Usless / unnecessary bike tech | GTAMotorcycle.com

Usless / unnecessary bike tech

spitRR

Well-known member
So I own a VFR 800 V-tec, and while I love the bike it has some rather questionable (imo) tech that really shouldn't have been implemented. First and foremost being the V-tec system. I understand it's supposed to make the bike more fuel efficient, but a valve check on the V-tec is so expensive it totally negates any savings at the pump.

Secondly: Linked brakes. I've been riding for almost 30 years and have never found a need for them. I don't find them intrusive by any means, but similar to what I stated above it makes maintenance more complicated and expensive. Plus the fact that no other manufacturer has added this feature in their lineup (that I know of) should mean something.

As the years go by more and more bikes are featuring more and more tech - some of them useful, others not so much.

Anyhow, these are my 2 main tech gripes that I've found in my years of riding. What are yours?
 
Secondly: Linked brakes. [..] Plus the fact that no other manufacturer has added this feature in their lineup (that I know of) should mean something.

BMW has linked brakes. Called Integral Brake System.

I agree with you though. I've ridden with Integral Brakes on many different bikes for years and found no difference in daily riding from non-linked brake motorcycles. The rear brake pedal will always activate only the rear brake which is what's important to me.

Anyhow, these are my 2 main tech gripes that I've found in my years of riding. What are yours?

Keyless ignition/RF-controlled ignition defeat. Great way to strand yourself when a $75 part decides to malfunction. What's so difficult about putting a key in a lock and turning it?
 
Super Duke 1290r wouldn't allow you to disable traction control or ABS if the bike is moving, also would turn them back on if the bike was shut off and restarted.....would get pretty annoying at times
 
What's so difficult about putting a key in a lock and turning it?

That is one think I think HD did really well. The key unlocks the switch and then you can remove it. You decide when you stop the bike whether to relock the switch or not. It's a simple solution that allows you to keep the key on a key chain with everything else without scratching up your bike.
 
The VTEC and the linked brakes sorta made sense when they were introduced, it's just that technology has moved on. Well, variable cam timing would in theory be a useful technology to have, but it's not worth the weight/complexity on bikes because very few motorcycle engines are short on power these days.

My ZX-11 has a tiny lockable glovebox. It's a nice thought, but it's too small to even hold a wallet.
 
Super Duke 1290r wouldn't allow you to disable traction control or ABS if the bike is moving, also would turn them back on if the bike was shut off and restarted.....would get pretty annoying at times

Lots of ABS equipped bikes don't let you turn the ABS off at all.

Turning traction control on (at least to a low setting) after a key off / key on is a liability thing. You just know that some idiot will get lawyers involved if they didn't do that, and a rider crashed, and the lawyers were looking for excuses to get money from someone. On a Kawasaki, you can have the ECU reflashed so that it retains the last setting, even if that was "off". This gets Kawasaki off the hook, "you tampered with our highly engineered bike".
 
variable cam timing would in theory be a useful technology to have

Ask and ye shall receive:

[video=youtube;C8IqAjSWGPE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8IqAjSWGPE[/video]

but it's not worth the weight/complexity on bikes

Okay, so the new R1250GS does weigh like a couple of metric tonnes. Oh well...
 
Depending on what year, the vtech did get smoother. It's imperceptible on the VFR 1200 and the newer 800's. I'd have to agree with the why bother? For example, a KTM RC8 will get the same fuel mileage, yet the 1200 gets out pulled. "Oh its a sport tourer" they say. At the same time a CBR 1k goes further on a tank. Granted an RC8 lighter, but the VFR has a few more CC. Spot on on the valve checks though, there are a few reports out of the UK going up to $2000 CAD (dealer) for it. w.t.f.

The V4 is truely sublime. Yet the transmission is sloppy as can be. The DCT variant is, to be frank, embarrassing. Unless you are physically challenged for some reason or another, I can't imagine why anyone would buy it. Yet Honda cannot manage to build a V4 superbike at a reasonable price. It blows my mind.

