Having just bought a new bike recently (RSV R, to be used by myself and a m8 for track days mainly along with a Gixxer 1000) and subsequently having it mapped very poorly to run with a new Akrapovic exhaust system I have been asked by said m8 (who is loaded) about the feasibility of purchasing a bike dyno, initially for our own use but perhaps if we can suss it out for friends (possibly even paying customers) to use.

Now I've learned a fair bit about bikes and tuning them over the past 20 years or so but I know very little about mapping or dynos. I also know a fair bit about computers and software but again nothing about pulling this all together to successfully map a bike engine.

I wouldnt envisage any tuning other than remaps for changes in exhaust systems etc. So, are dynos any use for this sort of thing, or can it all be sorted with software?

We've been looking at the SuperFlow CycleDyn chassis system which comes with it's own WinDyn software, does anyone have any experience of this sort of setup.

Can anyone give me a few pointers on how ridiculous this idea is for a novice.

Cheers

John

Hey Jye,

There's a lot of Dyno operators out there but very few good ones. I have a mate who falls under the latter, but he's been doing it forever. He also reckons that as more bikes come onstream with fuel injection there will be less and less for the dyno operator to do as it will simply be a case of plugging in a power commander, selectinga preset curve and bolting on a pipe. If, that is, you're still allowed to bolt anything on...

It's an interesting thought and if I can help in any way I will, but I'm dubious as to whether it will fly commercially. Unless, of course, you can get the Dyno and a large room dead cheap and simply hang the service off the back of a tuning accessories company. In which case you don't worry about tuning per se, just let people buy your stuff and throw in a free dyno printout for anyone who spends more than an arbitrary amount (£500) while charging anyone else say £25.

SB

Hey Jye,

There's a lot of Dyno operators out there but very few good ones. I have a mate who falls under the latter, but he's been doing it forever. He also reckons that as more bikes come onstream with fuel injection there will be less and less for the dyno operator to do as it will simply be a case of plugging in a power commander, selectinga preset curve and bolting on a pipe. If, that is, you're still allowed to bolt anything on...

It's an interesting thought and if I can help in any way I will, but I'm dubious as to whether it will fly commercially. Unless, of course, you can get the Dyno and a large room dead cheap and simply hang the service off the back of a tuning accessories company. In which case you don't worry about tuning per se, just let people buy your stuff and throw in a free dyno printout for anyone who spends more than an arbitrary amount (£500) while charging anyone else say £25.

SB
Hi Simon thanks for the info, and it's pretty much as I thought. Another route we thought of going down was becoming a Dynojet Approved (Power Commander) tuning center, and we're looking into that atm. Dynoject is sending me out info today regarding prices etc for their 250i Load Control Dyno, blah, blah.

Tbo the guy who's put me up to research this is only looking for a sideline bike related hobby for himself and isnt looking into making serious money. He could buy and sell most people and has said as long as the person running the show (poss me part time) gets something out of it then he will be happy. He has his own premises and land which could be a perfect location for a tuning business, and where we stay the nearest PCII runs from someones home in West Lothian which is a fair bit away anyhow. Earlier today we were quoted £600 for a filter, Power Commander and dyno run (think this was £150), gotta be some profit in that surely :)

John

He also reckons that as more bikes come onstream with fuel injection there will be less and less for the dyno operator to do as it will simply be a case of plugging in a power commander, selectinga preset curve and bolting on a pipe.
Is that not a good thing then? :)


If, that is, you're still allowed to bolt anything on...
Could you expand on this a bit more Simon, I take it you mean some sort of upcoming EC legislation which prevents tampering with anything, sealed everything etc.... A sad day if that happends :(

Any updates Simon? Re questions I posed :)

Hey Jye,

Sorry - been busy...

OK. Yes, in some ways the increasing reliance on Power Commanders and so on to increase power is a good thing, and the fact that it makes extra power accessible to all has to be applauded.

But.

People expect to pay for a level of skill and they expect to see it. So folk are quite happy to pay someone to fit an exhaust and rejet the bike to suit because it is clearly a very skilled job and it's easy to cock it up. But they are going to raise an eyebrow when confronted with a £200 bill for bolting on an end can, connecting a wee box to the ECU and turning a knob. There seems to be rather less skill in that...

As for the other stuff, there has been talk for a while about restricting what can be fitted to a bike while staying road legal. By the letter of the law, if a part wasn't homolgated for that particular bike then it isn't legal. And if the EU policymkers have their way then it will become illegal for anything that isn't CE marked for that particular machine to be bolted on. Now of course this has done the rounds several times and always been thrown out. But it's got closer each time, and with the political climate as it is it will be easier to get this sort of rubbish through because speed kills and we have to protect these foolish young bikers from themselves...

Garn - hope I'm wrong.

SB

Thanks Simon, all as I thought. I will put these points to my m8. I also think that this line of work is somewhat seasonal myself (in Scotland/the UK anyhow), and I'm not sure he has considered this aspect.