The Short Version:
The Mountain Runner Premium Tune is OUTSTANDING!
The Long Version:
I have owned my C14 for less than two months now. I put over 2000 miles on it in the first 3 weeks of ownership. I have been riding on and off since I was 16, and have mostly owned sport bikes, and only made the move to sport touring bikes three years ago when I purchased my dream bike, a 1994 Yamaha GTS 1000. It was the bike I wanted when they first came out, but couldn't even think about affording one. After riding the GTS for a couple years I realized it just wasn't cutting it. I wanted more power, and my wife and daughters wanted more comfort. My wife specifically said that if I wanted her to go on long rides with her, I needed a different bike. Since I really enjoy riding with my wife, I obliged her and bought a 2015 C14 with 11000 miles, and with a heated Corbin Seat, crash bars, handlebar risers, and a tall windscreen.
I had never ridden a C14 before buying this one, but I knew from the community I would love it, and I did from the very first ride. Since buying her, I have added a Delkevic 8" Carbon Slip on, and an Atlas Throttle lock.
There were only a couple of very minor things that I didn't like, the biggest being what I call the head knocker. Whenever riding two up my passenger would at some point bang their helmet into mine, usually on an upshift. The hard off throttle decel was not something I was used to. Although at first I thought she had plenty of power, a huge step up from 100hp to 150hp. I love the power, and of course anything with a wide open throttle application was impressive. Around town, most of my riding, I found myself constantly looking for the right gear to get the power without having to rev the crap out of her. Not sure how to describe it, but it seemed like I had to think a lot and plan what gear to be in at all times.
Several C14 owners told me I had to get a tune, as it transforms the bike, with one person even saying it is like getting a new bike. I ended up speaking with Steve, and wow did I get an education! I had no idea that I was going to get schooled. I say that in the best way, I learned a ton speaking with him, and appreciate the time he took to fill me in.
I decided to pull the trigger and get the Mountain Runner Premium. I live in Tucson, and there are some long stretches of roads where Premium is not available, or I would have gone for The Hammer, but I did the reasonable thing. Steve stayed in touch through the whole process, and the only hiccup was USPS being a day late on delivering, and they put it in the mailbox when it was Signature Required.
I reinstalled the ECU, and the next morning I went for a ride. My first impression was very strong. I loved how smooth shifts were, especially 1 to 2, which is where head knocking often took place before. I only had time for a short town ride, and decided to ride Mt Lemmon the next day. Mt Lemmon is mostly curves with 5000 ft of elevation gain in 25 miles. I had ridden the bike enough times on it, I knew exactly how fast I would get to the next corner and what kind of speed I could carry. Within the first two minutes of riding with the tune I realized I needed recalibrated. 4th gear is a total beast! (all the gears are but 4th is my happy place for the Mountain!) It pulls immediately and never quits! I arrived at several corners with more speed than was probably wise. I settled in and had an absolute blast all the way up. Coming down was the same. Although no one could see it, I had a grin from ear to ear. My main thought was, why didn't it come from the factory this way? This is how a bike should be!
I had to ride across town to get home on mostly 4 lane boulevards, with a decent distance between traffic lights. In Arizona we have lane filtering as well. I had so much fun moving through the traffic! Most times I didn't need to downshift to get the power I wanted, just look for a gap, signal, and I was gone! Getting away from lights and building a little gap was effortless. I found myself able to focus almost entirely on traffic and not having to think about the bike. It was wonderful.
This morning I left the house at 4am and headed to some amazing mountains and canyons north of Tucson, and east of Phoenix. I didn't think a motorcycle could be this much fun while still being comfortable! The roads I had ridden before were more enjoyable, passing cars was ridiculously quick , and best of all the road I hadn't ridden before into the Salt River Canyon was the most fun I ever had on a bike! I cannot describe how much more confident I was, and how easy the bike is to ride now. She has so much more grunt in all the right places, she is so much smoother coming off throttle, and overall the tune added many smiles to the mile!
Next week I am planning to join some other C14 owners in Park City Utah. It will be 1200+ miles in three days, and I cannot wait!
A huge thank you to Steve! I appreciate your time, effort, energy, and skill!
