Powercommander install with Photos... bring an ounce or two of patience

Okay.. so I finally got around to installing the Power Commander on the 10R.

First thing to note.... *many people who have never purchased or installed one do NOT realize is that they need a computer within close proximity to the bike so they can program it.... You really cant just "buy the box and put it in".. you need a computer NEXT to your bike to adjust it.




off topic, first thing I noticed when I took the seat off was that the nuts that were supposed to be holding the power valve servo on were gone!! .... bastards!




Anyways... There are some tricky bits to remove.. .this bike is tight... someone who is an origami fanatic must have had a hand in the design. Removing the airbox is easy once you know the trick... It's width is greater than the distance between the frame rails it sits under! Once you have disconnected the air pressure sensor and the drain hose and PCV hose, carefully (without snapping off any of the spigots on the bottom of the air box) rotate the airbox COUNTERCLOCKWISE... eventually it frees itself and slides out backwards...




Another side note.... inspect your air filter! I cant believe how much dirt this thing caught.... most crap I've ever seen in a filter with only 1500miles of city/ street riding...





Once you have wrestled off the air box, take a deep breath before you try to undo the TPS and FI harnesses... they are very tight and hard to undo...

Here's a nice shot of how easy the FI connector is to access...



There isn't much if anything mentioned about cable routing in the install docs from DJ... I chose my own route, not wanting any ZX-12R repeats with a pinched or damaged harness... I ran the cable alongside the left side of the bike frame rail (outside of it) but behind the fuel pump connector.. This gives you a nice clean route with no pinching or obstructions. It lets you pick up the negative battery terminal and lines you up with the places you need to access in the stock harness.



Then I tucked in behind and underneath the bracket that holds on the left side of the tail section (undo the allen, slide cable under, replace)





The black bodywork panel on the bike needs to be trimmed to run the cable this way... Remember, none of this is in the manual... it just seemed logical to me... I notched the panel like below (this notch isn't visible with the panel installed) and smoothed the edges.. this gives you a very nice exit into the rear of the bike...







Now, where I am stuck is what to do with Powercommander itself. The damn thing just sits in the trunk.. right now it just flops around... nowhere to mount it... Guess I'm waiting on Dino for a solution to this one... perhaps a hinge and under mount ala 12R is the solution... certainly what DJ suggests in their install doc isn't the right answer IMHO...







Now... an important tip, which was also left out of ANY documentation.

When you attempt to connect to the Powercommander with your computer, the bike has to be running or it looses its connection. This makes it impossible (or damn frustrating) to set the TPS values etc.

To overcome this (as in the photo above) use a 9 volt battery and the adapter supplied with the unit. Connect it to the Powercommander and then turn the ignition to the ON position, but do NOT start the engine. You will be able to upload etc and set the TPS as normal. (BTW, TPS adjustment to several attempts to achieve a solid "zero" value). Although this isn't mentioned in any manuals, our contact at DJ says it's safe to do and will not harm the unit.


So, I haven't had a chance to ride the thing... all I can say is that it took me about 2 hours to install.. . Certainly longer than I had expected. Maybe I need smaller hands...

and more beer.

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