Amazing Technology (Where Honda is leading us)

[Botond]

Hello all,

I came a cross with video and I will be honest , it amazed me. Not sure how much fun it will take out from the riding but it might be good as a turn on/off option and really push the limits of the bike sometimes without the fear of crushing it. (Also opens new ways of parking the bike in those tight motorbike parking slots :D )

[Tusker]

I'm starting to think its all a bit too much, in the near future you will be able to ride your bike whilst sitting backwards and brewing up


My Z1000SX has this -------• Intelligent ABS brake system • 3-mode traction control system • 2 power mode
selections • Cornering management • Back torque limiting assist and slipper clutch ............ I don't even begin to know what it means and what it does ?????      but the bike rides OK ...maybe someone can explain

[kwackboy]

What a waste ...

Why on earth would you want a bike that rides itself ..? Defeating the object comes to mind. 

[Tusker]

@Kwackboy,, read my post again I've modified it !! maybe you can explain 

[kwackboy]

Traction control stops the rear wheel from spinning when you give it a handful, the 3 modes are probably a setting for how intrusive you want it or for what weather you are riding in .

Power mode is a setting to change engine mapping , probably one would be full power and the other not.

Cornering management maybe lean angle traction control .
This is a setting that would control the rear wheel spin and certain lean angles, would be of good use on a track day enabling you to power your bike out of a corner and reducing the chance of a highside

Slipper clutch is for  when you are changing down and using engine braking, this stops the back wheel from locking up making the process more smoother. A good rider could use this as a tool to back a bike into a fast corner drifting the back end out.

Intelligent ABS..... Not a clue .. maybe an ABS system that has a degree ...  .
I would have to look that one up .. 

[Tusker]

thanks Kwackboy, I think intelligent ABS lets you brake in a corner without throwing you in
a hedge

[tallpaul]

That sounds good Tusker. I'll get one for my brother...

[mr_diver]

 RANT WARNING

     

The more tech that manufacturers add to bikes the more I want to buy an old XRV750 (that's a real Africa Twin to the uneducated!) as my next bike, and stick my finger up to the emissions and environmet lot. I may even add to the fuel guzzling and up the adrenalin (read danger) factor and get a TL1000s (Widow Maker) and take the fecking stearing damper off.      

All this rider aid shiyt interfering with me being able to use the bike for what I bought it for. 

It's all good if you can turn it all of PERMANENTLY without the Insurance beurocrats telling me to do one when they won't cover me after Mr White Van Man T-bones me when he's pulling out a juction while txting becausee my ABS was turned off.  (breathe)

I have no rider aids, no traction control, no Cornering ABS, the bike is in full power mode all the time as that's the only mode it has. And that's the way I like it.
I am in control of what the bike does not the bike in control of me.
We are breeding a generation of riders that have no feel for riding. They just trust the electronics to work and get them out of every situation... until it doesn't, then they're dead. 
      

        

[kwackboy]

Snowflake riders .... I like it. 

[mr_diver]

Don't get me started on feckign snowflakes.
The shop has been full of them today asking stupid questions that should be common sense.
So I'm in one of those moods.

Customer. How my m2 of tiles do I need for my kitchen?
Me.              Have you brought measurements?
Customer.  No but I brought this picture from an odd angle with nothing for sizing referance, can't you work it out from that???
  

(Thread Jacked over)

The Honda balance tech is a long way off going anywhere near a production bike.

Honda made that walking robot 15 years ago and are still trying the to get it to walk up more than 3 steps without the tw@t falling over 

[STORMY]

I’m a chauffeur by trade and drive around 90k on average a year. The latest vehicle has adaptive lights, adaptive cruise control, the automatic 9 speed box learns your driving style, it will even drive itself around bends and so on. These aids aren’t bad but when they get it wrong (and they do) they can seriously drop you in it, they take the fatigue out of driving so better with than without but never ever rely on them totally.
However, my antidote to all this drive by computer crap is my bike, can’t say I’d welcome any more automation, much prefer doing it myself on two wheels ITS MORE FUN

[Botond]

I agree with too much technology could kill the enjoyment of riding! I believe it is the part of the journey to fall couple times on your first 125cc bike and learn what no to do. The ABS and cornering ABS IMHO is different, it is a good safety feature which could save you once in the blue moon where the situation is out of your control. (Like a dear jumping out mid corner)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHRWg91hv-M&app=desktop

I believe these systems are never to rely on completely better to forget about it that you have it and let save you when you need it.
I would never ride careless just because I know there are some electronics will correct my faults.

[MartinW]

Mr Diver

STORMY - What car is that you chauffeur with and does it exceed 25mpg?

As for rider aids, I'm OK with the unobtrusive that will save you in a severe moment, but otherwise no.

[STORMY]

STORMY - What car is that you chauffeur with and does it exceed 25mpg?

We’ve got a few cars on the fleet, but my usual drive is an S Class Mercedes, on a run you’ll get between 60-70mpg (dirty diesel), and you’ll need to top up the Ad Blu tank every so often. Some of our new E class Mercedes can get near 90mpg also on a run (near enough a 900 mile range).

