Those Dyno Guys

06/17/2026

06/17/2026

We appreciate Micheal Kampa of Illinois for making the 1200-mile trip to receive the necessary work, get a COMPLIMENTARY HOTEL STAY, and finally a MadLad solutions Dyno tune. This 26 Road Glide 117 began the day with 179 miles on the clock and a completely stock configuration. By tonight, it had transformed into a touring performance authority, featuring a remarkably perfect torque curve. 35 more Horsepower
129HP 140TQ
Cycle-Rama, Inc CR480-OG cam
Khrome Werks Outlaw 2-1 exhaust
Professional Dyno tuning by Matt Smith using MadLad Solutions software.
Video in the comments below-Stock vs Not! 👇

06/16/2026

Psst… hey you!
Did you know your lawn mower probably has a larger air filter than your Gen 2 Harley has? Now you do!

06/15/2026

Big thanks to Jarrod Garms for making the trip down from Pensacola to get his build dialed in! He shared with me that this entire build was based on my videos and my YouTube videos. When a package just consistently performs, smart people take note! Jarrod Did!
Alpha Performance Engines APE/CR483 was doing the heavy lifting on this one. Just such a great overall package.

Video in the comments below 👇

06/13/2026

When 484 was in its infancy, the 472 never made the light of day as a production cam.
Latest cam design features and more lift to match the public’s perception of what lift would have to be In order to achieve “real performance” now makes the 484 such a formidable performer. The CR472 like the original CR470 is a reminder that lift is not as important as the timing numbers.
A human hair is .0035 thick. The difference in lift alone between .470 and .484? 4 human hairs…
Those that tell you that you need at least .485 lift in a Gen 1 are dead wrong.
Enjoy your Saturday!

06/12/2026

Another happy customer! Robert Saylor spent the day with me during his MadLad tune. He wanted a different look and also wanted to be certain his bike was running at its best as he has a cross country trip planned. He and his son rode all the way from Indiana to experience Florida.
Alpha Performance Engines CR484 making some steam!
Video in the comments below 👇

06/12/2026

Giggle

06/11/2026

A little dyno correction lesson for those following yesterday’s discussion.

Some people pointed to the humidity difference between the baseline and final pull and suggested the results were misleading.

So let’s look at the actual numbers.

The graph was printed using STD correction:

Baseline: 164.09 hp / 153.36 tq
Final: 170.23 hp / 158.77 tq
Gain: +6.14 hp / +5.41 tq

The dyno weather stack reported:

10:28 AM
Temp: 81.6°F
Baro: 29.19
Humidity: 69%

6:02 PM
Temp: 96.2°F
Baro: 29.18
Humidity: 22%

Now compare that to KPIE.

KPIE is St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, the closest official airport weather station to my shop.

KPIE around the baseline pull:

10:53 AM
Temp: 81°F
Dew point: 73°F
Humidity: 77%
Altimeter: 30.14

KPIE around the final pull:

5:53 PM
Temp: 88°F
Dew point: 62.1°F
Humidity: 42%
Altimeter: 30.06

6:53 PM
Temp: 86°F
Dew point: 70°F
Humidity: 59%
Altimeter: 30.06

So what stands out?

The morning dyno stack reading was believable.

The evening dyno stack reading was the problem.

The dyno stack claimed 96.2°F and 22% humidity at 6:02 PM in Pinellas County, Florida, in June.

The closest official airport station showed 88°F / 42% humidity at 5:53 PM and 86°F / 59% humidity at 6:53 PM.

That is nowhere near 22%.

The barometer also matters. The dyno stack showed almost no baro change from baseline to final, 29.19 to 29.18. KPIE also showed very little pressure movement during the same window, 30.14 earlier and 30.06 later.

So the real issue was not some massive atmospheric swing creating fake horsepower.

The issue was a questionable humidity reading from the dyno weather stack.

Now here is where it gets funny.

Using SAE correction and trusting the dyno stack’s questionable 22% humidity reading:

Baseline: 161.39 hp / 150.83 tq
Final: 166.57 hp / 155.36 tq
Gain: +5.19 hp / +4.52 tq

Using SAE correction with nearby KPIE historical weather data instead:

Baseline: 161.96 hp / 151.37 tq
Final: 169.26 hp / 157.86 tq
Gain: +7.30 hp / +6.49 tq

Read that again.

The questionable 22% humidity reading did not inflate the final number.

It actually reduced it.

In other words, if SAE correction had relied on that questionable humidity input, it would have made the final result look worse, not better.

That is one of the reasons I prefer STD correction. STD relies primarily on temperature and barometric pressure and is far less vulnerable to questionable humidity data from a weather stack.

The takeaway is simple:

Same motorcycle.
Same dyno.
Same operator.
Same correction method.
Baseline recorded.
Final recorded.

The gain did not come from humidity.

The gain came from the work performed.

And for those who think dynos are random number generators, I also posted a graph today showing the same motorcycle tested more than a year apart. Different day, different mileage, different firmware version, and the curves were nearly identical.

Anybody can post a hero pull.

Repeatability is what matters.

06/10/2026

How’s this for consistency? Yes, there’s two runs laid over each other!

Samuel Johnson is a Valued customer. He had his engine freshened up not long ago. Last year I updated the firmware and Dyno tuned it. This year, I did the same, enabled Race shifting and retuned it to match the new firmware and fresh engine. These runs are over a year apart!!!
2023.5 CVO
SE Stage 4 135
D&D Billetcat 2-1 with big bore baffle.
168Hp 160TQ!
Screaming Eagle SE8-550 cam. 😳