How will electronics change how bikes are ridden?

[afm199]

BINGO!

I had a student in a Military Sportbike Rider Course toss his 2013 S1000rr on the ground while cornering at approximately 25mph, and all the rider-aids / electronics were on.

Saw the same thing at Sears Point earlier this year. Guy was carrying insane lean angle exiting and depending on TC to get fast exits. It was scary watching him, being behind was agonizing. (Sort of when, not if is he going to toss it.)

He ended up tossing it at T2 with one instructor outside of him and me outside of the instructor. I ended up going into the dirt all the way to T3 to avoid getting collected.

 

[redtail]

A bike with electronics is more fun, especially for the experienced rider. It takes it up a notch, makes more HP accessible/usable and allows rider focus to be trained more on riding.

 

[ob1ventura]

Yeah, this is a valid point, for sure. We are seeing the demise of the cheap, simple moto. Fortunately, there are quite a few bikes who still fill that niche: DR 650, KLR, etc. Pretty soon, the only way to buy bikes with tech that is more than 30 years old is to go HD.

Yeh, but I like my 10r and not going to replace it w/ the KLR. It's got more than 110k mi on it and will have to be replaced someday. Don't want to pay for a bunch of electronics I don't use and don't want the complexity.

Guess that's why there are 2 black dynas in the garage

 

[afm199]

A bike with electronics is more fun, especially for the experienced rider. It takes it up a notch, makes more HP accessible/usable and allows rider focus to be trained more on riding.

Huh. I guess I just don't know how to have fun.

 

[Hooli]

I agree that one can't take a puter bike an "wire the throttle open" but disagree that the entire sport is about getting to the corner, turning it and then exiting.

Then what, in your mind, does the remainder of this sport consist of? Certainly not straight-lining...hell, one can do that in a car.

 

[afm199]

I hesitated to bother posting in this thread because my track experience (none) doesn't compare to that of yours and the OP's. I agree that one can't take a puter bike an "wire the throttle open" but disagree that the entire sport is about getting to the corner, turning it and then exiting.

On the track you can boil it down to what you do in the last fifty feet of braking and first fifty feet of acceleration. That's what makes a rider fast. Everything else is fluff.

 

[NoobCorpse]

A bike with electronics is more fun, especially for the experienced rider. It takes it up a notch, makes more HP accessible/usable and allows rider focus to be trained more on riding.

I agree with this 1000%, and it's been my major point when discussing the safety aids, too - ABS / TC won't save a bad rider, but it may provide an edge for an experienced rider that could make the difference for keeping the bike upright and in control.

 

[clutchslip]

Saw the same thing at Sears Point earlier this year. Guy was carrying insane lean angle exiting and depending on TC to get fast exits. It was scary watching him, being behind was agonizing. (Sort of when, not if is he going to toss it.)

He ended up tossing it at T2 with one instructor outside of him and me outside of the instructor. I ended up going into the dirt all the way to T3 to avoid getting collected.

Ha! Too bad he didn't highside and REALLY teach himself a lesson. That's a corner to learn and at speed TC won't keep up with the off-camber changes. Electronics can't stop all the mistakes. They can still highside in MotoGP, for ham-fisted sake.

My reactions times aren't quick enough to adjust to full-throttle leaned over, with or without electronics, so I will keep rolling-on. (Meant both ways).

 

[louemc]

Huh. I guess I just don't know how to have fun.

And... God knows...We aren't experienced either...

 

[GAJ]

My conclusion from this thread is that they will work fine for most competent riders but it will allow the idiots to crash at a faster speed!

 

[redtail]

Electronics can't stop all the mistakes. They can still highside in MotoGP, for ham-fisted sake.

Agreed!

 

[Lazerus]

Then what, in your mind, does the remainder of this sport consist of? Certainly not straight-lining...hell, one can do that in a car.

Well there's drifting (stopped by electronics) wheelies (stopped by electronics) stoppies (stopped by electronics) backing it in (stopped by electronics)...

I want electronics that stop arm pump and being slow.

 

[FourThreeSix]

On the track you can boil it down to what you do in the last fifty feet of braking and first fifty feet of acceleration. That's what makes a rider fast. Everything else is fluff.

I like this line a lot.

 

[UDRider]

Saw the same thing at Sears Point earlier this year. Guy was carrying insane lean angle exiting and depending on TC to get fast exits. It was scary watching him, being behind was agonizing. (Sort of when, not if is he going to toss it.)

He ended up tossing it at T2 with one instructor outside of him and me outside of the instructor. I ended up going into the dirt all the way to T3 to avoid getting collected.

Did he lowside because he was carrying too much speed through that turn, and angle was to steep, or was it because he wacked the throttle open too soon and TC couldn't keep up?

 

[Lazerus]

TC won't keep the front from tucking if you have a half hearted roll on at the bumpy crest of a turn. 2 stings both ways. Come in too fast, maybe crash, come in too slow and roll on too early, unload the front before the bump at the apex, maybe crash. Brings 'respecting the slowest part of the turn" to an unusually high level of importance.

 

[afm199]

Did he lowside because he was carrying too much speed through that turn, and angle was to steep, or was it because he wacked the throttle open too soon and TC couldn't keep up?

Given the lean angle and throttle he was using, and the fact that it was an exit crash, it was the tire spinning up. As it was on corner exit, I vote that the tire spun so quickly the TC couldn't stop it. It was already at the point of no return.

 

[afm199]

TC won't keep the front from tucking if you have a half hearted roll on at the bumpy crest of a turn. 2 stings both ways. Come in too fast, maybe crash, come in too slow and roll on too early, unload the front before the bump at the apex, maybe crash. Brings 'respecting the slowest part of the turn" to an unusually high level of importance.

Baddabing. So easy to exit that corner if you just wait it out, so painful if you don't.

I like this line a lot.

Thank Bradley Smith, he said it.

 

[ob1ventura]

Then what, in your mind, does the remainder of this sport consist of? Certainly not straight-lining...hell, one can do that in a car.

Well there is "straight lining" which can be a rush but the sport involves a shit load more than best times at the track or taking it up a notch on 84. Not arguing against the merits of having fun on 84. I've had a number of sport bikes over the last 40 years for a reason but to answer your question...........touring, making the commute bearable, the freedom that comes with wrenching your own bike, dancing the back roads, exploring new roads and like most sports / hobbies becoming more proficient. There are whole threads dedicated to why people ride.

 

[ob1ventura]

On the track you can boil it down to what you do in the last fifty feet of braking and first fifty feet of acceleration. That's what makes a rider fast. Everything else is fluff.

Missed the part where OP's question concerned only riding on the track.

 

[FourThreeSix]

Missed the part where OP's question concerned only riding on the track.

There is most definitely a correlation between street and track when it comes to braking and acceleration. The last 50 feet of braking on the street could be life or death depending on what kind of inputs are made.