I wouldn't ever say this about my 08. Mine's always been abrupt. One of the things that bothered me about it coming from a carbed bike. A throttle tamer helped but is a Band-Aid fix. I've learned to make smoother transitions but it takes more concentration which lessens enjoyment. It would be interesting to know if Jim's bike had a different stock tune.
There really isn't a different stock tune. the ECU's have different PN's and there are differences between them but the differences are subtle. there are no differences between ECU's with the same pn's, there is no ECU that's tuned uniquely to a particular bike from the factory.
Last week I flashed a bike, in my shop, for a member of this forum. He was the perfect guy for it too...long time rider, former Moto racer, and currently he raced cars with EFI so he knows the ins and outs of EFI tuning. I'm hoping he posts up here, but from what he told me he knew in the first 300 feet out of my driveway that there was a considerable change in the way the engine ran.
I have to say that Jim isn't seeming anywhere near as enthusiastic as virtually everybody else has been. Maybe he has a particularly good c-14, I don't know. My suspicions are that the throttle tamer is helping him and he doesn't really remember "stock" and that he's probably a more sedate rider than many c-14 riders. I don't know any of this as fact, but it stands to reason that someone who is an easy rider isn't going to be confronted with the extra torque and horsepower that comes with those big throttle openings.
Another issue that came come up, though I don't think this is Jim's situation, is the person that has unrealistic expectations. Tuning isn't like doubling the displacement, it's just optimizing what you already have. Some folks think it's like adding cylinders, and it just isn't. These would be folks who are going to be disappointed because of unrealistic expectations. Again, I don't think this is Jim's case at all, I more suspect he's just an easier rider so the differences aren't as noticeable to him.
So Jim... is that accurate? Steve