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TNT Performance Dyno |
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When the Timing is
Right
Tuning is an often
over-looked, but essential part, of any performance motorcycle build. This
final step in your quest for improved performance should be taken very
seriously and executed by a knowledgeable and competent dyno operator with
plenty of experience and (preferably) a mechanical background. I know this can be a challenge, especially if you don't know which part may be holding you back. That's where a tuner with a good mechanical and tuning background helps. An experienced tuner should be able to pinpoint problem areas and suggest solutions based on the runs he makes. Also, dyno tuners usually have a preference for a specific tuning tool such as a Power Commander, H-D's SERT, or others. This is another reason to choose your dyno facility when you are first planning your build. That way you'll have the system the tuner is most comfortable with in order to achieve the best results. This past summer, I sat in on a dyno session for a touring bike that I had build earlier in the year at TNT PERFORMANCE DYNO in Nashville, TN. When he first contacted me, bike owner Casey Napier knew he wanted to increase the displacement of his 88" 2004 FLHRSI and replace the stock cams replaced wtih gear drives. In addition, he wanted a wide powerband with close-to-stock reliability, and good fuel economy. After discussing a variety of options with Casey, we built a 95" motor with ported, stock-valved heads, Andrews 37G cams, a Sifton air cleaner kit, stock header pipes with Cycle Shack slip-ons, a stock throttle body, and a Power Commander ignition. In our pre-build computer design phase, I determined the build should be capable of 90 HP and 100+ ft/lbs of torque. I also recommended that Casey contact TNT to do the tuning after break-in period was complete. TNT's Konrad Thiele has years of experience with Power Commanders, and the main focus of his business is tuning all types of motorcycles. The day Casey had his motorcycle tuned was very hot and humid - conditions that added a little extra challenge to the tuning process. But Konrad was up to the task. He typically recommends that a street be tuned to perform well in all weather conditions (hot to cold) rather than to go for top numbers on the tuning day. That means you won't necessarily get the maximum peak numbers your build is capable of, especially on a hot, humid day in Tennessee, but you will be happy with the overall results year-round. If you do tune a bike for maximum peak number on a day like that, you're probably going to experience runability problems such as surging, off-idle stalling, detonation, etc. during the cooler and drier air days of fall, winter, or spring. Konrad took Casey's performance expectations and the weather conditions into consideration during the session, and his final tuning run was right on target with our pre-build design, resulting in 93+ HP and 102+ ft/lbs of torque. To read more about Casey's build and the tuning experience, go to www.napiersworld.com To get the most out of your performance modifications, don't forget to consider the tuning aspect when you are in the initial planning stages. Do your homework. If your builder doesn't offer dyno tuning, ask who he recommends. Check with your local dealer, friends, or visit online boards for recommendations. In the end, a competent tuner can literally make or break your performance build. If you have specific performance questions about your V-Twin, drop John an amail at jhfxr@aol.com or give him a call at 256-656-2522. TECH TIP ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If
you'd like it autographed just let us know who to make it out to in the
special instruction box at checkout ___________________________________________________________________ Q1:
I heard that one run on a dyno causes
the same wear to my engine as me riding 50000 miles through a merciless
rattle-snake infested desert with no oil in the tank and no beer in the
saddle bags. Is this true? Q2: My brother’s buddy
told me that ya’ll have blown up a bunch of bikes on your dyno. I would
like to see that. When will you do it again? Q3: I just spent more bucks on aftermarket performance parts
for my fuel-injected bike than all of y’all combined – yet the ole lady
still kicks my butt with her stock scoot. Should I get my money back or
get a new ole lady? A3: You need to ride sissy a while with your lady and get that expensive ride in for a custom fuel-injection map. All those dollars on all those horsepower making parts may as well be glued to your gas tank if your fuel mixture isn’t adjusted to your aftermarket modifications. Q4: What’s the best way to gain
horsepower? A4: Lose weight and go turbo. Q5: What’s the highest horsepower you’ve
ever had on your dyno? A5: 306 from a 2005 Hayabusa equipped with a Stage 1 Hahn Turbo System, Dynojet Ignition Module & Power Commander, and a custom fuel-injection map. Q6: How much horsepower am I guaranteed with a dyno tune? A6: While a good tune will generally gain you anywhere from 2 to 10 HP on the top end, the primary benefits of proper tuning are in the low and mid range, where most riders spend the majority of their riding time. The goal should be a better riding experience, not a higher horsepower number. Q7: My bike’s plenty fast. I don’t need
any more horsepower – so a dyno tune won’t be any use to me right?
