I’m with @AndyPandy here-safety aids like ABS make clear sense, but traction control and so on looks a bit like gilding the lily. I suppose it makes you think the bike is actually worth the extraordinary sums some of them cost.
I guess more than one gladius would be gladii, although l’m no latin scholar. Don’t want to get too deep into this one, could be a double edged sword…
1 Like
I like that 
.
However did we manage without gadgets? Well we did, race, tour, ride the roads and we could service and repair our bikes ourselves. Bikes were never described as toys or baubles, they were a way of life and if you missed it-you missed out.
3 Likes
The Solex doesn’t count as simple: it’s got an anti-wheelie device fitted above the front wheel.
Thats kind of my point. When things were simple bikes didnt have ridiculous amounts of power and didn’t need rider aids. When things started getting powerful before rider aids came about people were getting killed and bike were getting nicknames such as widow maker. Even the pros couldn’t handle the wicked 500cc 2 strokes without being flung down the track occasionally. Now we are in an era of 200 bhp machines and rider aids to make them rideable. I like that! I like the sensation of riding all that power and being able to use it relatively safely. Its a massive buzz! But like I said earlier, we should have a choice, because old school is very rewarding and satisfying too.
3 Likes
So move it to the back wheel. 
I voted no cuz I’m a wimp…
The widowmaker moniker was not originally the 500, there were plenty of other widowmakers before including planes. The reason the kawasaki was a handful was a crap chassis made of liquorice…it was relatively modest power wise, British bikes of the same period had far superior chassis, it was also pretty light compared to a 4 stroke 500 which contributed to the wayward handling and as a 2 stroke with no engine braking, you were relying on pretty marginal brakes to handle fast corners.
2 Likes
A good friend of mine (seasoned biker) bought one in memories of his young days riding those… and sold it straight away.
There is a big gap between nostalgia enhanced memories, and the reality.
Solex are slow, dangerous, not fun.
2 Likes
Personally, I am a very strong believer in the advances of electronics on bikes and love the rider aids and playing around with the settings, the rider aids say on the Street 765rs are not cutting edge, it does have a slip and assist clutch, span/ratio-adjustable front brake lever, traction and wheelie control, up/down quickshifter, five rider modes, Rain, Road, Sport, Track and Rider, these have been tweaked to suit the motor’s character you get anti-wheelie and non-lean sensitive traction control, self-cancelling indicators and more. I run mine in sport mode but have played around with them all just to see how the EMS altered things so to speak, Rain mode softens the power delivery and throttle response, increasing the level of ABS and Traction Control intervention for better feel and control in wet conditions. Road mode gives a little more power and slightly harsher throttle response, Sport mode gives full power and a responsive albeit slightly snatchy, Rider mode allows you to customise settings this makes it easy to fine tune it to suit the rider’s preferences. Track mode removes all rider aids to a minimum and ABS can be disabled at any time. The new generation 765 just introduced has switchable optimised cornering traction control supported by an IMU that continuously calculates the lean angle to ensure the optimum slip rate and torque control. Four independently adjustable levels of intervention can be selected to suit riding styles and road conditions, including a track-focused tune with minimal intervention as well as the ability to turn it off altogether. Looking back to when I first started biking (on an ex-WW2 Despatch Riders bike aged 14), passed my test in 1967 and a Rocker was born, having ridden a great many machines over the years and owned a large number from that time to present, back then there was little traffic on the roads unlike today, back in the day we would have welcomed rider aids, riding back then in heavy rain or snow was a challenge, yes you honed your skills over time and it was great fun and a very exciting time. I have written on the subject of “sixties biking and Rocker scene” in the past, I just missed out with the “Teddy Boy and Girl” era but can recall this scene as a young boy. I did move to Japanese machines in the early seventies, and having owned and ridden a number of different makes and models from my experience they were a transformation, granted out of the showroom the handling was poor after running in and riding spirited, however tags of “widow maker” “death traps” etc was not correct, all that was needed was to change the tyres to a Dunlop TT100 or similar, different viscosity fork oil and fit Girling rear shocks, the transformation was unbelievable. Usually when I bought a bike back in the sixties it never had one careful owner, some very interesting repairs and maintenance had gone on, as an apprentice mechanic at the time I wondered what tools fitted those shiny nicely rounded nuts. Over the years I have kept up with advances in technology to enable me to service and repair modern machinery, the same for riding and driving and undertake a voluntary advanced retest every 3 years for both car and bike. I still enjoy restoring 50s and 60s machines and recall posting some pictures of a 55 T100 I restored, riding it spirited with the traffic as it is now, is nothing like it was back then in the 60s, braking distances greatly increase and if you don’t ride classics regular, I could imagine some may forget and go for a gear change only to hit the rear brake. Going back to the 765rs, I like the fact that when using a Go Pro it turns on/off via the joystick and turn by turn navigation, I don’t use it for music or the phone for obvious reasons, the scrolling indicators also offer enhanced safety as opposed to the old bulb and lens variant. ride safe all from an ageing Rocker.
