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Let’s Talk About.. The Tune!
Now I’m not talking about the Steppenwolf Born To Be Wild or even a little Ram Jam Black Betty blasting out your speakers…. I’m talking about the Dyno Tune of your bike…BUT WHAT IS THAT and WHAT does it mean to me!? Never fear I am here to explain it to you!
Now we have all heard someone talking about getting their bike on the tuner or maybe even seen a mobile tuner booth at one of the motorcycle events. Dyno tuning is a special tune-up that enhances your ride and increases the efficiency and performance of your bike by measuring your engines output, including horsepower, torque, and the air/fuel mixture. This will give you a more cost-effective and smoother ride by identifying common issues such as, poor gas mileage, surging and/or pinging in the engine, hard starts or lack of pow-er and throttle response. Dyno tuning can also save you from costly repairs in the future because a properly tuned engine that is running at optimum efficiency does not have to work as hard as a poorly tuned machine. Therefore, a well-tuned machine, reduces the wear and tear and can extend the life of your engine.
How do you know if you need a dyno tune? If you have done any performance mods (Stage 1 or 2 kits) to the Air Filter, Exhaust System or Fuel System. This does not include simple mods like slip on mufflers or removing the baffles on your existing mufflers (Not that any of us would do that….)
So what exactly happens with this magical process…. First the technician is going to ask you a few questions trying to narrow down the particular issue that you are trying to fix, ex.. poor gas mileage or lack of power in certain gears. Next they will perform a visual inspection of your machine looking for any obvious culprits such as burnt/ broken wires, dirty carburetor jets or injection needles, or broken or cracked vacuum lines. They will then determine the proper heat range for how you ride your bike. The next step is the computer or black box is tested and an engine “map” is made of the current configuration. By using this “map” the technician can see where the engine could possible run more efficiently. It is not just a simple case of put the bike on the tuner and then take it off and …Voila all better. A dyno functions by placing the rear wheel on a roller and attaching sensors to various parts of the engine. The tech will then run your bike through all the gears, pushing the RPM’s to the limit, and running the engine at full speed. These sensors will then display a variety of data that allows the technician to identify problems and make adjustments. They may have to do this process several times to finally get you tuned in where you want to be.
Now the BIG question is… How Much Will This Cost? You can expect to pay between $300- $700 depending on what modifications have been done and how far out of tune your machine is. Also expect to spend about 4 hours at the shop getting it done.
So in conclusion, dyno tuning your ride is definitely worth the money if you have made performance modifications, and could add several horse-power to your machine. However, if your bike is still stock, don’t expect any horsepower gains, but you could possibly get better fuel economy or a smoother ride.