A7: Again, the most beneficial
results of dyno tuning are found in your riding range – crisper throttle
response, smoother shifting transitions, decreased popping on deceleration
and possibly improved gas mileage. So while you may not need additional
horsepower, there are plenty of other benefits to proper tuning. Q8: Are those dynos any use for carbureted bikes? A8: Yes! Carbureted bikes require fuel adjustments with aftermarket modifications just like the fuel-injected models. Dyno testing can provide beneficial indicators of whether jetting, exhaust, intake or other changes are needed. Q9: How many miles do I need on my new or
rebuilt motor before I come in for a custom map or carb
jetting? A9: 1000 miles is a good point to tune your higher RPM range. But dynos are also useful for breaking in new motors as the engine receives constant cooling and avoids the stress of over-heating in traffic or at traffic lights. And you avoid the temptation of ripping her open at full throttle before she’s ready. Q10: What should I look for in a dyno
shop? A10: Satisfied customers! Ask your riding buddies about their experiences. Word of mouth is generally honest advertising.
Issue 10 May '06 In my never ending search for more performance, I decided to have a custom power commander map created for my Honda 1000RR. The local expert for this type of work is Konrad Thiele who along with his wife Melinda owns TNT Performance Dyno in Nashville, TN. I've been going to Konrad for several years and have mentioned him and his wife's performance shop in several previous articles. In a nut shell, Konrad is a genius with all things mechanical, and his wife Melinda will make you feel right at home while Konrad works his magic on your ride. Once I had all of my performance products installed such as the Arata exhaust, BMC Race Air Filters, and removed the horsepower robbing noise emission devices such as the intake flapper and exhaust valve, I installed a Power Commander III USB. FOr those that aren't familiar with this little gem, it is a computer that plugs into your stock fuel injection system. You can load air/fuel maps into this device in order to add power and smooth out throttle response. I tried a couple of downloadable maps from www.powercommander.com which were better than stock, however I knew a custom map was really the only way to have optimum performance and ultra smooth throttle transitions from my bike. After stripping off all the body panels around my engine to allow for faster cooling while on the dyno, I was off to see Konrad. Konrad securely strapped the machine on to his Dynojet 250i Dynamometer and disabled the PAIR system on my bike in order to obtain accurate air/fuel readings. He began evaluating the air/fuel ratios of my 1000RR at various throttle percentages and RPMs. Konrad then took a baseline dyno run for comparison to the final custom map dyno result. Then he began his art of creating a custom air/fuel map for my bike that would be loaded into my Power Commander II USB. Konrad takes a few hours to custom map bikes as he is quite a perfectionist, so it's best to call ahead and make an appointment. A custom map consists of values entered into a grid at every 250 RPMs and at 9 different throttle percentage positions (0%, 2%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100%). This equates to over 400 entries must make into the map. I left the bike with Konrad and awaited his call to let me know the work was complete. Three hours later I got a call to pick up the bike and to "be sure to bring a trailer to carry all the extra horses". Once I arrived at TNT Performance Dyno Konrad went over the base line dyno graph and associated air/fuel ratio as well as the custom mapped dyno run and air/fuel ratio. The ideal air fuel ratio is 13:1, meaning 13 parts air to 1 part fuel and is what a dyno tuner will shoot for. Mine was nearly dead on throughout the entire rev range which is quite a feat on a 1000RR as they're notoriously hard to map. I gained about 6HP and 3 ft/lbs of torque JUST from the map alone taking my rear wheel numbers to 157HP and 81 ft/lbs of torque. This custom map works with the other performance modifications I've made to the bike enhancing their capabilities. With the performance mods and the custom map I've gained about 14 HP and 6 ft/lbs of torque over stock which is substantial on a sub 400 lb bike. The ride home was a completely new experience. The bike felt like it was literally going to pull my arms out of their sockets as I rolled on the throttle at the ramp of I-40. The biggest difference is that the power is now much more linear, pulling consistently throughout the rev range. I no longer feel surges of power as the RPMs climb. Gear shifting and on and off throttle transitions are now completely seamless where as before they could be abrupt or clunky. This