The PerformanceFI Story
The story of PerformanceFI begins in the early 90's when Stew Prince and Mil Blair met at the Bonneville Salt Flats and realized that they both had an interest in creating a fuel injection system that would increase the performance of V-Twin engines. Mil had realized in the mid 80's that the Jammer Streamliner (now the Easyriders Streamliner) had achieved the maximum performance it could get from carburetion, so he appealed to Hilborn, a fuel injector company that was just developing fuel injection for cars but found nothing appropriate for what he wanted to do. Stew had been designing fuel injection systems for a long time, but he was especially intrigued by the complications of making it work on an engine as quirky as the V-Twin.
They worked on the project for a number of years, but the early prototypes required electronics that were too big to be practical, taking up space the size of two saddle bags and tuning it was too complicated for the average user.
They dropped the attempt for a few years and waited for the technology to catch up to their vision of what a turn-key EFI system could look like on a Harley: compact, easy to install and use, and powerful. In the mean time, they continued their collaboration by designing and building the Teresi Dyno-Drags, which continues to travel across the USA and is one of the most popular attractions at every biker gathering where it appears.
With financial support and encouragement from Steve Yetsky of Belt Drives Limited (BDL) and Joe Teresi of Easyriders, they resumed their efforts in 2004 on what would eventually become the Pegasus Fuel Injection system. Stew founded PerformanceFI in 2005 as a way to begin commercializing the work they had been doing on the Pegasus system. BDL sold the system for a short while through its distributors before turning over the sales rights to PerformanceFI. BDL continues to produce the key components of the system in Orange, CA and provides important R&D support by allowing Mil and Stew to use their in-house dyno for testing and development.
When Pegasus Fuel Injection was rolled out in 2007, it quickly began receiving accolades from everyone who installed it on a Harley. That year it won the prestigious VTwin Expo Product of the Year. The system, as it is today, is the most flexible engine management system on the market. It controls both fuel and spark, can operate closed or open loop, and will work on any engine style. You can use it with nitrous, with turbos, superchargers, get great gas mileage, tons of power, and even meet emission standards in the US, Europe, and Asia.
Stew and Mil never stop innovating and continue to improve the Pegasus system to make sure it remains the best V-Twin carburetor replacement solution on the market. They are always thinking of new ways to boost the performance of your Harley.
Stew Prince
Stewart Prince is the founder and President of PerformanceFI. He is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at California State University at Northridge where he has taught for 17 years, specializing in automotive engineering. In addition to teaching, he has served as a consultant to many different companies, including Aerodyne, Easyriders, and Performance Machine, and done research for the California Air Resources Board on automotive emissions.
Stew has been tearing machines apart--and sometimes putting them back together-- his whole life. During high school Stew worked at his uncle's gunsmith shop where he learned to run machines like lathes, mills, etc., and how mechanical things work. After high school he worked on an offshore drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico in both the engine room and on the drill floor.
Stew has ridden motorcycles his whole life. While living in Venezuela, he had two Honda minitrails, a Honda 90 supersport, and a Benelli dirt bike. He bought a '65 Harley Panhead in 1978, tore it apart and rebuilt it (countless times). He hit the open road with it and his friends and rode all around the US southwest.
Stew designed his first electronic fuel injection system in 1982. He has designed many different ones since, including for his dissertation (Engine air control/drive by wire). He has designed various systems that have emphasized low emissions, power, or alternative fuels.
Stew created PerformanceFI in order to serve the Harley after market, bringing his professional automotive engineering background to V-Twin fuel injection.
Mil Blair
Mil Blair (Research and Technical Support) doesn't have a straight answer when you ask him what he does for a living. "Inventor, backyard engineer, poor man's mechanic, sometimes know-it-all," but his most accurate answer is "I have fun." For a man who knows everybody who is anybody in the American motorcycle industry, his is a job description that captures not only the business, but also the culture, of motorcycles.
Mil got his first bike, a '47 Knucklehead, when he was eighteen years old living in Minnesota. In 1959 Mil and his buddy, Joe Teresi, left Minnesota winters behind and set out for Los Angeles with a Harley, a BSA, and $68 between them. After working for a record company they managed to start their own – building the actual plant from the ground up - but that was just a temporary diversion from their true love: motorcycles. In the meantime they drag-raced at Lion's drag strip from 1961-1965.
In 1967 Mil and Joe bought Psychedelic Choppers and turned it into a parts manufacturing company that eventually became Jammer Cycle Products. At the same time, with Lou Kinzey, they introduced Easyriders Magazine to the motorcycling world. While Mil maintained oversight of the manufacturing business, he also served as a one-man production machine, writing technical articles and arranging and conducting the photo shoots for both Easyriders and Jammer product catalogs.
For decades, Mil's business was the pleasure of owning and riding motorcycles. He attended every bike show, convention, and rodeo. He helped develop products and define trends. He tested products and rode bikes and met thousands of people who are now friends and colleagues.
