regarding traction control...

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I believe BMW's new traction control on the 1000 super sport bike is good.
It can change a medium track rider into a great rider.

It will make some people over confident, but when they get onto a regular bike, they're stuck and most likely will crash.

The ABS on my wife's SV650 drives me nuts, I freaking hate it. You cannot agressivly downshit and apply rear brake without the damn ABS kicking in.

I wont to disconnect it or put a switch, so she can turn it on in the rain.
 
I rode an ABS-equipped BMW F800ST for a couple of weeks. Generally, it's good, but it does some odd things now and again. Braking over a minor ripple in the pavement sometimes confuses the wheel speed sensors and makes the ABS kick in momentarily. Granted, with a normal bike, the ripple probably would have momentarily let the front wheel start locking up, but the lockup would be for such a short time and recover immediately on the other side of the ripple that it would ordinarily pass unnoticed. The ABS system notices, cuts off braking momentarily to try to resolve the lockup, then the brake is not on when the wheel gets to the other side of the ripple, until the ABS realizes that the wheel is no longer locking up. This results in a noticeable lurch due to the momentary loss of braking.

The ABS system on that bike is an older design, and I'm somewhat curious whether the newer-generation systems on certain Honda and Kawasaki models has sorted this out.
 
Brian P said:
I rode an ABS-equipped BMW F800ST for a couple of weeks. Generally, it's good, but it does some odd things now and again. Braking over a minor ripple in the pavement sometimes confuses the wheel speed sensors and makes the ABS kick in momentarily. Granted, with a normal bike, the ripple probably would have momentarily let the front wheel start locking up, but the lockup would be for such a short time and recover immediately on the other side of the ripple that it would ordinarily pass unnoticed. The ABS system notices, cuts off braking momentarily to try to resolve the lockup, then the brake is not on when the wheel gets to the other side of the ripple, until the ABS realizes that the wheel is no longer locking up. This results in a noticeable lurch due to the momentary loss of braking.

The ABS system on that bike is an older design, and I'm somewhat curious whether the newer-generation systems on certain Honda and Kawasaki models has sorted this out.
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The "ABS release" that you are describing is common to MANY abs equipped bikes. From Suzuki, to Kawasakis, to Harleys, to KTMs and BMWs. They all exhibit this form of release at some point or another and to certain extents, and this has been well documented.

As for the traction control system. From my readings of some excellent bike mags, the Kawi system is light years ahead of the BMW. They say the BMW is "outdated", relatively speaking compared to the Kawi.

Does it make the bike uncrashable? No. But they say its "one step closer" to the uncrashable bike, And thats what its all about.

If TC and ABS is available on my next new bike. You better believe I will opt for it.

.
 
I've yet to have the ABS system kick in, that I've noticed. Only a couple of times have I had to hit the brakes hard and I didn't take the time to check the dash to see if it had acivated but I didn't feel anything. On dry pavement I can hit the brakes as hard as I like and the bike stops very quickly but no ABS kick in. I have never tried to pound the brakes in the rain to see what happens but then I drive like my mom in the rain.

I almost always ride in Race mode which is the second least level of ABS and DTC so the ABS may kick in earlier in Rain or Sport mode but I never use those.
 
TYBALT71 said:
Good to know bro ,about to pull the trigger on purchasing this bike-Ty
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There's at least one very good forum dedicated to it. If you're considering buying one it's worth checking out. Lots of information from some very well informed and helpful folks.
 
To make a long story short, the BMW's traction control, ABS and lean angle sensors ( the gyro's) work in conjunction with each other as well as adding anti wheelie to the mix. The Kawi's system is much less sophisticated but still works, just not as well. The riding effect at least for me is very subtle depending on what mode you are in. As far as making an average rider a hero, it most definitely does not do that but it will keep you from high-siding into oblivion. As for the sissy comments...I'd rather be a sissy than dead and my bike is still faster than yours.

The only thing it won't do is save you from a low side. The ABS is terrific on the bike. You have to really make a mistake or panic to kick it in and it just works.

All bikes will have this and improved technology in the coming years. Embrace it. You will like it and so will your spouse, insurance company, your kids...and purist be damned. Anything that makes the sport safer is ok as far as I'm concerned.
 
BMW's traction control is ground breaking.
Japan is scrambling to catch up.


Bigman99 said:
To make a long story short, the BMW's traction control, ABS and lean angle sensors ( the gyro's) work in conjunction with each other as well as adding anti wheelie to the mix. The Kawi's system is much less sophisticated but still works, just not as well. The riding effect at least for me is very subtle depending on what mode you are in. As far as making an average rider a hero, it most definitely does not do that but it will keep you from high-siding into oblivion. As for the sissy comments...I'd rather be a sissy than dead and my bike is still faster than yours.

The only thing it won't do is save you from a low side. The ABS is terrific on the bike. You have to really make a mistake or panic to kick it in and it just works.

All bikes will have this and improved technology in the coming years. Embrace it. You will like it and so will your spouse, insurance company, your kids...and purist be damned. Anything that makes the sport safer is ok as far as I'm concerned.
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Bigman99 said:
but it will keep you from high-siding into oblivion.
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Great bike and I'm all for the electronic aids but don't fool yourself. It absolutely will not save you from yourself if you push your luck too far. There are extremely sophisticated electronics in wsbk and moto gp and they still manage to launch themselves over the high side.
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