makes the bike much easier to ride especially when leaned over in the twisties as the on and off throttle transitions no longer cause any drive line lash or upset the bike's suspension. This custom map has probably been the most noticeable improvement I've made to the machine and every future bike I own will get the same treatment. When having a custom map created make sure it's done by a reputable and well known shop. There are a lot of so called tuners out there who don't do quality work. One sign of a good tuner is them knowing to disable the PAIR system. Without that system disabled any air/fuel readings are going to read too lean and the bike can not be properly mapped. Konrad and TNT Performance Dyno came highly recommended by several people I know and trust as well as a couple of guys in the racing circuit. TNT Performance Dyno is also a Dynojet Approved Tuning Center. I fully recommend Konrad as I've personally seen how he takes pride in his work and that's hard to find these days. Custom mapping a bike is as much of an art as it is a science. Konrad has mastered both. Custom maps aren't just for sport bikes. Any bike with a fuel injection system will benefit from having a custom map created for it. Konrad does everything from Harleys to turbo Hayabusas. TNT Performance Dyno is also a mobile tuning center and frequents rallies and other functions and can map your bike on the spot. They are also a distributor of Power Commander units as well so they're pretty much your one stop shop for tuning. You can read more about them at www.tntperformancedyno.com or by calling them at 615-874-1005. More to
come... Issue 10 May '06 “In the morning y’all help
yourselves to as much food as you want cause I don’t want to have to carry
it all back to Nashville,” said Gary to the ever hungry Konrad and Wayne
as they settled into the camper’s various sleeping quarters. The morning
would bring tense, calorie-wrenching nervousness before a day of racing at
the Bowling Green Spring Rally and
Drags at Now Jason the racer, Carl the owner, Konrad the mechanic, Wayne the team manager, and Gary the tire-wiper-offer, brain-stormed to find the source of the Buell’s ornery refusal to start. They knew to look first for the simplest solution so they checked the gas, spark plugs, and battery. Disconnecting and reconnecting the battery (or “re-booting” the bike) solved the problem. The race was on. Jason and the Buell dialed-in at 11.45 seconds
for the ¼ mile race in the Eliminator Class, but the officials erroneously
posted his dial-in time as 11.9 seconds. So when he ran 11.47 seconds on
the first race Jason was nearly falsely eliminated for breaking out.
Determined to be the tire-wiper-offer for a champion team, The next Harley Drags at Beach Bend will be held
June 24th and 25th. There are 15 different classes
to check out, including one for Nitro Funny Bikes. I don’t yet know what
that is but I plan to find out in June. Maybe I can catch a ride with
Last Tuesday night our buddy Rick surprised the Konrads and
me with a luxury limo ride to the Green Hills Cinema where we saw the
movie, “The World’s Fastest
Indian.” Green Hills was the only theatre in If you didn’t see it at Green Hills, put it at the top of
your movies-to-rent list. Just about anyone could appreciate this film,
but bikers especially will enjoy it. In one of many amusing scenes, Burt
Monro, played by Anthony Hopkins, bet that he and his 1920 Indian Scout
could beat a gang of half-his-age British-bike riders in a beach race.
After a push start from his senior cheering section Burt blasted from
behind to leave the arrogant competition eating his dust, uh, sand. But
when the Indian died half way through the race he lost a chunk of the cash
he needed to get to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Burt Monro’s lifestyle, as portrayed in the movie, was humorous and unordinary. He lived in a shed between two spiffy houses in Invercargill, New Zealand, slept on a cot next to his tools, peed daily on a lemon tree in the yard and filed his toe-nails with power tools. The neighbors complained that his unkempt lawn lowered property values. He was too focused on achieving the nearly-impossible to take time out to mow his yard. Sounds to me like he had his priorities in order. As Burt Monro, Anthony Hopkins made the 60’s and beyond look just as good as or better than our younger years. Maybe that’s what motorcycling does for us. See “The World’s Fastest Indian” and stay in touch with what you truly enjoy no matter your age. Issue 8 Mar '06 My alter ego is a free-spirited, wild-red-haired, sly-grin wearing dare-devil named Ruby. Some of you who know me may say, “Hey, that’s not your alter ego…that’s you!” But the truth is that I am Melinda, Ruby’s human counterpart who wonders what to cook for dinner and how to smooth the relationship between my husband and his mother-in-law. In my quest for a prescription which enables Melinda & Ruby to co-exist, I’ve found motorcycling is the magic elixir. With a leather jacket zipped snug around my torso and just a few miles under my wheels, I feel the melding of Melinda & Ruby... wishful thinking turns to living the dream. The intent in this article is to steer those of you who are still thinking about riding to go ahead and try it. Consider the psychological benefits of letting your Ruby roll the throttle and fly in the wind while allowing your Melinda to shed the pots and pans. If you’ve always wanted to ride but let
