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New to the ZX6R Family-Help Needed

788 Views 8 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  psomersall
I am new to the ZX6R family of motorcycles with my first bike being a Honda F4i. I joined this forum in hopes of learning more about the 6R. I will preface this by telling everyone I know nothing in terms of fixing/modding bikes. I just enjoy riding them.

About my new purchase, it is a 2013 white/black ZX6R with 4,000 miles on it for $7500. While I have been riding my F4i for 2 years, I have never added any mods to it. My current ZX6R has a few mods and I don't quite understand them. It has a completely new exhaust system and the original owner replaced the factory system with a new two brothers full exhaust system. He had it done last summer but is now on the road all the time. He has a Power Commander, brand new, that has yet to be installed. I was told by him I would need to install the Power Commander, get the maps, and maybe get it tuned. What does all of that mean?

Cliffs:
- Bought a used "new" 2013 ZX6R and NOT mechanically inclined
- Has a full 2 Brothers exhaust
- Has a Power Commander yet to be installed. How do I install? How do I download the maps? Hook computer to the Power Commander? How does this fix everything?
- What does it mean to "tune" a bike and where does it get done? Cost? Is it necessary?
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Installing the PC is easy; there are instructions online -- Dynojet's website will have a pdf you can download or something.

If you are *really* not mechanically inclined, then call up a few shops around you and find out who can 1) install the PC, and 2) 'tune' the bike.

Tuning the bike involves running it on a dyno (dynamometer), analyzing the amount of oxygen and fuel in the exhaust, and altering the amount of fuel the fuel injectors inject into the cylinders at a given rpm (potentially on a per-gear basis).

You can hook the PC up to your computer via the USB cable, (assuming you have Windows, if not, you can put Windows on a virtual machine), and install a map that's pretty close to your set up for the bike -- again, you get the maps through dynojet's website.

This fixes everything because the full exhaust allows more air to be pushed through the engine, so it throws off the a/f (air / fuel) ratio, and makes the bike run lean (too much oxygen, not enough fuel)... tuning the bike adds the right amount of fuel so you aren't running lean. Running lean is bad.

With all of that said... you can skip all of this nonsense by ripping off the 2 bros exhaust, putting the stock one on again, and then throwing on a slip-on exhaust, which you won't need a PC for. The PC will give you a little more power, and smooth things out if properly tuned, but it's not necessary, and it doesn't sound like you're really looking to squeeze more performance out of the bike.
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With all of that said... you can skip all of this nonsense by ripping off the 2 bros exhaust, putting the stock one on again, and then throwing on a slip-on exhaust, which you won't need a PC for. The PC will give you a little more power, and smooth things out if properly tuned, but it's not necessary, and it doesn't sound like you're really looking to squeeze more performance out of the bike.
And get some cash back selling it. Youll be missing out on about 10hp, but that's not a huge difference. Of course installing the tuner and putting in a map from their web page is easier than replacing the exhaust system. Its really not hard, maybe 2 hours.
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Thanks for the reply.

How hard is it to take the entire exhaust off? The guys said he still has all of the old stuff but he said it would be fairly difficult to go back and that he did not have the time to help me with it. He's always on the road as a truck driver. PS, the catalytic converter was taken off according to hiim to put on the entire exhaust system. Please advise
Hello and welcome! Congrats on the new bike!
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Welcome man. Post some pictures of your bike!

As for the PC, if i were you i would just install it and get it tuned since you already have it.
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Welcome. Pulling the exhaust off and installing the new one is not terribly difficult, just time consuming. You will need to take all the fairings off the bike. You can see the installation instructions for the Two Brothers here. The catalytic converter is part of the original system and will be put back on (unless he threw it out) when you put the original system back on. Dynojet has some good instal videos to show how to instal the PC as well. They dont have one up for your bike just yet, but here is a link to the 2010 Dynojet Install Guide Videos and Video Tutorials just for reference.
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Welcome man. Post some pictures of your bike!

As for the PC, if i were you i would just install it and get it tuned since you already have it.
Is it necessary to get it tuned? I've been using my best friend *ahem google* and the Power Commander should be fine and no dyno tune is necessary, right? Since the Power Commander will fix up the fuel/air mix?
You do not need to get a Dyno tune with the Power Commander, they actually have a pre made map for the full Two Brothers exhaust on their website.

Dyno Jet Maps look towards the bottom of the page for the map listings. You will want 17-047-003. Also on that page they have the install PDF
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