Ducati Monster Forum

pulled the pcIII off the bike today for a rough comparison (to try with just stock ecu) as i'm kicking around the sale of the bike.  i gotta say the power curve wasn't quite as vicious but the bike ran from idle to 5k a million times smoother and low (under 20%) throttle cruising was impeccable .. ..  sooooo, what's the deal?  i don't think i'll ever use one again. 

Was it mapped on a Dyno?

only 4 times in the past 6 weeks  [roll]

Did you ever have any suspicion that is was not running well while it was on?  Just wondering.

Do you have the Dyno printouts?  I'd be curious to see what they look like.

With the air in & out mods, I wouldn't be able to ride the bike with out the PC3...it just runs shitty without it.

Interesting because I never had a problem.  I'm guessing the tune sucked

not specifically, just heard from a few folks that before doing any dyno work they like to see how the bike runs with existing ecu solo.  it is only at cruising below 5k in a few spots that the bike is unhappy.  lemme see if i can get speeddog to email me the map.  he's got it at the shop.  acceleration and higher throttle cruising is epic with the pc3 but i just can't justify the low end idiosyncrasies enough to wanna use it

stock ecu?  pipes/airbox setup?

Unfortunately the PC3 is just a passive signal altering device.   It has to be told when, where, and how to alter the injector signals.  

There are 3 factors that I can currently think of that may cause issues similar to yours:

1) If the map was tuned properly, something on the bike is not the same as when it was tuned for one reason or another.

or

2) The map sucks.  Might or might not be due to the tech that tuned it, could just be other bad conditions during the tuning.

or

3) Haven't heard of this yet, but maybe that unit is defective.



But, if you had it on the dyno 4 times...was the tech the same person?  Was it the same machine?  Were the cylinders tuned individually?

There are some bikes that are REALLY hard to map properly (MV Agustas), but haven't heard of a Duc being that difficult to map.

For the more technical peeps out there, as the PC3 reads a signal from the TPS, if the bike was mapped, and then the TPS is reset, would that affect the map enough to be noticeable?

bummer  [roll]

stock ECU on both bikes running (one previous) after-market exhaust.  I've always used the Marvin mid pipes.  My guy tunes all my bikes and I've never had a problem, include my POS Hog.  :o
In my experience all Ducs run like shit under 3k rpm or below 45 mph.  They like to be revved.  [evil]

ya, i don't know but splitting lanes with your bike is coughing is a bit sketchy  ;D - i really prefer the bike without the pc3 but IF i sell it (still struggling with pulling the trigger) i will include the unit and custom map made for the bike.  it was indeed the same dyno tech and owner of his shop.  i'm not saying he's a ninja but he's no slouch either.  but, anything is possible i guess.  we'll see, for now sans power commander the bike runs the best in small throttle - so i'll leave it as such.  however, there is a slight decrease in 'oompppfff' over 4-5k

Two note-able points:

I warranty quite a few defective power commanders...Dynojet is really effin great about them though...generally, no questions asked and I have a new one in my hands in a reasonable time frame...

ALSO, Granted, with a dyno in house, I see a ton of different makes and models in for custom mapping. In general, we have seen multiple Ducati bikes with poor low end performance, even unsteady idling if not paired with the DP ECU...I don't recall similar problems with any other brand that has performance ecus available or performance mapping from the respective manufacturer (i.e., Triumph for example)

Just a few things I've seen.

My Tech has said the same things as stated above.  It's really a shame that sometimes you can't get around that pricey DP ECU. 

i have a custom reflashed ecu on the way from houston superbikes.  i'll see what the story is as far as how it does/does not help the equation.  should be even better than dp ecu as it is programmed for precisely the setup on the bike (arrows, k&n, open box, etc)

I'll second what darkstar said, blaming a PCIII for poor running is like  blaming the computer for a lousy term paper.  All it does is allow you to alter the fuel mapping, its up to you do develop a good map (assuming the PCIII isn't defective, which I doubt from your symptoms).  Dynotuners somewhat often focus only on WOT and higher rpms to develop pretty graphs but fail to really dial in partial throttle and lower rpms all that well.

[bang] i just don't wanna believe that after bringing it back twice for small throttle situations he didn't spend some time down there.  but i do hear what you're saying.  i'm only accounting for my experience with the pc3 which is that the bike runs better without it.  but i certainly understand if not dialed in properly they are useless which is what brought me to dyno it in the first place.  perhaps another trip to ANOTHER tuner is in order but this is fast becoming an expensive experiment.  that would total almost $1k for dyno play time  [puke] . . . but i may have it done one other place just for my own edification.

BTW, I'm assuming you have an open loop ECU and that the PCIII is able to correct/affect the lower part of the power band?  Otherwise, the PCIII and the stock ECU is just constantly fighting each other constantly until throttle >19% and RPM >5,250.

The OP signature says 2004 2005 s4r, so no 02 sensors.

ya, no O2 sensor in this bike - 05 S4R.