[TLPower]

KTM cornering ABS saved me on a trackday.

Therefore I'm an idiot.

Waaay, waaay too much speed into a corner chasing a sportsbike, instinct told me to let go of the brake, fear made me pull it harder. We went round without any drama.

I totally understand where you're coming from Mr Diver, I too was a non-believer but for me I would rather have a safety net. I am not a riding god, I am a human that is capable of making mistakes as do others I share the road with. If technology can help my feeble being and it's capacity for "getting it wrong" then I'm afraid I've been converted.

@Stormy, our latest road tankers are fitted with, adaptive cruise, 12 speed automated manual gearboxes, collision avoidance, lane departure warning, traction and stability control etc, etc.

All these  are a help, no more and in many cases a hindrance. The gearbox has just 3 modes, eco (it's default mode), eco off and manual.

Driving an HGV is very similar to riding a motorcycle in so far as you never want to come to a dead stop. On a bike you have to put your foot down and are vulnerable, stopping an HGV means you waste fuel by having to fully load the engine to get the thing moving again.

The wonderful auto box is very dimwitted, though a vast improvement over it's predecessor and not as good at judging a situation as a human. Rolling up to a junction or roundabout (rolling saves fuel) a human could judge a safe gap, select the correct gear ready for acceleration and proceed. Instead our eco box thinks "we are rolling/coasting therefore 7th gear is a good gear" until the acceleration is required and the ecu connected to the throttle pedal sends a message to the engine for more power, the engine ecu says "are you mad we're in 7th at 17 mph" so the engine ecu sends a message to the gearbox ecu asking for a lower gear. The gearbox ecu wakes up and selects 5th, the engine ecu responds with, not quite right dear boy, try 3rd it seems we're fully loaded and going up a slight hill.

Instead of this farce I select manual mode and ignore the eco off message.

Adaptive cruise doesn't anticipate anything, it just places you at a safe distance from the vehicle in front.

The collision avoidance is paranoid, it applies the brakes and turns the dash red when it sees a chevron on a 90 degree bend or heaven forbid a vehicle is stationary in a filter lane.

The lane assist blasts a warning out of either the left or right speaker depending on which way it thinks you've strayed. It's very useful on a "B" road where the tanker is too wide for a single lane...

The traction control does indeed stop the wheels spinning by cutting the power, this is counter productive on any surface other than a road. Building sites and farm tracks are huge fun. It just sits there not knowing what to do. I press the accelerator, the wheels spin a fraction, it cuts the power. We don't move. I turn off the traction control the tyres clear the mud by spinning the gearbox thinks "time for another gear, we're moving now" just as the tyres grip the gearbox then thinks "wrong gear neutral will sort it" and so it goes on until I override it.

Don't get me started on mobile phones.

 

[Brockett]

I drove around a damp 40mph bend at 30 and discovered a car sideways across the road I pressed the brake pedal as hard as I could and steered around the obstruction and stopped. My hands were so stressed I could not let go of the steering wheel for some time and just sat with my feet on the brake and clutch pedal. Thank goodness for ABS. (Nissan Micra) . I have never been aware of ABS on the bikes as I always ride with care. However I am aware of my brain going for a jolly good walk when it should be thinking about the road ahead. If I could have cornering ABS I would and I'd never turn it off due to my lack of riding skill.

[Ianmc]

       90mpg on an E class !!
   Who is the passenger Miss Daisy ?
   I thought I was doing well on a 1.9 Tdi. at 65-70 mpg on a long run.

[Mr Nick]

When a bellend bus driver in Edinburgh decided to re-model the nearside of my Giulietta the other year, I was given a new C class diesel as a courtesy car. It was an automatic and I hated it. I have driven automatics in the past & forgave their faults as they tended to be custom built Transit autos we used at work. However, I was expecting better with a modern standard auto from the factory. I know what TLP means about the brain trying to second guess you: I'd be driving along and need a bit of acceleration and it took so long to sort itself out I felt like I was like ringing down to the engine room & they'd get around to it...!
I'm sure this is how it goes:
Press the pedal to the floor, car tries in top gear as it's already there, thinks better of it and calls a meeting with the components to decide what they should do. After a few coffees and lunch, the meeting suggests they try a gear lower so inform the gearbox people. Gearbox people have another discussion about whether that would work, decide it wouldn't as the revs still wouldn't be where engine people need to be so feed that back into the suggestion box outside the ECM office.
ECM secretary opens the box and sees the note, then calls another meeting of the component people where they finally get the flipchart out to process map the proposals over fruit tea and scones. Someone writes up the brainstorming session and sends it to everyone for approval, then engine & gearbox get together over a soya latte and work out the appropriate response, which they send out to their department people.
Correct gear is now selected and we have the desired acceleration.
But the gap I was going for closed and I've backed right off so they have to go back to select the high gear again and everybody is frustrated at the total waste of time and effort...