There just seems to be a lot of misinformation here.Not true, ignition timing can be adjusted with the ignition module add on and engine braking can be lessened buy adding more fuel in parts of the map. The reason the engine brakes so hard is because the ECU really cuts back the fuel during de-acceleration if you add a bit of fuel in the de-accel part of the map the engine braking is lessened. So really the only thing the flash can do that the PCV can't is the rate the secondary flies open and adjusting/removing the rev limiter which is useless anyway. Yes its expensive but its for those of us who like to tinker ourselves and learn how to tune on our own. The PCV/JBP ect is the answer for some and the reflash is good for others depending on their situation. If I had know about flash tune before I bought the PCV, I would have went that way.
I did not say the only way to adjust ignition timing was with the ECU; what I said was that the PCV could not do it. Now, if cost is an issue as it seems to be -- which is what I was getting at -- then do we want to buy a Power Commander and an ignition module add-on? Or does it make more "cents" to have the ECU reflashed? I don't care who does our reflash, I just know Guhls is very good. But with the Flash-Tune software and connectors we can do everything without having to resort to a Power Commander or ignition module add-on.
My earlier comments in the thread about Guhls looking at the mechanical specifications of the engine still apply. We can fool around with software all day long but unless we know the engineering and physics of what our engine can take in terms of developing power, we are just shooting in the dark. We have to know one critical thing (along with a lot of other things), and that is called "Brake Mean Effective Pressure" and the only way to know it is to calculate it base on the engine design features. The static and dynamic compression ratios, which are dependent on things like altitude above sea level (height MSL), cam timing, ram air effect, and piston/cylinder design, are all critical things that have to be examined before ignition timing, max RPM, and fueling can be calculated. Guhls knows all about this stuff.
Increasing the rev limiter increases the peak horsepower as the engine can spin higher. Changing the ignition timing and fuel mapping along with increasing the redline equals more power. Horsepower = RPM*torque, so adding another 500 rpm is going to get us more ponies.
Most of the dyno charts I can find for the FZ8 show peak HP of ~96 at 10,000 RPM, where the engine is making ~51 ft/lbs of torque. If we increase the RPM at which HP can be produced, we get more HP even if the torque falls off a bit, which it does.
For example, if we increase the RPM (headroom) we'll see over 100 HP at the rear wheel, if we can just maintain 48 ft/lbs of torque at 11K RPM. 11.5K RPM@46 ft/lbs will get 100.72 HP; 12K RPM@45 ft/lbs gets us 102.82 HP. So we are talking gains of 5-7 peak HP here, not 1-2. With that come big gains in torque.
The reflash can get us there with the changes in ignition timing and fuel mapping without a pipe or any other changes. Change only the air filter to a high-flow type and we can see that over 100 HP at the rear wheel from a stock bike is simple as pie.