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Timing wheel observation

6K views 20 replies 13 participants last post by  PaiN 
#1 ·
Do you guys notice with more advance that there is a "courseness" to the motor? I've ran 3 to 6 degrees and settled on 5 for advance on the degree wheel. I've noticed that rolling on the throttle at 2300 rpms or cruising at 3K the engine doesn't seem as smooth. I had been running 6 until my big trip to Yellowstone and Montana and backed the wheel down to 3 degrees because I was concerned about gas quality and I had travel across 400 miles of desert heat over 110 degrees. Bike did fine on 89 and never pinged set at 3 degrees. When my trip was done I changed the wheel back to 5 degrees and felt that courseness I did at 6 degrees. I also noticed that the exhaust is louder with more advance which I like. Any thoughts on this?
 
#2 ·
When I moved mine up to +6 the bike just didn't run right.
I didn't leave it long enough to notice exactly what it was doing, it just didn't feel right.
So I brought it back down to +4 and I'm happy with it there.
I am currently on my 4th tank of 87 octane and haven't noticed any difference yet. Mind you, it is getting cooler outside.

Good post, thanks for bringing it up.
 
#5 ·
90% of the dyno tunes I see wheel is at +4
I tried that on my vision and at +4 I was pining. But then the weather was around 97 degrees. I asked Rylan and he said most vision like + 3
and CC like +4. He said 116 motors are a whole different story.
He said stay on the safe side and you'll be good
 
#6 ·
When I had Kyle install my VFC III he said I could rum up to +6 or +7. I'm at +7 and I like it. I can always turn it back down and see what happens...
 
#7 ·
Every engine is different, some tolerate more advance than others.
Generally the most you can run without causing pinging will give best performance.
It's a base figure that adds timing at idle up to 2500 and then combines with whatever additional advance your PCV tuner adds above those revs.
LLOYDZ advise setting at 4degrees so that's where mine is at and my PCV dyno tune takes care of the rest.
 
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#8 ·
Before KevinX dynotuned my XCT, he said for me to set the timing wheel at +5.

G'day,

Vinish
 
#10 ·
Kyle had mine at +6 and on the Dyno it ran fine - in the real world - it would ping in the heat! I ended up dropping to +5 then to + 4 and also taking some timing out on the PC5 as per HC! I talked to Rylan form the Vic Shop in Fort Collins and he said I may have to take more off the Timing wheel if it continued, however the only time it pinged on my last trip ( and it was hot) was when we picked up some not so good regular gas ( and I added Octane booster) gas in Chugwater, Wyoming! Once that tank was done I put back in Premium and the pinging issues were gone! Mine doesn't like anything other than the good stuff!
 
#13 ·
Kyle had mine at +6 and on the Dyno it ran fine - in the real world - it would ping in the heat! I ended up dropping to +5 then to + 4 and also taking some timing out on the PC5 as per HC! I talked to Rylan form the Vic Shop in Fort Collins and he said I may have to take more off the Timing wheel if it continued, however the only time it pinged on my last trip ( and it was hot) was when we picked up some not so good regular gas ( and I added Octane booster) gas in Chugwater, Wyoming! Once that tank was done I put back in Premium and the pinging issues were gone! Mine doesn't like anything other than the good stuff!
Mine either. I tried 87 a couple of times and the power difference was really noticeable so it was 91/92 from then on. It only holds less that 6 gallons so paying the little bit extra per fill up seemed like a no-brainer to me.

On top of all that; the factory recommends 91 or better.
 
#16 ·
I was having excess heat at +4 so I cut back to +2 and noticed that mine ran smoother with much less heat at +2 advance
 
#17 ·
are we really gaining that much when we run the wheel past +4

You say its the wheel and maybe but how old are the spark plugs.
Auto store sells them cheaper then dealer. Ask for NGK p/n 3481. You can get two for around $5 bucks as opposed to dealer wanting $14 bucks
I put in new plug wires this year and I swear the bike runs stronger and smoother then it ever did.
 
#19 ·
+3

I run my vision at +3. I also added a Victory "highflow" air filter and unplugged the O2 sensors. When I first ran it it did seem to run "rougherish (?)" but over time it seems to have smoothed out now it is very smooth. FWIW I've always run premium 93 octane as well.
 
#20 ·
It's got fairly new Iridium plugs. It has that roughness in every gear, more so down low that it did with less timing. Like I said the only variable was bumping the timing from 3 to 5 degrees. I'll run it a few weeks like this and see if it improves. If not I'll drop it back down to 3 where it ran glass smooth. I do like the bottom end snap 5 or 6 degrees gives me but the roughness is not desirable.
 
#21 ·
I'd say you're completely in the right running at +3 where the engine is smooth. The rough running at higher advance might indicate damage is being done.
 
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