the perceived expense of a bike stop you, then take a closer look and
broaden your range of acceptable bike makes and models. For years I rode a
1989 Suzuki GS500, purchased in Nov of 2000 from a young couple in
And the pros will tell you that riding a smaller cc bike is really appropriate for beginners. There’s enough power to thrill but not so much that you’re likely to lose control. In other words, you’ll have a healthy power range to explore the learning curve. If you decide to move on to a higher cc bike, there’s bound to be another beginner waiting for a good deal on your used bike. If a little healthy fear is confining your visions of riding to your head, sign up for the Motorcycle Rider Education Program or a similar safety course. For 3 days you’ll experience motorcycle boot camp and learn the skills to significantly lower your risk of a serious accident. When you pass the course you’ll receive your motorcycle license and a discount from most insurance providers. If you’re still on the fence
about riding, just keep dreaming a few more years. Eventually you’ll be
dead and you won’t have to suffer through the indecision
anymore. Issue 7 Feb '06 Now that everyone’s 13 month calendars from 2005 are expired, it’s a good time to share an experience in the making of a Bikes & Babes 2006 Calendar. Surely any one of the men who collaborated in this exploit could sum it up in just a few words…”Oh, yeah, Baby.” But that’s too short an article for you to relax with on the terlet, so here’s the longer version… We all know some people who might as well tattoo “Why not?” on their foreheads. It’s a genetically unalterable slogan for entrepreneurs and for bikers (just ask Stogie & Lady S). So when our friend Wayne Taylor, who’s an entrepreneur and biker, said, “Hey, let’s make a calendar,” it was more than just the usual beer-induced blah-blah. This was the unusual beer-induced blah-blah, destined for actual development. In a matter of days Wayne & Konrad had models, bikes & a photographer lined up. On the day lovely Amber and the twins arrived for the first round of photos, Anticipation was practically walking & smoking its own cigar. No dyno tuning was scheduled on shoot days as Konrad and several other guys needed to “oversee” the photo sessions, just to be sure the shop and their bikes were properly represented. Or at least that’s how they explained it to me. Once the photos were ready the boys had the mind-bending task of reviewing them all, choosing the final cuts and assigning each picture to a particular month. The primary factor here was the bike owner’s birthday month. How lucky… a perfect girl in a bikini and impractical high heels on your bike in a calendar hanging on your wall for your whole birthday month. Suddenly these guys can’t wait to get older! Special thanks to the models who took time off from their usual jobs as orange shorts wearing bar maids to bless these bikes with their beauty and to Christina Harrison of Captured Reflected Images (cri_photography@hotmail.com) for her excellent photography. Konrad & the boys will hold model try-outs for the 2007 calendar every Saturday night at the shop. Alternate location is Panhead Eric’s Flying Pig Café. Call for directions.
Issue 6 Jan '06 At TNT Performance Dyno we’ve spent a few moments
in Life’s Winner’s Circle. Our Frankenstein bike won Editor’s Choice at
the Easyrider’s Bike Show and was featured in Biker Magazine. And Konrad’s
bracket racing skills recently won him After the 2 hour processional past the Judges stand where we yelled wildly for the TNT float to win, the frozen bikers turned right on Shady Grove Road and revved it up for the 50 yard drive to the shop, where Panhead Eric’s venison chili, hot chocolate and new TNT sweat-shirts were available to assist in the thaw. It was a cold but happy party and we’re grateful to everyone who rode and celebrated with us. I’ve left messages with the Chamber of Commerce in attempts to find out if we won the Best Float award but they haven’t returned my calls – (totally unrelated to the fact that I went ballistic last year when we didn’t win). FYI - TNT Performance Dyno now has the most
modern restroom facilities of any bike shop probably in the whole state.