5 Likes
I’ll take all the help I can get as any rider aid only has to work once to be worth while. Knowing the bike is looking after you means you can then just concentrate on the ride. I know the “better” riders may not need them but having things like lean angle ABS and traction control mean you can explore the performance of your bike in relative safety knowing it’s not going to spit you off.
One thing I like on the ditchpump is that if you do an emergency stop the bike then automatically closes the throttle. That might sound strange but ze germans found out from ecus that were examined off crashed bikes that in some cases the rider was
Keeping the throttle open while braking hard so the engine and brakes were working against each other resulting in the bike taking longer to stop than it should. I bet if you put an average rider on 2 bikes, 1 with abs and one without they’ll stop quicker on the abs version especially if it’s in slippery conditions as most of us would under brake fearing if we brake too hard we’ll fall off. Same with traction control as that means you can give it the beans knowing it’s not going to loop the loop. Whimp I am
2 Likes
All fine …until it goes wrong.
1 Like
Are there indeed such people? And does everyone else have to pay for an electronic gizmo to cover up for them?
I totally get ABS and TC as brilliant additions but things like phone connectivity, electronic suspension etc.are just something else to go wrong. Love my Speedy to bits but I see absolutely no need for the keyless ignition bollox. What is hard about putting a key in and turning it?
2 Likes
The data BMW have would suggest there is, plus of course protecting these individuals from themselves then means BMW can sell them bikes in the future so quite a neat trick on their part
1 Like
Sadly it seems to be the trend these days. There are morons on the road who can’t do a “hill start” in a car or even park it, hence we have “hill start assist” and “parking sensors” etc etc. To my mind, if you can’t drive a car, you shouldn’t be on the road. Same with bikes. Especially fuckwits that do emergency stops with the throttle wide open. That takes a special kind of fuckwittery.
Hmmm - maybe. But on the other hand, mightn’t it be smarter for BMW to let them wreck their Beemers so that they would definitely need to buy another one?
The manufacturers are very good at giving us stuff we didn’t know we wanted 
especially as many “buy” their bikes on a PCP so are only interested in what it costs per month so they like the extra bling and don’t care about reliability as they’ll trade it in at the end of the warranty anyway. I never thought I’d like a quick shifter but now wouldn’t buy a bike without one. Leccy suspension is useful especially if you carry a pillion as you don’t have to faff about with adjusting the preload. I’ve also found it useful when the road surface changes from good to bad and vice versa but I guess if you’ve never had it/only ride solo etc it’s not a priority.
Ah keyless…Again I find it useful but get others wouldn’t. The key fob stays zipped in my trouser pocket and at fuel stations I don’t need to faff about with the key. I have history here as I once dropped my key when going to pay for fuel. Luckily I found it inside the the shop but it could have been a recovery job. I remember kick starters too…
I was watching a video recently where he was saying that if you have the brake lever in the wrong position, i.e. too high, when you reach for it, your fingers have to lift upwards to get over the brake lever, pushing your palm downward and therefore twisting the throttle. Perhaps it’s just as simple as wrong lever position that is now being overcome by technology? crazy?
4 Likes
Generally throttle open with brakes on is because of the weird habit some people have of riding around with two fingers over the brake lever “covering the brakes” if you’re on the throttle and two fingers on the lever something pulls out and you are doing this it’s quite likely that you’ll grab the brake but won’t be able to close the throttle with the remaining two fingers, if you need to constantly cover the brakes you need to address your riding technique.
2 Likes