Techlusion v. Power Commander

[Silver Surfer/AKAButters]

Well, I know I'm being anal here, but my service manager (John at Iron Horse in Tucson)has convinced me that I would be happy with the benfits of adding a techlusion, He has hasd experience installing several on 1100/1150's with good results. I questioned him about , precision valve adjustments, TBS, etc, and he claims the best fix is the techlusion. So, I ma bout to pull the trigger and ran into the Power commnader and was just wondering of anyone here had expereince with the PC and if it is worth the extra cost (about $200 more)? I see no reference to it on the site.

 

Thanks!

[BFish]

just out of curiosity why are you thinking of PC/Tech? i see you have an 1150 RT but not sure of the year. are you having issues with it? My 2004RT is smooth as silk..approaching 30k miles and it has never run better (but never ran bad!).

 

Just curious?

[Silver Surfer/AKAButters]

just out of curiosity why are you thinking of PC/Tech? i see you have an 1150 RT but not sure of the year. are you having issues with it? My 2004RT is smooth as silk..approaching 30k miles and it has never run better (but never ran bad!).

 

Just curious?

 

Mine is an '02 Single ignition with only 22K on the clock that I just bought used. Not being very familiar with R bikes (had a K75 once), it is not as smooth as I think it can be. I sense a bit of surging while cruising around in the mid to low RPM ranges. This is not uncommon to the single ignition 1150s, and several have used the techlusion system with success. I know I am being a little obsessive, but If $200. smooths it out, I'm in.

BTW-No problem at all above 4K. I just got back from a 300 mile ride averaging about 70MPH. Awesome!

[smiller]

I would agree with those who suggest a careful tune-up first to see if things can't be improved, but also realize that sometimes and for some people that doesn't work.

 

To answer your original question, my personal opinion is that the Power Commander (at least in its BMW oilhead iteration) is a superior buy. It does cost more but includes a wideband O2 sensor and the ability to program precise and repeatable closed loop fuel ratio settings (with a digital readout of the ratio), and the ability to save and restore maps. This seems to be a superior to me than fiddling with potentiometers in the blind. Also, the Power Commander also acts as a handy diagnostic tool in that it can read out A/F ratio, indicate proper O2 sensor operation, display throttle position, etc. Lastly, those with mid-to-high mileage probably could use an O2 sensor replacement anyway (especially when troubleshooting driveability problems) and since a new sensor is included with the Power Commander that further mitigates the price difference.

[Scotty]

Buy a Techlusion You won't be sorry. I have had an 1150, and now an 1100RT, and the Techlusion is the best "modification" I could have done to either of them. It is easy to hook up, and a snap to adjust.

[mdjohnson]

I had a PC installed on my '04 R1150RT last year. It smoothed out the power and torque bands, plus 10 additional HP. Good luck.

Mark

[Sidmariner]

I had a Techlusion installed on my '02 R1150RT because the surging was pretty irritating. I was lucky to find a brand-new unit on eBay for $100 so I thought it was worth trying.

 

My surging in noticeably reduced but not eliminated completely, especially at low speeds. At high speed, the bike shudders horribly if I knock the throttle off too quickly, but is pretty smooth otherwise.

 

My gas consumption has gone up a bit. I ride a bit hard on my daily commute and average about 168 miles to a full tank, which I figure is around 25-28 mpg. I'm sure it can be better, so I have some tweaking to do.

 

I thought seriously about the Power Commander and am especially attracted to the software. The Techlusion seems to take a little too much guesswork and there is no feedback other than sound and feel. It would be nice to see a graphical readout to compare the effect of adjustments.

[smiller]

and average about 168 miles to a full tank, which I figure is around 25-28 mpg

I think you may have that thing set just a little too rich...

[tom collins]

the techlusion can be set up on a dyno. i have seen the charts showing a pretty good smoothing of the power curve as opposed to the factory guesstimates. might be a good investment.

 

tom collins

[flat_twin]

and average about 168 miles to a full tank, which I figure is around 25-28 mpg

I think you may have that thing set just a little too rich...

 

I've been using a Techlusion for the last 40k plus miles. I get 230-250 miles per tank most of the time except for high speed interstate into a headwind type riding. I push about 20 miles or so into reserve before getting nervous and finding fuel.

You're either hard on the throttle, dragging a parachute, or running quite rich. How do your plugs look??

[Scotty]

I noticed only a small difference in fuel economy with the Techlusion.

[NoHeat]

If there were some assurance that the power commander could both solve your surge problem and also avoid increased fuel consumption, that would be worth something.

 

Otherwise ...

 

I'd suggest valve adjust and throttle sync first, then Techlusion second, as the cheaper solution. In the unlikely outcome that didn't get the job done, you could probably sell the slightly used Techlusion here on the Classifieds for 50% or more of what you paid, then go with the power commander.

 

It's true that with the Techlusion you are making blind adjustments to potentiometers, without all the cool information and control you get with a power commander. However, of the techlusion's four potentiometers, only one matters for surge, and that's the cruise pot. If you leave the others at an off position, you'll avoid making the fuel economy worse than you you hvae to. If your surge is really bad, just adjust the cruise pot to the maximum setting - if that and the tuneup doesn't get the job done, then you'll quickly learn that you've exhausted the tune-up plus techlusion solution, which I think is an unlikely outcome.