Power Commander - VFR1200

So...anyone installed a Power Commander on their 7th gen yet? I'm thinking of springing for one but I am looking for some feedback if someone already has done it....thanks!

 

I know someone on VFRD that has the Power Commander and she loves it. I let Bazzaz use my bike as a mule to develop their own system and it should be available in the next week or so (hoping to hear from them this week). From looking at the dyno-charts of my bike with their prototype fitted the before and after is remarkable. ...I've yet to ride it like that though.

The plus side of the Bazzaz will be that it controls all the injectors, has switchable maps (not sure if PC does as well) and you will be able to add a quick shifter and the Z-bomb, which will eliminate the 25hp hit that 1st and 2nd gears suffer from (with the unavoidable side effect of the gear position reading 3rd in 1st - 3rd gears).

In short though, word from PC users is that it makes a huge difference!!!

 

Awsome...that's some good information to get my tight assed wallet into releasing some cash. Thank you!

 

I wonder how they can make all those advancements but not display the correct gear position.... but ahh alas.. I'm sure there is some crazy technical reason that couldn't easily be avoided. :tongue:

 

It's simple really. The Power Commander and the Bazzaz unit are both "piggy back" units. They don't actually change the mapping that's coming from the bikes ECU, they alter it after it comes from the ECU to tell the injectors what to do to compensate for whatever amount the ECU is off from the ideal.

The bike's ECU actually has two different maps, based on what gear the bike is in; one map for 1st and 2nd gears (the one that cripples the horsepower and makes a huge hole in torque and power under 5500rpm) and another for 3rd through 6th that gets full power.

To give us back the missing power in 1st and 2nd a separate piece of hardware is required (from Bazzaz the Z-Bomb, or you can build your own "hack"). This is fooling the ECU into thinking the bike is in 3rd gear when it's actually in 1st and 2nd, thereby tricking it into outputting the full-power map (which the PC or Bazzaz unit can then modify for ideal fuelling). ...the downside is that the dashboard gets its gear position information from the ECU, not directly from the gearbox, so when you fool the ECU, you fool the dash as well.

I'm sure someone out there could hack the ECU to give us the right gear indication, but then they could probably hack it to remove the crappy map for 2 gears as well. ...but it would take a lot of effort / time, and would be invasive to the system (read, default on your warranty).

It really just sucks that Honda crippled the VFR in such an intrusive and, let's face it, crappy way!!!

 

To add another question to this discussion...

I've just gotten in line for the Bazzaz Z-Bomb. I also ordered their Fuel Control Unit to go along with it. The thing that worries me - are there any shops in Colorado that can properly program these things? I can't imagine the standard map will be perfect for everyone, especially since all my riding is between 5000' to 10,000' above sea level (sometimes higher). Is it better to buy the Power Commander to go along with the Z-Bomb as it seems most shops can work with those? I want to do this once and I want to do it right.

By the way, the quick shift option won't be available for the VFR1200. At least that's what Bazzaz told me.

 

The Bazzaz will be so easy to work with, and they will give you a starting map.
I think they will have the auto tune option also.

 

Put the PCV on the bike last night and was able to take a short ride. As others have stated, it has dramatically improved throttle response at lower rev's and off/on pickup is much smoother. Beware...... getting to the 02 sensor plugs are a real pain!! I am using the 2 bros map from the site until I get a chance to get a custom made.