As for the linked brakes, again, spot on. Please stop. Give me 12 full pistons of front braking thank you. After 8 years there was an issue with rubber line expansion to the tune they were unusable. The 1200 was supposed to be a flagship product. Completely unacceptable. Some custom spielger lines direct form the M/C and capping off the ABS controller fixes that.

Next comes the rims. The front rim is the heaviest "sport" style rim I have ever felt, yet the rear is probably one of the best looking and lightest. Power was limited in 1st and 2nd in the early models, as passive "traction control". what in the... yeah. Wire the indicator for 1st and 2nd into 3rd, problem solved. Reversed horn and indicator switches (actually once you get used to it, it is a better arrangement). Windshield? brilliant. Some engineering decisions are clever and others baffle the mind.
 
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My ZX-11 has a tiny lockable glovebox. It's a nice thought, but it's too small to even hold a wallet.

Heh, the ZX-6E had it too. Nice thought, but basically useless. I think you could unlock it by jamming a Bic pen cap into it.

Also, here's the first line of Suzuki's ad copy describing the Burgman 650: "The Burgman 650 ABS* Executive provides you an outstanding riding experience through an advanced transmission with two fully automatic modes." Okay, what are these other buttons for? Oh, that's the for the MANUAL mode.
 
Lots of ABS equipped bikes don't let you turn the ABS off at all.

Turning traction control on (at least to a low setting) after a key off / key on is a liability thing. You just know that some idiot will get lawyers involved if they didn't do that, and a rider crashed, and the lawyers were looking for excuses to get money from someone. On a Kawasaki, you can have the ECU reflashed so that it retains the last setting, even if that was "off". This gets Kawasaki off the hook, "you tampered with our highly engineered bike".
Pretty sure I can turn abs off on my Tuono and it stays. A friend has the 2016 superduke 1290r, and when I've ridden it, the tcs reset is annoying. I stalled it at a light, and all the settings were reset.

The new gsxr1000 has adjustable cam timing.

Bikes are getting too complex. Too much stuff to break. My old vtr1000 is a battleaxe... dead simple, easy to fix and work on. A valve adjustment on my aprilia is expensive and requires special cam holding tools to keep it in time. Better to buy the tools and learn how to do it myself...

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Lots of ABS equipped bikes don't let you turn the ABS off at all.

Turning traction control on (at least to a low setting) after a key off / key on is a liability thing. You just know that some idiot will get lawyers involved if they didn't do that, and a rider crashed, and the lawyers were looking for excuses to get money from someone. On a Kawasaki, you can have the ECU reflashed so that it retains the last setting, even if that was "off". This gets Kawasaki off the hook, "you tampered with our highly engineered bike".

I didnt mind it turning on automatically when you start the bike, not being able to switch it on the go is what bothered me more.
KTM does sell a "race dongle" that connects to the diagnostics port and retains the last chosen setting, but I didnt really feel like spending the money on it, my BMW however retains the last setting, not sure if it was flashed or not tho
 
Abs
 
LOUD pipes on a street bike.
 
LOUD pipes on a street bike.

Drag pipes on a big harley are really annoying.i agree.But is it hypocritical to love the sound of a full Termignoni system on a Duc? It's not as loud as drag pipes,really.
 
Engines with more than 50 kilowatts of power.
 
Tail tidy

... somebody will probably maintain that making it personalized with a tail tidy is not useless because it makes you happy
:/ go for it but imho it really looks like you been rear ended and were too cheap to fix it.
 
Heh, the ZX-6E had it too. Nice thought, but basically useless. I think you could unlock it by jamming a Bic pen cap into it.

Now that I think about it, the whole ram air pressurized airbox / float bowls thing Kawi had that was worth maybe 1-2 hp was probably highly unnecessary as well. I hate taking that mess apart
 
Okay, so the new R1250GS does weigh like a couple of metric tonnes. Oh well...

Apparently this is on the S1000RR as well, soooo.. VFR800's VTEC looks extra sad now
 
Anti wheelie control. I mean, why bother riding at that point.

I've seen three bikes totalled on demo rides over the years.two ducatis and one Honda ss.None had wheelie control.It would have prevented the wrecks.
 

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