RaiderWill, here's a bit of background on the "flies" issue (as I understand it - others can correct me if I'm wrong):
After purchasing my 2006 ZX-14 and finding this forum, I read many posts about disappointing low-end and midrange performance of the 2006 and 2007 models. My understanding is that Kawasaki engineers intentionally "neutered" the bike somewhat for reasons of safety and streetability. At that time, the ZX-14 was the most powerful production bike in the world and they didn't want people killing themselves on it. By restricting air flow into the engine between idle and 6000 rpm using a second set of electronically-controlled butterfly valves, they could effectively limit the horsepower and torque created by the engine at lower speeds and make the bike more manageable.
When I got my bike, the performance was exactly as described by the critics: absolutely ferocious acceleration from about 5500 to 9000 rpm, but a very noticeable lag at lower rpm's, particular around 3000-3500. I found this very annoying in a big-bore sportbike because there is plenty of displacement here to make useable power all across the rpm range. I ride mostly on the highway and at 70mph in sixth gear, the engine is right in that 3500 rpm dead zone. To make a quick pass, I need to downshift which should not be necessary with a 190 hp sportbike. I also learned that due to these complaints, Kawasaki changed the ECU firmware in 2008+ models to so that the secondary butterflies begin to open at around 3000, thereby eliminating or at least minimizing the problem.
That's great for the 2008/2009 guys, but if you have an 06 or 07 model, how do you fix this problem? Ideally Kawasaki would have offered to re-flash our ECUs to make the flies open earlier, but they didn't. You can allegedely send your ECU to an aftermarket company and get it re-programmed but I've read some horror stories about this.
So it seems that the easiest way to go is to simply remove the secondary butterflies altogether. There is an excellent tutorial on this forum with clear photos and instructions on how to do this. That's great, but having all this extra air coming into the engine means the stock fuel injection map doesn't work so well anymore (too lean). That's where the Power Commander comes in. You load it with a map that accounts for all that extra air and sets the air/fuel ratio back where it's supposed to be.
That brings us full circle to my original post. I want to release the beast in my 2006 by removing the flies, but also trying to find the best deal on a PC V. I'm always suspicious of eBay stores that sell name-brand electronic stuff way cheaper than the manufacturer because it might either be stolen or defective. As always the folks here provided valuble feedback. Thanks for all the replies.
