I’ve said it for years, “the machines will rise up”. Maybe I’m right, maybe I’m crazy, maybe I’m just trying to aggravate some computer guy. What ever my reason is it is obvious that computers are everywhere. Now they have made their way into our source of enjoyment, and some peoples reason for living, our motorcycles.
First it was the electronic ignition. Amazing with its ease of installation and adjustable Rev. limiters, but bound to burn up 100 miles from nowhere and leave us stranded. Then came electronic fuel injection. Just push the button and you’re ready to ride. This 12 volt fuel sprayer struck fear into many a rider. “What to you mean I have to hook it to a computer to tune it?!?!”
Now I’m going to let out a secret. With the right tools fuel injection is simple to tune and can be done with great precision. With interfaces being offered that monitor Air Fuel Ratios (AFR) a fuel injection tuner such as those from Power Commander and Daytona Twin Tec can be easily tuned. By simply installing the monitoring system then making some dyno runs or going on a couple of rides you can record rich and lean points through out the RPM/Throttle Position range. This information is then transferred to the tuner and you’re ready to go. Now I have over simplified this process. It still takes a couple hours to tune one of these systems, you just have to accept the computer into your life.
Oh, by the way, the “ Auto Tuning” systems are hitting the market heavy now. These systems sense changes in environment, performance enhancements made to the engine and adjust for them. So, yeah they are thinking for themselves. The rise is inevitable