - comes down to what your 'business' need is.

Just do it already

I have a PC 3 on my bike and once it's tuned it's worth it. All up with a tune you will shell out about 6 - 700 bills so be prepared.

I'd honestly toss the secondaries, make sure the throttle bodies are sync'd and the Throttle Position Sensor is spot on. Don't bother too much with the K&N, I have a BMC but if you over oil them they are messy etc. The paper filter is fine. You can cut a big hole in the top of the airbox though to get the bike to breath a bit better.

Best bang for buck mod... Gus will tell you is the 17 tooth front sprocket and I totally agree $25 and 20 - 30 minutes work to fit.

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It all depends on the rider, where & how it's used.
My Bandit loved getting unrestricted and just got better and better very time I removed a bit more of the restrictions. But some have reported problems in doing it. The good thing is that they all can be easily reversed. etc, put the standard filter back in.

My Bandit has 130hp and I love it.

Have just purchased the Yoshi R77 Titanium with carbon tip from the US for $530 AUD delivered, that's alot cheaper than what i would have paid for stainless with carbon tip here in OZ (sorry Australian economy). Will see how it runs before i fork out for K&N filter. Now the waiting begins...............

My opinion is that you don't need a PC.
Muffler, more about looks, weight reduction and noise than power increase IMO but they are usually worth a little hp here and there.
Next step would be a good tune up including good plugs.
Next would be a TRE or if you're feeling a little cheep the ghetto method works to. Only thing is you'll loose the gear indicator if you use the ghetto method and it takes about 10 mins longer to do.
Next would be either getting your own software, making your own yoshie style box (info out in interweb, reportedly costs about $50 in parts plus some time to put it together) or asking the dealer to tweek the fuel using his yoshie box.
Leave the paper air filter where it is but if you wanted to do some airbox mods to let it breather a bit better but remember with greater breathing comes a greater need for fuel in most cases.
You could do the 2nd fly removal or if you are keen learn how to hack the ECU (heaps of info out there) and apply some strategic changes to the 2nd fly maps (and then progress to changes to the fuel and ign maps if you wanted to)

That's what I reckon anyways but as always YMMV

K&N warrant their products well. They claim all K&N filters can replace the original with no mods needed. I am of the opinion that if you increase the airflow into the engine, without balancing it with additonal fuel, you'll risk running too lean. At the very least I'd switch over to a cooler fuel (98 octane) if you do go the K&N route, sans fuel box. I am running a TFi box on mine and it works beautifully. It does not have to be dynoed unlike the Power Commander. If you buy the kit from holeshot.com, the owner will email you the fuel settings for the TFi box. The ones he sent me are great. I was regularly getting 14.5-15 km/L before mods and after I can get 16-17 km/h on the freeway no problems. It does use more fuel in the city, and sometimes with the stop-start my fuel economy is only 13.8 km/L. Removing the secondaries is the best way to get instant throttle response. It is easy to do and makes a huge difference. I wouldn't go with the 17 tooth front sprocket,as you will be putting 18/17 more kilometres on your clock. You speedo (which already over-estimates speeds) will also register 18/17 more speed than reality. If you do this you'd have to put in a speedo healer.

Not to start a new fight, But Engines are similar, Not the same. So to get the ideal tune (Power or Eco ) for TFI or PC. "I" believe you need a personalised (Rolling Road) Tune to get the most out your bike. You can get download map's for the PC's as well from Power Commander Map's or some places that sell PC's. Like the place I got mine. fuelmotousa.com/mapsupport.

Or..........you could go out and buy a K5 GSX-R 1000.

ohmyfj55 wrote:Or..........you could go out and buy a K5 GSX-R 1000.

True but they are uncomfortably small and annoying to ride at slow speeds. Bandit has heaps more torque after Stage 2 mods (parts only cost about $400).

On a slight tangent....I've got a delkevic pipe (baffle out) and as far as I'm aware that's the only performance mod. Getting a lot of popping on the over-run, is this normal?

Past bikes would do this if running lean but I've also heard that it's a known issue and little can be done. Was thinking of going down the PC path or similar to pump more fuel in. If the popping characteristic is typical of the 1250 I won't bother.
Would appreciate any thoughts.
Cheers
Chris

Chrisss wrote:On a slight tangent....I've got a delkevic pipe (baffle out) and as far as I'm aware that's the only performance mod. Getting a lot of popping on the over-run, is this normal?

Past bikes would do this if running lean but I've also heard that it's a known issue and little can be done. Was thinking of going down the PC path or similar to pump more fuel in. If the popping characteristic is typical of the 1250 I won't bother.
Would appreciate any thoughts.
Cheers
Chris

Chris, There is plenty of info on this Popping somewhere on the forum. A little bit of searching is all thats needed.

I've got the Beowulf on my FA and it pops happily on the over-run but I quite like it. Thats just me tho. I thought about a PC etc when I first got it (about this time last year - 1st birthday!!), but primarily to sort out the surging which is all ok now anyway. This bike has plenty of go for my riding style and if i was parting with the coin it might be suspension as a first priority....then.... I might want more power...
Uh oh.

My little commuter bike (07 1250s) has so far had a micron slip-on (no longer available)K&N filter, intake snorkel removed, secondaries removed,Power Commander V, and Auto-tune. All worthwhile IMHO however the best results are from removing the secondaries, do this first, then see how you feel.

Dink.1170

NO, you do NOT need a power commander OR a K@N to suit the pipe .Mine runs fine (or better) without either .

gus wrote:NO, you do NOT need a power commander OR a K@N to suit the pipe .Mine runs fine (or better) without either .

I agree, do the secondaries first.

Dink.1170

I found on my GSF650 K7 that it was running very lean low down in the rev range.

but after i fitted the Healtech Electronics F.I. Tuner and GIpro a/TRE this sorted the surging at 3.5-4k rev range.
It also make the bike smoother in the lower Rev range and can hold a higher gear at lower speed and the torque
will just pull from top gear.

jools