Power Commander Guide For Motorcycles - Biker Rated

What is a Power Commander?

A common question, especially for those new to motorcycling, is ‘What does a Power Commander do?’

A Power Commander is the name of a device, made by Dynojet, that enables you to adjust the fuelling on your motorcycle.

This allows you to modify the stock settings and change the fuelling so that the air to fuel ratio can be set at an optimum level.

For most riders, the appeal of a Power Commander is that it enables you to boost your bike’s horsepower and torque.

Is a Power Commander Worth It?

Installing a Power Commander won’t improve the bike’s horsepower or torque on its own. To get the best from a Power Commander you have to tune it to suit your motorcycle. This involves modifying the map or uploading a new map.

You can plug it in and upload a pre-configured map for your bike, which will improve the throttle response as it can adjust the fuelling to suit. When your bike comes from the manufacturer, it has to meet emissions regulations and so the ECU isn’t set to produce peak power or even perfect throttle response. The Power Commander piggybacks onto the system and with a map designed for your bike, you can improve the engine response by smoothing out the fuelling.

A proper installation will be done in conjunction with a dyno run. The mechanic will run your standard bike up on the dyno, note the areas where it can be improved and then after fitting the Power Commander, they’ll be able to amend the fuelling across the rev range, possibly leaning it out in some areas or making it richer in others.

This smooths out the air:fuel ratio so that it is optimised for your engine.

If you fit an aftermarket air filter or an exhaust system, you’ll change the rate at which air can be fed into the engine and the exhaust gases removed. This can mean the bike runs badly and the throttle response is fluffy. A Power Commander will help you adjust the fuelling to not only crisp up the throttle response but also make the most of this improved intake and expulsion rate, to add in more fuel and air and help the engine produce more power and torque.

What’s the difference between a Power Commander III and V

They do exactly the same job but the 5 is about half the size of the PC3. However, both maintain, customise and tune your bike’s air to fuel ratio. You can quickly download maps to both, making them Plug and Play.

The PC5 has a few more features. It is easier to connect a secondary fuel module and a quick-shifter with a Power Commander V. Another feature of the 5 is the ability to configure by throttle position and also by the gear you’re in.

The PCV has a wider range of fuel change ratios, a negative 100% to positive 250% range, compared to -100 to +100 on the PC3. This makes the PCV the best option for sportsbikes with two banks of injectors (8 in total).

If you have an older machine, (from 2000 to 2010) the PC3 will probably be a better option as there will be more fitments available for older bikes (plus lots more second-hand ones available).

Another main difference between the 3 and the 5 is that the 3 will have three buttons to help you to tune it. However, those buttons are only a rough guide. The 5 doesn’t have those buttons but any adjustments should be made on the computer, the manual buttons on the PC3 are crude.