XPR/Twisted vs stock Vortex

You can buy a steak from the store and cook it to the perfect medium rare with no seasoning and it’ll be good. But if it cooked by a professional chef with the most epic seasoning and butter will it be better? 
 

Twisted Development is the game changer when it comes to vortex mapping. It’s worth the money! 

Let me know what you think of the mapping. Also planning to get a vortex for my XCF

No reason to buy a vortex that doesn’t have maps from Twisted or XPR. Those tuners(Jamie/Chad) are the magic, not the box.

I ran a stock vortex on my '22 CRF450 for a few races and it was ok. Got the OEM ECU mapped by TD and it blew the Vortex out of the water. If I had gotten the Vortex mapped, it would have been even better as there are more parameters (resolution, tuning points, etc.) over stock.

Usually if you buy the ecu from one of those tuners they give you their maps for free or heavily discounted. 

If you’re not going to have a vortex customer tuned I wouldn’t buy one.  The magic comes from a tuner tweaking it to perfection.  With that being said, Twisted and XPR are great tuners, but they are not the only game around.  There are other lesser known’s that can do an equivalent job.

Just going to point out that Tokyo Mods are not one of the options that do an equal job.

Dont confuse Twisted and Tokyo, Twisted good, and Tokyo = useless.

Since we're talking about ECUs and mapping specifically for the Austrian 350F and the Vortex ECU, which of the two (XPR or Twisted) offers the smoothest delivery and the least engine braking in their standard maps for pump fuel?

I’m not confused in the least.  

The only way I'd buy a vortex again is if I was getting it custom tuned for my specific bike by a tuner on a dyno  , which there are many good ones out there . I had TZR put a tune on my oem ecu 22 350 ( $ 100 bucks) and it was every bit as good as the XPR tuned vortex I had so I sold the vortex. I did a back to back test same day . I was expecting way more with the vortex is all . Now I will say XPR s customer service is could not have been better. 

Sorry would dispute that , Tokyo Mods do great job.

I second that. They did a map on my kx450 and that thing ripped . 

I would give XPR a try. I just had a pretty bad experience with Twisted. Communication is awful, guy was rude as hell on the phone and they were not up front about how they charge. I guess I’m not Ken Roczen enough for them. 
 

The tuned Vortex is pretty impressive though, loads of power, improved throttle response and less engine braking. 

I just got one for a 2023 350sx-f from MT Racing. Had 10 maps pre programmed and it cost me 799.00 plus tax. 

Rode it back to back with my buddies bike that has a Twisted Vortex and it wasn’t much different imo. 

I was going to do one from Twisted but when I called in the guy said it would be at least 7-10 days before it would be sent out. 

I believe MT Racing is the Vortex US importer. I called in at 4:30 last Monday and Mike sent me tracking info the next morning and had it Thursday. He was super helpful in answering my questions and explaining the process how the mapping is achieved. Definitely “old school” customer service which I must say was pretty damn refreshing this day and age!!!
 

Also had my stock ECU done by Tokyo for my KX 250 and I’m very happy. 

Just got a Vortex by XPR for my '23 350sxf. It blew my mind how much of an improvement it made. My buddy has a '23 stock 350 too. The first thing he said when he got off my bike was "WTF!" It rips

I bought a stock Vortex for my KX450 to tame it down a bit. I leave it in cross country mode and it made a difference. 

I have a KX250 as well now too, I'd like to swap the vortex to that bike, but will need to send it somewhere to get it tuned for the 250 I assume. Not sure what I'm looking for on the 250, but so far I've liked it on my 450!

MT Racing is 150 bucks. He’d probably have it sent back out the same day he gets it. 

I have a 24 KTM 450SXF

aside from suspension, the bike is bone stock EXCEPT for a Vortex from Chad at XPR and a power flow air filter.

the new Vortex mapping is brilliant! Chad is so good at making these bikes easy to ride. 

get a vortex from twisted or XPR and try all the maps, you will not regret it I promise…

Chad and his wife at XPR are great communicators, that's for sure.

I have a Vortex ECU tuned by XPR on my Husky FE501, it's a beast! Granted the stock ECU is locked and a complete turd the XPR maps are good with 91 pump gas, and the difference between the 10 maps is very noticeable. 

FYI here are the maps from XPR for KTM.

map 3 is my fav right now

Do you notice much difference between 3 and 4?

4 had more power down low as opposed to map 3, For a deeply ripped track 4 would probably be better.

I ride at Glen Helen a lot in the afternoon when it's slippery and square edged, and map 3 gives me more comfort over acceleration chop than any other map in my opinion.

How was 5 and 6 different?

Hi Brent, Do you feel as if the remap improves the turn in of the KTM? and gives it a lighter feel by reducing the engining braking? 

Does XPR have a standard set of 350sfx maps or did you tell him what you wanted? Pump or T4? Does the traction control on/off still work? Thanks… I have a Vortex from my 22 350sfx, I understand this older Vortex will not allow traction control on the 23-24”s? 

I got the standard set like Brent above posted. Set up for pump gas. I must have the newer vortex because the tc control on/off and the quick shift control on the bars still work. I've only had it maybe a month so I haven't gone through all the different maps yet. I've really just used the best overall power map. 

Great, thanks for feedback…after I tried all of the maps on my 22 350sfx Twisted mapped Vortex, I only used map 1 in the end, but I do like the traction control option when I ride slippery hard pack. I just removed my Vortex & installed the stock ECU, as I am selling my 22, test rode it back to back… I had forgot what a big difference the Vortex makes! Picking up a 24 350 any day now, Definitely getting another tuned Vortex, not sure what tuner I will use, both XPR & Twisted web sites state 2-3 weeks out. 

I thought this thread might be a good question to throw out a question I have been meaning to post for a while as it looks like there’s been a lot of quality feedback.

I’ve been debating picking up a Vortex for my 2018 Husky FX350 for a while but have been a bit hesitant due to cost, in general budget leaves me only swapping out service/wear/must have (I.e. spark arrestor), but I have heard so many good things I am leaning towards taking the plunge.

The difference is what I am aiming for: I’d actually like to soften the power, especially lower in the rpm range, so as I typically ride singletrack/more tight and technical rocky trails where the power of the 350 can be a bit much if I am trying to keep rpm up and out of the flameout zone. That leads me to the other thing that has me wanting one, although I’ve gotten better at managing the flameouts it they still occur frequently enough it can be frustrating, I’ve read the Vortex helps quite a bit with this. One thing that has me a little hesitant in reading some of the comments above is that I actually don’t want to mellow out the engine braking…I use it quite a bit in some of the more hilly/steep areas to control traction/minimize braking, so I’d hate to see that go. Just to note, I’d like to keep using pump gas if possible.

Any trail/enduro/singletrack folks have any input? Or anyone in general that can touch on whether the above can be accomplished going the Vortex route? Thanks in advance!