Related Links:
De-smogging my VTX
PCIII-USB Connections
Jadines Exhaust
Dyno-Tune Time

Section relates to the High Performance Product and PCIII-USB Fuel Managers.

I've had the HPP module installed for about a year, approx. 12,000 miles. I installed the module when I added the Jardine Drag Straight Cuts.

The module does perform as advertised. I got decent power and great gas milage with the current bike mods. Which included the exhaust pipes, K&N filter, #000 Air Filter Box Mod.

The module did not completely remove the decel popping. I've checked the gaskets, torque. etc. My last resort was to take it to a Honda shop hoping they would find some form of leakage. No luck.

Most of the time this would occur during hard deceleration, completely rolling off the throttle. This was real apparent when riding the SLO run going up and down Carmel Valley Road, I use the gears / transmission a lot vs. using the brakes. A lot of popping that day.

The biggest gripe I have with my bike is not so much the decel popping. That was at an acceptable level for me but the "surge" or "delay" affect while throttling at the lower areas, about a 1/4 turn of the throttle. This becomes very apparent when trying to cruise at lower speeds. For example, riding through a parking lot in 1st or 2nd and just barely applying throttle. The bike would appear to have a dead spot. I would experience this in 3rd, 4th & 5th too but it was just not as noticable.

Aug. 31, 2004
The biggest pain in reverting the bike back to stock was re-connecting the wire behind the airbox. This required lifting the tank up. I ended up doing this twice.

A fellow VTX rider had posted his mis-hap with a kinked tank breather hose. The tank imploded! Looked like someone had beat it with a mallet! That was enough for me to go back and check to make sure I wasn't kiinked anywhere.

Had to solder and shrink tube the connections back into stock condition.

I found this to be curious, the instructions for PCIII-USB tells you to install the modules GND eyeloop connector to this location. It shows a picture of existing ground wire connections. I had no connections at all. Missing the bolt too.

I tried to find any loose hanging ground wires with no success. I need to verify that this is not being used on the 2003 1800R

I asked around on VTXOA turns out their should be ground wires on that location. I bought my bike new so it must have been assembled incorrectly. The ground wires has to be going somewhere, otherwise scooter wouldn't run...

A set of O2 Eliminators were installed.

I downloaded the Stock Honda VTX1800R map that was available on Power Commanders website. The software was easy to install and communicated immediately with the PCIII-USB unit. I then dumped the .djm file onto the unit. Everything looked good, fired it up. Allowed the engine to warmup then took the bike out on the road....

Alright, first impression... Holy Smokes! It's not the whiplash take off or off to the freeway races. It was puttering down the road using first gear, damn near idling and rolling the throttle with no surge or delays! I even went up 1st, 2nd and 3rd at high RPM's then just dropping the throttle. NOT ONE decel pop! Just the rumble. Next stop, I-5 (freeway time). The bike in general felt like it had more punch. Coming off an exit downshifting to 4th produced no decel popping at all! This got me thinking did I have the HPP hooked up right? I haven't even had a custom map made yet.

A little history on my pipes. When I first bought the Jardines Straight Drags I thought they sounded good but with the decel popping and occasional backfires I thought it would be too distracting for me and take away from my ride experience. At this time I was using the HPP unit. I then removed the baffles and installed a set that had "noise reduction" built in. I went through 2 iterations of this. I finally settled on a decel popping sound level that was acceptable to me. I tried to get dyno reading at a club dyno gathering but since the tech couldn't insert the sensor into my exhaust baffle, we didn't get numbers that made sense.

Sept 1, 2004
I just received another set of Jardine stock baffles. I installed them tonight. This time I downloaded a map file that was given to me by Cliff Randall. Fired it up and Holy Smokes time again. Sounded great... idling. I took it through the same paces I did with my other "quiet" baffles. I was half expecting the monsterous backfires I used to get. NOT A ONE! NO DECEL Popping either!

I realize that having decel popping is normal with the occasional backfiring. For me, it was sort of embarassing letting off this massive explosion when coming to a stop sign. Just didn't sound good to me. It actually affected my riding style to a more passive throttle user when riding near the HD's. I didn't want to cruise by, only to start backfiring uncontrollably down the road.

I can honestly say, when I ride now I just let the throttle go and listen to the rumble. I downshift hard just for the fun of it. Totally different.

I'll update this site after I put a few more miles on the bike. I took a few pictures of my plugs using the HPP, replaced them with the same type. I'll check out my plugs and gas usage (mpg) and post my findings. I also plan on doing more mods (disclaimer: for offroad riding). I'll post my experiences.

Sept. 02, 2004
Checked the milage on the bike since the PCIII-USB installation. I'm getting about 37.5mpg. Not too bad considering I've been riding fairly hard the past couple of days. Just FYI only, when your reading 115-117mph on your speedo your probably only going 105-107mph.

A noticable difference is when your over taking cagers or HD's on the freeway, the "punch" is hard and strong. My GPS unit captured max speed on my commute during one of my passes.

For comparison purposes, I would be getting about 40-42 mpg using the HPP. Once I stop horsing around the throttle I will probably see an increase in miles per gallon. Even so, I don't know if I'll match HPP's mpg numbers.

Sept 4, 2004
Did a milage check this morning, went from 37.5 mpg to 30.8 mpg. It looks like a big difference, and it is. The reason is probably because most of the recent miles were out on the country roads messing around or city.

Sept 13, 2004
After a few tanks it looks like I'm getting approx. 33-35mpg. Not so good. My plan is to get dyno'd once I do the full Cal De-Smog and add the Kury HyperCharger. Really want the Proton 4 but not having any luck locating one. I've been running the Cliff R. map lately just to get rid of the decel poppings. It's runnnig rich, I can smell it in the exhaust fumes.

Sept 17, 2004
Kury HyperCharger Pro arrived. Did the installation. Followed the instructions that were included, flaps didn't work. The bottom line is you need to to use the vaccum hose from the intake manifold (don't use after the T, then your flaps will be functional. I decided I'd wait to fix this until I did the California de-smog.

Sept 19, 2004
Performed the California de-smog (Disclaimer: for OFF ROAD RIDING) this really cleaned it up under the gas tank, it also prepared the bike for the next phase of dyno-testing and mapping. My HyperCharger Pro flaps are now functional.

Sept 24, 2004
Took the bike to get Dyno-Tuned at a Performance Ducatti Shop Results Here I'm very pleased with the results. Took them about 3 hours to complete the custom map. I should benefit the most with the new A/F mixtures.

Sept 27, 2004
The bike has been running the best it has ever been. Once I go through a few tanks of gas I will post my milage per gallon. At this point I have great horsepower (plenty of ponies for me), great low rumbling sound with no decel popping, no more rich smelling exhaust fumes. I'll be staying with this configuration for awhile...

Did a quick check on milage per gallon. Since most of the riding thus far has been all city area riding. I'm getting about 37 mpg in the city. I will post freeway miles once I have the results. I would imagine the milage will improve.

HPP Observation:
After discussions with other VTX owners and reading info available on the net. It seems that the VTX1800C model owners have no problems at all with the surging, deadspot, lag issues when excercising the throttle. The VTX1800R owners are the ones talking about the mentioned issues. I believe this has something to do with dual exhaust vs. single exhaust or in other words dual bung 02 sensors vs. single 02 bung sensor. I guess the best way to find out would be to install a 2 into 1 exhaust system into the VTX1800R and see if the single bung makes a difference. In any case its moot for me, I don't plan on installing another set of pipes.

We all have choices as to what we add to our bikes and this is just my opinion...

Cheers!
Netjammer-