Come on in and give ‘em a try. Course you’ll enjoy your stay in our public
lavatories a lot more with a copy of 2 Wheel Thunder and when you’re
done reading it stay a while longer and sneak peaks at all 12 months of
our TNT Bikes and Babes
Calendar, available at the shop or on-line at www.TNTPerformanceDyno.com. Happy New Year! ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Issue 5 Dec '05 My old man held my old GS500 steady before the staging lights at the 1/8th mile track at the Music City Raceway (or “Union Hill,” as we say around here). He was piloting the GS for the last run of the night. One run away from a week long reign as King of the Hill. Early evening competition included Hayabusas with top speeds of 118 mph on this short track and several Harleys, in one of which we had recently installed a 127 CI Ultima motor. With a good mix of skill and luck, Konrad and the unlikely GS500 got in the rhythm of eliminating the bigger bikes and progressed to the final run with a top speed of 75.25 MPH. His final rival crouched on a red Honda Superhawk in the opposite lane. Because Konrad’s dial-in time was less than the Superhawk’s, the staging lights on his side of the track flashed first. His reaction time had steadily improved and though it looked to me like he would red-light it, the green light shown and he was half-way to victory. Seconds later, the staging lights for the Superhawk lit up and time stood still for us spectators. Low and behold, the Superhawk red-lighted and a new King was born! The King was awarded a trophy and a sticker but no cash. Children cheered, women fainted, and tough looking grey
bearded bald headed men jumped up and down with glee! High fives were
flyin. This was a great day for Our good friend Wayne said it best, “We ain’t fast, but we have a hell of a time!” Although we had a great time in the stands Konrad says it’s way better racing than watching, so get out and sign up for the most fun you can have on a Tuesday. The TNT Tuesday Night Ride & Race will meet again the first Tuesday in April at 4:30 and leave for the track at 5:00 sharp. Watch out for the “ape-hanger division” coming next spring.
_______________________________________________________________________________________ Issue 4 Nov '05 The performance of your machine is more than just the final max power dyno number. Think of how often you ride around at red line and wide open throttle. I'd say not very often. A max dyno run number is good to know but it's only part of the big picture. To really understand how your bike is performing you need to look at more than the max horse power reading. Begin with a base line set of dyno runs on your stock bike. A good tuner will warm the bike to its normal operating temperature and then proceed to take three runs on the dynamometer. Typically the best of the three runs is used for the base line number. Once this is accomplished add your performance parts and get a new set of runs to see your final max power output. This will tell you the overall gain from your performance additions. You'll need to perform the dyno runs on the same day on the same dyno for the numbers to be truly valid. If your modifications are more involved and you're unable to complete the final set of runs on the same day, then you should choose a day with similar barometric conditions as your base line dyno testing. You'll also want to be sure your tire pressures are the same for each set of runs as well as the same correction factor being used on the graphs. If you want to get granular, as I often do, then you'll actually have dyno runs done as you add performance parts to see which ones are worth while. I've actually seen bikes lose horse power with some supposedly "high performance" parts. Getting before and after dyno runs is just another piece to the overall picture. Once you have these two graphs you'll need to analyze them to make sure you gained power where you'll use it the most. A lot of so called "performance" bits only add power at the very top end close to red line. I don't know about you but I typically don't ride my bike around at red line most of the time. The better power is gained in the mid-range, which on my Honda 1000RR is from about 4,000 RPM to about 8,000 RPM. True performance modifications will add power throughout the entire rev range and offer the most bang for the buck as Figure A shows. A final area you'll want to analyze is your air/fuel ratio. For a typical modern sport bike the recommended air/fuel ratio is 13:1; meaning for 13 parts of air, 1 part of fuel is added into the combustion process. Dyno tuners will target a 13:1 A/F ratio when creating a custom map for your bike's Power Commander. Having a proper air/fuel ratio will further increase the performance of your machine throughout the rev range, as well as make the bike smoother and more responsive. I have been going to Konrad and Melinda at TNT Performance Dyno in Nashville, TN for years. Konrad is the dyno operator and owner of the Dynojet Approved Tuning Center and knows his stuff, is fun to work with, is very open in sharing his knowledge, and has been great about discussing the results of the dyno runs with me. Konrad has custom fitted his Dynojet 250i dynamometer into a box truck making it a mobile dyno tuning center allowing him to come on site to tune bikes. Listening to Konrad explain the physics of exhaust flow, exhaust expansion, and air/fuel ratios can be a real learning experience. You can get more information about their services at www.tntperformancedyno.com. The max horse power number is only one indicator of performance. Be sure to take a closer look at the midrange area of the graph where you'll spend most of your time sport riding to know you have the right power where you'll need it most. More to come..... |
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