[Redcap]

Hey folks,

Question... my recently purchased D came from Mesa, AZ which is 1200 feet above sea level. Now she sits at just under 5K here in Idaho with frequent rides in my area to 6-8K above sea level. Will this affect my performance? Does thinner air at my altitude do anything?

I was wondering if perhaps I should go topless or consider getting it tuned at the Harley boutique? Can't afford a tuner right now because I blew all my dough on upgrades on the wifey's bike, and I have looked all over the bike and don't see a PCIII or anything despite having a modified exhaust with cherry bomb glass packs. Of course I am not entirely sure what to look for.

Hope these questions aren't too silly I am just learning about bikes, and this is all Greek to me.

 

[mwdhand]

Yes. higher = slower.

the fastest drag strips in the country are in Florida and Texas (gulf coast) and elevation is why.

 

[AOW]

:them: I would suggest some type of tuner w/auto-tune as you are frequently going between some vast differences in altitude.

 

[AZEagle]

I travel daily from Chandler to Prescott...
1200ft - 5400ft

If you have a good tune, the stock ecm handles the altitude changes just fine. But you do lose HP as the air gets thinner at the higher elevations.

I run semi-bottomless (see my photo gallery)

 

[S Murphy]

Big time decrease in performance. I had PC III tuned in Lake Havasu i think 800 and when i ride to Flagsaff 7000-9000 it runs like shit.

 

[lbrown]

if a bike is tuned with the sert or sepst or master tune the map sensor will pretty much take of of the fueling change necessary at different altitudes. tuned with a piggy back system like a pwr cmdr altitude changes can have a drastic effect on the tune.

 

[Redcap]

Thanks guys... I am loving the bike but I get the feeling that she could give more on the low end. Trying to figure out some poorboy fixes right now but when I can pull it I will try some other options to juice her up a bit more.

So if it has no EFI tuner added, but has been tuned by a master tuner, I can take it to our HD dealers Dyna and have them adjust it for me??? Our shop will do three dyna runs for 60 bucks.

 

[Dragonfire]

how far down are you calling the low end? The V don't really start to walk and talk til 3k or so and it really likes it 5k+. Like was said those piggy back tuners will do you nasty at varying altitudes but the race tuned ecm should compensate for the altitude.

 

[mballard34]

My bike ride very well in NY vermont in altitude

in Montreal the bike ride very bad and lean

so i upgrade my bike with PCV and autotune and now it run's great

The bike is stock except drilled exaust

 

[AOW]

I travel daily from Chandler to Prescott...
1200ft - 5400ft

If you have a good tune, the stock ecm handles the altitude changes just fine. But you do lose HP as the air gets thinner at the higher elevations.

I run semi-bottomless (see my photo gallery)

your '08 has O2 sensors, the OP's '06 does not have O2 sensors, makes a difference

 

[shadness]

Yo Redcap,

Any popping on Deceleration?

If a Harley race tuner has been installed you would not see it. It's just a program. No visible hardware.

Eagle rock can tell you if it has had one installed.

Depending on the situation you may benefit from a tune here at 4300ft to help the ECM window open up for our 8450 ft climbs on the Teton pass.

PS always nice to confirm a good tune is present by a nice A/F readout on a dyno at the elevation you live at.

I was convinced I was spot on, took it to High Desert Cycle (Harley wouldn't touch it) and gained over 10hp with a tune.
My mains were 2 sizes rich (Carb talk)

 

[Redcap]

Yo Redcap,

Any popping on Deceleration?

If a Harley race tuner has been installed you would not see it. It's just a program. No visible hardware.

Eagle rock can tell you if it has had one installed.

Depending on the situation you may benefit from a tune here at 4300ft to help the ECM window open up for our 8450 ft climbs on the Teton pass.

PS always nice to confirm a good tune is present by a nice A/F readout on a dyno at the elevation you live at.

