I kinda think, after trying a couple of bikes with quick shifters, well it kinda takes away from the skill of riding the bike.
I think that's true of most of the rider aids fitted to bikes these days and while those of us without will hark on about not needing them and it not being a 'real' riding experience I suppose the truth of it is they make the job of riding a lot easier which in turn leaves more of your attention to be focused on the road ie safer Im sure it would have been the same with cars when they introduced things like power steering and syncromesh gearboxes. I'm too young to have driven cars without them but I'm positive that if I tried to then more of my focus would be on trying to get a gear than it would be on the road With the beemer, as with most things I'm sure you'd get used to it in no time and after a year of ownership you'd probably never have a bike without one again haha
QuoteI think that's true of most of the rider aids fitted to bikes these days and while those of us without will hark on about not needing them and it not being a 'real' riding experience I suppose the truth of it is they make the job of riding a lot easier which in turn leaves more of your attention to be focused on the road ie safer Im sure it would have been the same with cars when they introduced things like power steering and syncromesh gearboxes. I'm too young to have driven cars without them but I'm positive that if I tried to then more of my focus would be on trying to get a gear than it would be on the road With the beemer, as with most things I'm sure you'd get used to it in no time and after a year of ownership you'd probably never have a bike without one again haha But here’s a thought Dude. I was reading about the latest R1 and how easy it is to ride. Much much easier to ride than the original R1 apparently . Over 200bhp Is there a risk that some, or much of this stuff, will allow people to ride way beyond their capability, and have them going far faster than they would other wise go in turn putting them and others at risk. Will electronics turn ordinary road riders into riding gods – perhaps riding gods awaiting a rude awakening.
And I think if someone is riding like an idiot then being on a 200bhp bike that has abs, anti wheelie, adaptive traction control etc will still be safer than a 100bhp bike with nothing
Traction control on bikes should be banned. It helps people corner far too fast for 99.9999999999999999999999% of the time as they just pile on the power much earlier than you would if you were worried about the back sliding out meaning your usually going too fast for the road you can see and stop in.ABS, the jury is out on for me still. In 5 years of owning a bike with it fitted, i never had it cut in despite hard braking and in the car, its only at low speed like when pulling out of a junction in slippery conditions when I have had to brake sharply.
Ill continue to do without these very expensive additions until forced to do otherwise. In almost five decades in engineering, I have doubts regarding the reliability of these systems, and the costs of repair when failure occurs. It'd hardly be within the talents or financial reaches of most of us home mechanics to repair and service these systems as they age. Good luck to those that have them. Driving up the cost of motorcycling will drive down the number of riders
QuoteIll continue to do without these very expensive additions until forced to do otherwise. In almost five decades in engineering, I have doubts regarding the reliability of these systems, and the costs of repair when failure occurs. It'd hardly be within the talents or financial reaches of most of us home mechanics to repair and service these systems as they age. Good luck to those that have them. Driving up the cost of motorcycling will drive down the number of riders I suspect that basically precludes you from buying any modern bike. Yes, it probably will. My current FZ6 is likely my last ever bike at my age, injection and ABS but nothing other than that. Todays similar sized bikes dont have the same power (MT07/CBR650 etc) They are loaded with electronic and microprocessor technology. Pretty much everything is fly by wire now. I do like the fact my old thou has a push pull cable to a bank of carbs – it can go wrong but it’s pretty predictable in terms of failure. But yeah if I refuse such technology then I don’t have the option of a new bike. Further I think in general everything is more reliable than it’s ever been.Probably more reliable in the short term, but 6 years down the line will the gadgets still be 100% reliable and performing as the day the machine was new? And if not, who ya gonna take it too for correction since that task is likely to be well beyond the talents of the average bike rider? On the other hand, I know that in industry we often look to aerospace for inspiration in matters of safety. I mean one of the leaders in safety across the board has been Boeing. So who would have ever thought they could have got it so wrong with the 737 800 max. In fact so wrong almost a year later they haven’t got it fixed. That’s the real worry. I would hazard a guess that one of the root causes is cost cutting. Aerospace is competitive just like all other industries in the global capitalist market place. They all look to cutting costs, any costs, as a means of increasing market share/competitiveness/maintaining profit return on capital invested
Probably more reliable in the short term, but 6 years down the line will the gadgets still be 100% reliable and performing as the day the machine was new?
I would hazard a guess that one of the root causes is cost cutting.
Take a look around your local car breakers yard. 30 years ago, almost every car in the yard would have either been rusty or crashed causing it to be sent for scrap. These days the yards are half full of undamaged, good looking cars that are only there because something like the ECU failed or the driver lost their only key and to fix it would cost more than buying another car.
QuoteProbably more reliable in the short term, but 6 years down the line will the gadgets still be 100% reliable and performing as the day the machine was new?Probably. This kinda reminds me of the first digital camera I bought. It was a Canon 5D back in 2005, and it cost me 1900 quid. Up until that point I had used film, slide, colour print and b&w developed and printed in my own darkroom. Loads of folks told me that my camera would be obsolete in a couple of years time – of no use at all – fit only for the bin. Well it was 2009 before the replacement model came out, which I also purchased and is still working flawlessly. The 2005 model had one major repair, oh and the battery grip went in the bin. The camera has seen a lot of use, it’s looks pretty shabby, indeed the grip got binned cos it took one knock to many – oh there’s a few marks on the sensor that cannot be removed. But it still works, it’s still a good camera and I still use it now and again. Impressive reliability.You had better luck with them than I. Both my digital cameras were dead after 3 years. Hardly a direct comparison is it though. A £159 camera, a £15k motorcycle on British roadsQuoteI would hazard a guess that one of the root causes is cost cutting.Yeah I agree. But its gotta be more than that. It’s a total quality control, engineering and cultural failure – and it is costing Boeing dear. I think the most interesting factor is cultural – sadly these plane crashes would not have come as a complete surprise to all – how come those people couldn’t get their message across. Human behaviour is fascinating – and depressing.Yes, according to one report regarding the release of internal company messages, the company seriously curtailed the testing programme, citing cost as the major factor