Electronic Trickery – Do You Really Need It?

Having said all of that - if my next bike has all the goodies (whatever that maybe) then great - if the next bike I go for doesn't then it wouldn't stop me buying said bike....I wouldn't go looking for the electronic stuff out of priority.

 

Not essential but nice to have, sometimes, when I am not worried about them breaking, which isn't very often (worried that is, not actually breaking).

Reliability of modern electronics is pretty good and will get better with time. They are a fact of life.

 

They cost heaps if the blue smoke escapes,then they don't work.

 

After riding bikes without any gadgets for 40 odd years, I still feel I need all the help I can get. Whenever I make a bollocks of a corner (always on the cards), if there's a chance that some ABS, traction control, etc can get me out of trouble then I'm all for it.

Besides, these things exist and while we can choose to buy them or not they can't be uninvented. The next time some new gizmo is introduced, I do not want to be an early adopter though. Let somebody else experience the teething troubles. After the thing, whatever it is, has been perfected then I'll buy it.

 

But if the TC saves you getting fired off the bike in a high side / the abs saves you parking the thing into a ditch?
That could potentially 'cost heaps' too, and maybe not just pound notes or NCB?

 

Ask Kope if you need it...

 

Its an interesting thread. I can see the point of those that want them and it makes a lot of sense.

Its the future there is no going back.

Then there is the psychological factor, I don't know if its Urban myth or not but seem to remember reading (not the Daily Mail) that car drivers were taking bigger risks because of the perception of the gadgets abilities to step in and save them. I don't see motorcycles any different. So riders will, over time, start to take bigger risks as the safety systems, as perceived, will sort it all out when they cook it.

There is of course the valid argument for ABS being useful when some other idiot does the unexpected.

I've never had to use ABS TC etc: in a car why would I want it on a bike? I don't do track.

I suppose what it boils down to for me, is how fast do you want to go. On the road to me it only makes sense if you have mega power, which I don't want or need. I'd rather have something light with less power. On the track it makes loads of sense cannot deny it.

I'm not scared of it I just find it unnecessary complexity, God knows enough goes wrong with fffff'n Ducatis as it is without wishing for a whole lot more stuff to factor in.

 

My GSXR has no ABS, no traction control, no selectables modes for less HP or change in throttle. It's got no anti wheelie or engine braking control magic. It's a very fast, light bike, with a complete bell-end riding it, and it's fine. We don't need all of that. That's partly why I love riding it. It's very different from driving a fast car where I feel I have to be so ridiculous to even be near the limit that I will end up going to jail if I try to have fun. Riding the bike at 20mph is fun.

Edit: and I ride it every day to work, all year round.

 

I have no problem with ABS and traction control. They're there to intervene if - and only if - the tyre breaks traction with the road, which means under normal circumstances they shouldn't be doing anything at all. I just don't ride in a way which involves losing grip on a regular basis, and if I do, there's probably a patch of diesel involved.

When that happens, I think it's OK for the electronics to try and stop me falling off.

But the rest of the time? Modern electronically controlled fuel injection and ignition timing is great, no issues there at all. Electronic instruments are accurate, reliable and informative - even if I could do without the current trend towards fitting unreadable TFT screens in place of proper instruments. (Yes, Monster 1200, I'm looking straight at you right now).

It's riding "modes" that I could do without. I don't need the engine's power capping around town, I can do this myself by simply not turning the twist grip quite all the way. What I do need is nice, simple, direct throttle control, like I get with a mechanical cable. My Z1000SX, for example, has no need for riding modes at all - yet even on that bike, this year's model includes them for no better reason than fashion.

 

what about an anti falling over device, why cant they invent that.

 

I would rather do without. Not because I don't want the assistance, I'm amazed at how well it all works, but simply because I tend to buy old shitters to do up, and I can live without the extra complexity of abs, tc, etc. However I'd love to try a bike with active suspension.

 

Mate the trick is never to forget and rely on that shit not meaning to be rude.To me it is the essence of riding.

 

El T couldn't agree more, but I don't think that will be the case over time, people get used to the systems, take them for granted then start to rely on them.

There are quite a few instances of this type of mindset, F1 is a good example, I don't think drivers now would do what they do if they suddenly stuck them in vintage F1 cars.

I'm in the lightweight less power and less complexity camp firmly, that stated I know overall they are a good thing.

 

It's known as a car.

 

Those 'orrible spotty yoofs will abuse the system. Us old gits will never trip an abs or traction control system as long (or short) as we live, but them yoofs will be trying to decipher the flashing lights while checking their fb status and skyping the bird the second they leave the showroom floor.

This, gentlemen, is called progress. There's no cure for old...

 

Me too, the red flashing dash is the warning to back off before you get launched

 

I dunno how far TC intervenes, and I'm no riding god by any means, but I bloody love it when you accelerate fookin' hard out of bends and the back end starts breaking away. It's a bit of a special feeling.

 

Give me a gear indicator that's enough for me.