The Mountain Runner Premium Tune is OUTSTANDING!
The Long Version:
I have owned my C14 for less than two months now. I put over 2000 miles on it in the first 3 weeks of ownership. I have been riding on and off since I was 16, and have mostly owned sport bikes, and only made the move to sport touring bikes three years ago when I purchased my dream bike, a 1994 Yamaha GTS 1000. It was the bike I wanted when they first came out, but couldn't even think about affording one. After riding the GTS for a couple years I realized it just wasn't cutting it. I wanted more power, and my wife and daughters wanted more comfort. My wife specifically said that if I wanted her to go on long rides with her, I needed a different bike. Since I really enjoy riding with my wife, I obliged her and bought a 2015 C14 with 11000 miles, and with a heated Corbin Seat, crash bars, handlebar risers, and a tall windscreen.
I had never ridden a C14 before buying this one, but I knew from the community I would love it, and I did from the very first ride. Since buying her, I have added a Delkevic 8" Carbon Slip on, and an Atlas Throttle lock.
There were only a couple of very minor things that I didn't like, the biggest being what I call the head knocker. Whenever riding two up my passenger would at some point bang their helmet into mine, usually on an upshift. The hard off throttle decel was not something I was used to. Although at first I thought she had plenty of power, a huge step up from 100hp to 150hp. I love the power, and of course anything with a wide open throttle application was impressive. Around town, most of my riding, I found myself constantly looking for the right gear to get the power without having to rev the crap out of her. Not sure how to describe it, but it seemed like I had to think a lot and plan what gear to be in at all times.
Several C14 owners told me I had to get a tune, as it transforms the bike, with one person even saying it is like getting a new bike. I ended up speaking with Steve, and wow did I get an education! I had no idea that I was going to get schooled. I say that in the best way, I learned a ton speaking with him, and appreciate the time he took to fill me in.
I decided to pull the trigger and get the Mountain Runner Premium. I live in Tucson, and there are some long stretches of roads where Premium is not available, or I would have gone for The Hammer, but I did the reasonable thing. Steve stayed in touch through the whole process, and the only hiccup was USPS being a day late on delivering, and they put it in the mailbox when it was Signature Required.
I reinstalled the ECU, and the next morning I went for a ride. My first impression was very strong. I loved how smooth shifts were, especially 1 to 2, which is where head knocking often took place before. I only had time for a short town ride, and decided to ride Mt Lemmon the next day. Mt Lemmon is mostly curves with 5000 ft of elevation gain in 25 miles. I had ridden the bike enough times on it, I knew exactly how fast I would get to the next corner and what kind of speed I could carry. Within the first two minutes of riding with the tune I realized I needed recalibrated. 4th gear is a total beast! (all the gears are but 4th is my happy place for the Mountain!) It pulls immediately and never quits! I arrived at several corners with more speed than was probably wise. I settled in and had an absolute blast all the way up. Coming down was the same. Although no one could see it, I had a grin from ear to ear. My main thought was, why didn't it come from the factory this way? This is how a bike should be!
I had to ride across town to get home on mostly 4 lane boulevards, with a decent distance between traffic lights. In Arizona we have lane filtering as well. I had so much fun moving through the traffic! Most times I didn't need to downshift to get the power I wanted, just look for a gap, signal, and I was gone! Getting away from lights and building a little gap was effortless. I found myself able to focus almost entirely on traffic and not having to think about the bike. It was wonderful.
This morning I left the house at 4am and headed to some amazing mountains and canyons north of Tucson, and east of Phoenix. I didn't think a motorcycle could be this much fun while still being comfortable! The roads I had ridden before were more enjoyable, passing cars was ridiculously quick , and best of all the road I hadn't ridden before into the Salt River Canyon was the most fun I ever had on a bike! I cannot describe how much more confident I was, and how easy the bike is to ride now. She has so much more grunt in all the right places, she is so much smoother coming off throttle, and overall the tune added many smiles to the mile!
Next week I am planning to join some other C14 owners in Park City Utah. It will be 1200+ miles in three days, and I cannot wait!
A huge thank you to Steve! I appreciate your time, effort, energy, and skill!