Too Much Technology

I used to be of the opinion that ABS wasn't needed on a bike having ridden bikes for over 35 years, that was until I actually bought a bike that had ABS and traction control. The traction control saved me from high siding in the pouring rain one day, added to the fact the bike also had cruise control, both of which make the riding experience much better.

I still have older analog bikes and will ride them, but newer bikes with electronic additions are definitely better in my opinion (until you come to work on them!).


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My 2012 KWAK has ABS which I love when cornering to be able to apply the rear brake without skidding out. The KTRC is useless, throws you into a safety anti wheelie mode if the rpms drop a little on hard acceleration. Otherwise it must have been designed for a complete idiot with three modes, Sorta Fast, Slow, and Scooter. Mode 3, Scooter, is 100 hp.

The 2007 KWAK is spartan for gizmos. It has battery voltage, gear position, fuel level, engine temp, range 1 and 2. Battery voltage is what needs to be monitored closely. The bike is running a 265 lph fuel pump, and a scavenge pump. If it can't maintain 45 lbs fuel pressure the engine will toast out in seconds under boost.

Compare the 1973 Triumph Tiger now. Find neutral, (it must have three), turn on fuel petcock, push carb button until you remember you're smoking a fag, put it out, then wait for gasoline to flow. Choke, kick, kick, tickle, kick and it fires up. The warm up is slow and goes on a scale of balky to fine, to...well it was never this hot in United Kingdom...to the cool down phase, where the carbs settles down in it's narrow operating range. Idle is never perfect, charging system is sketchy. Love the bike though, the Brits have never built an ugly bike or ridiculous hard to work on, AKA valve adjust on the ZX-14...all day...no shim? All week now.
 
I think the main reason for all the stuff, it allows manufacturers to sell to people who really should not be riding 180mph motorcycles.
About 7~8 yrs ago when I worked at MMI, I had a student with part time job in local dealers.
One Sunday, they sold 3 GSX-R 1000's. None of them made it more than 5 miles, the 17 yr old who's mother bought it for him never made it more than about 5 ft (yeah, I've ridden loads of 'fast' bikes - dumped the clutch and went straight 'up and over') One hit the shop sign after managing to get rolling and the third ended up in a ditch after 'throttle stuck' Connecting it to 'computer' showed throttle at 80%in second gear (probably around 100mph?).
Way too many riders have 'more balls than brains' and just want whatever they perceive as 'the fastest' and many sales people just want max commision, they will probably be selling insurance or something in a few years so don't care about motorcycle's or the future
 
Being old and bold I have this self preservation gene called "restraint". If I'm riding a mid Eighties big Gixxer with suspension made from cake and no electronic safety system then I take that into account with my riding and don't take liberties.

My next Birthday is my Fiftieth and I've survived unscathed thus far and have never owned a bike with ABS, TC or EFI.

If some people are that worried then I'd question whether bikes are really for them at all.
 
I'm not a big tech fan, but did own an Aprilia with all the bells and whistles. It was a no brainer and all you had to do is point and shoot. It was an amazing bike. Now.. Do I ride my older bikes to the limits that I rode that bike, never. I prefer older stuff (drive a 49 Chevy p/up) but I never fool myself into thinking the old stuff is better. Does it have more soul? You bet it does, but there really isn't much that take the place of tech. There is a reason they don't race 80's super bikes against new stuff. The new stuff is just better, but that being said, if somebody gave me the choice between say a Vincent or a new bike, it'd be the Vincent. I don't own a Quartz watch, my guns are old school, my trucks are older and I didn't own a cell phone till I was 57. Don't get me wrong, tech in a lot of cases is definitely better, I just prefer simpler things. I do own a 2012 Triumph and it is far better than my 72 BSA, but I still ride the BSA more than the Triumph.

I lit up a gun thread recently. There is a new scope that tells you when you're going to make a kill shot. I said I had filled my tags with a $70 Savage for decades and it blew up into a "be a hunter" or "tech rules" thread. I get both sides, but do agree, you should learn the skills and then add the tech.
 
'We now like our things not to disturb us.Why do some of the current Mercedes models have no dipstick?
What are the attractions of being disburdened of involvement with our own stuff?'
-M. Crawford
 
ApriliaBill said:
I didn't own a cell phone till I was 57. Don't get me wrong, tech in a lot of cases is definitely better, I just prefer simpler things. I do own a 2012 Triumph and it is far better than my 72 BSA, but I still ride the BSA more than the Triumph.

I still don't have a cell phone(well, I had an iPhone 4 for 3 months but it hasn't been connected to a network in years)
It's way more fun and 'entertaining' to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow (why I like 360's so much?)
 
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