I was convinced I was spot on, took it to High Desert Cycle (Harley wouldn't touch it) and gained over 10hp with a tune.
My mains were 2 sizes rich (Carb talk)

Hey Shadarak,

Yep, I do get the occasional pop on a quick deceleration. Hehe, I get the carb talk, just unsure of this fancy EFI mumbo-jumbo Thanks for the help. I have decided that a trip to the Dyna is in order.

 

[S Murphy]

That's why i bought a T-max bike now runs the same were ever i go now.

 

[DesertSpeed]

If you want to run the same at 5,000'+ as you do at sea level you need a turbo normalizer; a turbo charger that maintains sea level pressure up to a specific altitude. They are common on turbocharged aircraft, which aren't usually "charged" most are "nomalized".
Any other set up will suffer a power loss the higher you go.

 

[V-Kit]

your '08 has O2 sensors, the OP's '06 does not have O2 sensors, makes a difference

all v-rods have MAP (manifold absolute pressure) sensors, however. This sensor lets the computer know that the pressure is lower in the air intake manifold and therefore there is less air to burn with the fuel and thus less fuel is supplied to keep the bike running properly.

The narrow band o2's on harley bikes have limited ability to adjust air/fuel ratio, they are more of a "trimming" device. The majority adjustment in fueling, due to elevation change, will still be accomplished via the MAP sensor.

i've had my bike all the way up to 11,000' (beartooth pass in MT) and it ran perfect the entire time....no 02 sensors. No piggy back fueler, stage I SE flash.

 

[flybigjet]

Rough rule of thumb: HP decreases approx. 2% per 1000' change in elevation.

 

[Ethan]

all v-rods have MAP (manifold absolute pressure) sensors, however. This sensor lets the computer know that the pressure is lower in the air intake manifold and therefore there is less air to burn with the fuel and thus less fuel is supplied to keep the bike running properly.

The narrow band o2's on harley bikes have limited ability to adjust air/fuel ratio, they are more of a "trimming" device. The majority adjustment in fueling, due to elevation change, will still be accomplished via the MAP sensor.

i've had my bike all the way up to 11,000' (beartooth pass in MT) and it ran perfect the entire time....no 02 sensors. No piggy back fueler, stage I SE flash.

Thanks, that is good to know.

I will be running from Myrtle Beach through the Rockies this summer (Sea level to 12093ft on Independence Pass CO) so I am very interested in other peoples experiences/insight on this. I will be running a PC IV and a Rotrex Supercharger - very keen to make sure she is getting the right mix. Thought about a T Max but not sure how that would work for a charged engine.

 

[flybigjet]

Since I live in Denver and frequently go play in the mountains, this was a concern of mine as well; I talked to the guys at V-Mod when I got my PC-V-- their answer?

If you make an extreme elevation change, simply pull over, turn the bike off (and take a break ) and then start it up again-- this forces the MAP sensor to take a new "snapshot" of outside conditions.

So far, it's worked great from Denver to Sturgis and back as well as from Denver up into the "hills" west of town and back.

R.

 

[V-Kit]

Thanks, that is good to know.

I will be running from Myrtle Beach through the Rockies this summer (Sea level to 12093ft on Independence Pass CO) so I am very interested in other peoples experiences/insight on this. I will be running a PC IV and a Rotrex Supercharger - very keen to make sure she is getting the right mix. Thought about a T Max but not sure how that would work for a charged engine.

man with a supercharger it's all out the window, you're MAP sensor will be seeing readings that it was never intended to see and I don't know how that is dealt with on boosted engines (but know it is worked with) - you're gonna need to work with someone MUCH more knowledgeable than me...the MAP sensor (if still used in boosted applications) should still do some correcting based on altitude and ambient air pressure and boost, i just don't have any experience tuning boosted EFI engines (i've only build NA motors on my bikes and cars).

 

[doughboyuno]

you have to derate hp levels as elevation increases. caterpillar natural gas engines are rated at peoria ill. elevation 500 ' . and 955 btu natural gas. if i remember correctly. the 955 btu is the rate for the city services.