Cycle World Mention

[Rocket3Pilot]

The bikes come from the factory with lean tunes in them which is what makes the heat. Propper Air/Fuel Ratios will eliminate all that heat on the right leg. Retuning the Air/Fuel Ratio (AFR) a little richer with a revised tune with TuneECU or TuneBoy or a piggyback tuner like Dobeck Performance AFR Plus or Power Commander V will completely eliminate the heat and provide an increase in horse power and torque, and improve fuel economy.

I agree with everything you've suggested except fuel economy. I went from 38 mpg to 28mpg tops by optimizing performance with Tune ECU and Power Commander 5 with AT.

 

[Bedifferent]

love the heat in winter traffic! but heat coming off a bike in summer? part of putting a motor under your nuts. YMMV

Some have said they enjoy the heat in the winter. I would say..what heat? I never seem to feel any engine warmth in cold weather which I blame on the liquid cooling. Again, I never noticed an issue with heat in the summer unless I'm stopped in traffic on a 90 degree day. If you're hot, it's the price you pay for wanting the beast to begin with. The only bike to ever do a good job in the winter was my Valkyrie. The heads in front of your legs really helped with the legs and feet. Come summer thought...look out...now that was a hot ride with no escape!

 

[Idaho Red Rocket 3]

I agree with everything you've suggested except fuel economy. I went from 38 mpg to 28mpg tops by optimizing performance with Tune ECU and Power Commander 5 with AT.

Sorry you lost fuel economy with the PCV. My Dobeck increased my overall fuel economy substantially, so I assumed a PCV would too. Do you "Rocket" your Rocket all the time or cruise more than twist the grip like crazy. If I twist the grip like crazy, yes my fuel economy goes down. It is the price of the added fun. But cruising ( which I do most) my fuel economy went way up.

 

[Rocket3Pilot]

Sorry you lost fuel economy with the PCV. My Dobeck increased my overall fuel economy substantially, so I assumed a PCV would too. Do you "Rocket" your Rocket all the time or cruise more than twist the grip like crazy. If I twist the grip like crazy, yes my fuel economy goes down. It is the price of the added fun. But cruising ( which I do most) my fuel economy went way up.

I tried really hard with 2 whole tanks of gas to just go easy and it got me 28mpg so Iwent back to flogging it which only dropped it to 25. Stock, I never got less than 35mpg no matter what?

 

[Idaho Red Rocket 3]

Come to think about it, 2 guys I know locally who added Power Commander lost MPG too. Might want to try a Dobeck instead.

 

[mexican]

What are you guys doing worrying about gas mileage and riding a rocket at the same time???
is it not the same as buying a 1971 VW Beatle wonder why you can't pull a 30' travel trailer with it?

 

[Rocket3Pilot]

What are you guys doing worrying about gas mileage and riding a rocket at the same time???
is it not the same as buying a 1971 VW Beatle wonder why you can't pull a 30' travel trailer with it?

Not quite the same. I'm not worried about the cost of the extra gas at all. It's just the principle of adding a $500 piece of software (Power Commander 5 +AT) that is supposed to fine tune the performance over a canned ECU program and end up getting on average 10 mpg less. BTW it really didn't improve the power much at all, if any, over the Hanso tune with opened secondaries either? So far I am not impressed with the PCV+AT at all.

 

[sonny]

Every bike that i have owned that performance improvements were made has resulted in lower gas mileage. The Harley is the worst but has a lot of performance improvements. The Rocket I expect the same when I get around to it. Most bikes come from the factory lean so if you use a power-commander and rich it out a bit the bike might or might not gain noticeable power but surely it will run cooler and run the way it was designed to run vice meeting EPA standards.

 

[mexican]

Not quite the same. I'm not worried about the cost of the extra gas at all. It's just the principle of adding a $500 piece of software (Power Commander 5 +AT) that is supposed to fine tune the performance over a canned ECU program and end up getting on average 10 mpg less. BTW it really didn't improve the power much at all, if any, over the Hanso tune with opened secondaries either? So far I am not impressed with the PCV+AT at all.

Well, looks like 10 mpg would be very noticeable, specially on a long trip where you need to stop 80 miles before everybody else!
You have a good reason to be concerned!

 

[Bigj1955]

I don't give a rats ass how hot a Harley gets since I don't own one but I do know that a RT3 gets too hot on the right side when in traffic here in Vegas any time its 100 degrees or more. My pipes are wrapped behind the heat shields and that helps some. No problem with heat if the bike is moving along but sitting in traffic its hot. I love the guys comment about choosing a bike with a monster engine, what do you expect. I agree with him, its gonna put out more heat than most, just the way it is. My v8 bikes put out less heat than the Rocket in traffic but they have larger radiators. The V8 Chopper is usually 170 degrees and the Boss Hoss runs 180 degrees.

I think in Vegas at 100+ degrees, sitting on a bicycle in the sun would be too **** hot!