1970's suspension and frame design matched to a s1000rr engine. makes us either dead or a superhero staying on the thing
A good question from the OP. For me, the best use of technology would be innovative anti-theft devices. A (rather thick) girl came into the shop today with a Macbook she has bought from some ex-boyfriend. For whatever reason, this bloke has blocked her computer with a code he has set up in iCloud, and there is nothing she can do about it. There is also nothing we can do about it, without Apple unlocking it (which they will probably only do with a proof of purchase). Now, you can imagine something similar to immobilise your bike, or track it, or identify it or whatever. The biggest bugbears for bike riders are theft and reliability. Reliability is increasingly electrical, so looms should be bullet proof and water proof. Connectors and sensors should be top notch. This and theft prevention means a lot more to me than another 10 bhp I can't use without going to prison or losing my licence (in which case, I can't use any horsepower at all).
Rider aids are the latest fashion. Some bikes these days are like those women who trowel on so much make up that you can't actually see what they really look like underneath. All you see is a caricature of a person. First thing I usually do when I try a new bike is turn off everything that will turn off to get some idea of what the real bike is actually like. Then decide which, if any of it, is worth turning back on again. Some of it is useful some of the time and I too would appreciate technology used to prevent theft rather health and safety neutering. Manufacturers are falling over each other to dream up more little black boxes of unnecessary gimmickry to justify ever higher purchase prices. I can just about see the justification for adding some electronics to bikes like the 1299 Panigale but it is absurdly expensive. And there is no bike under 150 rwbhp that needs power reducing "rider modes". Neither do heavyweight tourers. Its just manufacturers gilding the lilly to justify spiralling price tags. The theory may be that these devices make bikes safer, and they may do in certain circumstances, but I'm certain they are also training a generation of poorer riders who have been taught how not to ride a bike and are dependent on electronics to keep them upright.
Flash-tune,decent pipes and tyres.....oh,and someone who can actually ride the bike,no other shite is needed,unless you're a permanent track day user.
All I need on my 916sps is the engine oil warning light and petrol light.You can stick the rest ducati were the sun doesn't shine as its just more shit I don't really need to ride safely and will just be more stuff to go wrong.
Interesting thread - I found myself in this position last month....on selling my hyper and looking for a naked/super naked everything id read in the run up to the sale of the hyper pointed to the s1000r ( had I have not had a test drive I would have just gone out and bought one). Ive never ridden anything before with traction control, abs etc etc (rsv4 had the 3 modes which I tried on my first ride after buying it and left it in "T" mode ever since...cant even remember how to switch it now... Driving the s1000r was like there was something inbetween....I felt disconnected from it (weird but that's the only way I can describe it). It did everything perfectly but felt too smooth...its almost like bmw said "just get on the thing, twist the throttle and itll do everything else..." - it almost took the fun out of riding.....for the first time in my biking life of 25 years I handed the keys back and felt nothing. The other thing was that I like to tinker, replace, upgrade, service etc etc and it seems with the bmw (and im guessing all others that are electronically inclined) you cant really mess with anything as its all integrated...ie the heated grips on the beemer didn't get hot enough (nowhere near as hot as my oxford ones) so, I couldn't change them as they were integrated....what about if I wanted a spanky ohlins fork upgrade in the future...nope, all integrated.... In the end as some of you already know I hedged for the non abs z1ooo where I can mess around with it til my hearts content....sas system getting ripped out on the weekend....its totally manual and with the full system on there its an animal and that's without a sniff of the dyno, from what I can gather a custom reflash should get me in the range of 25 - 30 bhp increase although ill reserve judgement... Id love something to replace my RSV4 factory (pre aprc) in the future (love to be back in the ducati fold with a panigale) but its bound to be infested in electronics so ill have no choice I expect, which does and doesn't bother me... Having said that I think my next bike will be an old 2007 hyper 1100, ripped to pieces and then rebuilt....once ive got my supermoto running....as I can do literally everything myself...
Ride-by-wire, ABS, traction control, cruise control, cornering LED headlamps, active suspension, electronic steering & fuel cap locks, variable valve timing - it's all great. Bring it on. Anything that might save me when I make a cock up is more than welcome. In any case in ten years time every bike will have what a good Ducati has now, so get used to it.
The more I read in the bike press about the latest electronic "aids" fitted to bikes, the more bits of a bike that have an electronic brain, the more neo-luddite I become. It's not even as if I'm a keen mechanic who likes working on their own bikes (frankly I hate getting my hands dirty with the oily stuff!) I can quite understand how home mechanics despair at the modern vehicle which requires plugging into the authorised dealer diagnostic system to work out what's going on. I really don't see the point in making a super-powerful engine, that then has to be fitted with a variety of neutering technology to make it useable on the road (1290 SuperDuke KTM springs to mind), or that will be heinously expensive to replace if it goes wrong (thus leading to more bikes being written off - another aspect of the despicable disposable technology culture) The less on a vehicle that is hackable and trackable the better. My slightly tinfoil hat libertarian side hates the idea of cars that dial the emergency services when their sensors detect an anomaly that might be an accident, or cars that talk to the internet (and therefore can be hacked from it). I much prefer the idea - the purity, perhaps - of old fashioned mechanical connections (not ride by wire throttle), and, frankly, the idea that the rider needs to learn how to ride and hone their skills. Yes, it may well be that ABS and traction control may prevent some accidents, but better that we all remember to keep our eyes open for diesel spills, deer, other road users than expect the on-board sensors to get us out of any trouble. In my mind the only necessary tech on a bike is heated grips! I will occasionally use satnav and radio comms on the bike - handy but not essential. I doubt I'd ever own a true classic bike (oily puddles collecting in takeaway tubs in the garage under the sump), an expectation of routine roadside repairs, but I don't want or need anything with more electrickery than my 696. I'd rather have a bike that never goes rusty or corrodes, is self cleaning, doesn't need chain adjustment/lubing, and has wheelbearings made out of something more durable than mozzarella!
IMO the 1290 SDR doesn't need any power-controlling rider aids. Its a bloody fast bike, but even with everything turned off the power is entirely useable. None of the KTM twins develop brutal bottom-end grunt - you have to rev them - nor do they have overly sensitive power deliveries. (The 990 snatchiness was an on-off issue caused by emissions control measures which are easily mapped out). KTM torque doesn't erupt out of nowhere and smack you in the chest. The curve rises progressively with the power. They require you to keep winding on the throttle which makes them brilliantly controllable and easy to ride with no sudden surprises to catch you out. From all the hype you'd have thought the SDR was as hairy as an old 2 stroke 500cc motocrosser. It isn't. The clocks won't rear up and belt you in the mush without warning and it hasn't got the viciously flighty top-end of some of the peakier supersports in-line fours. I'm not suggesting for one moment its limp. Its outrageously quick and it'll do 12 0'clock wheelies with ease and in 3rd and 4th gear, but you have to specifically order it to. You'd have to be a complete clown to flip one. A 1098R engine in that upright chassis would be a different matter altogether. I'm not sure whether the "monsterous power" claims (180 bhp at the crank, 163 bhp at the rear wheel - big for a naked but not out of the ordinary these days) were a ruse to market expensive and superfluous price-padding electronics or whether the intrusiveness of the electronics which were heavily trailed at the bike's launch were intended to give the impression of a bike wilder than it really is. It is a very powerful and a brilliant bike but one made legendary (and expensive) by some very shrewd marketing.
