"Traction control" thread in "Motorbike Chat"
Been reading about the new Ducati 1198S and it's traction control system.I'm quite undecided as to whether I value this on a bike or not. ...

Been reading about the new Ducati 1198S and it's traction control system.I'm quite undecided as to whether I value this on a bike or not. The pros are obvious in that it makes 160bhp more accessible to an average rider like myself,without the fear of injury/death closely linked with getting it wrong. So on the face of it,a good safety feature perhaps?

Cons can be highlighted as another loss of involvement where it's not just the rider,but the machine is helping when it thinks it should. A dilution of the 'man and machine' as one perhaps?

It's a very clever system which operates settings graduated from 1 to 8 and cuts fuel to the injectors rather than stopping the spark so the catalytic converter isn't damaged by misfire. It also must take into consideration the difference in wheel speed from front and rear when banked over.

No doubting the technology,but the reason I ride my bike is the 'fun factor',this is an ever shifting variable between riders. I like my bikes to be lively and within limits moving around,it gives me a buzz and makes me feel involved with the bike.Doesn't matter if I'm as slow as shit,I'm having a good time.

Would I have as much fun on a bike which preserves both of us from my hamfistedness and lets me go even faster with much less risk? I'm undecided,maybe there are days when I'd welcome some electronic help and there are other days when I feel differently.Maybe it's a good thing to have the option?

WHAt happens when the Ducati TC doesn't work properly and someone highsides it ? Can they claim for a new bike from Ducati ?

I don't think many people will even notice it.

---

950 SMR, for men who know the difference

I think those were the type of arguments against ABS,yet there are few cars on the road without it now,bikes appear to be going the same route.

Technology is inevitable,so rider aids will become the norm,I don't think there is any question there. What does interest me is,will such bikes be less fun to ride?

Yes and no.

Yes because you're not riding it,it's riding you.

No because you're going faster than you ever were, opening the throttle harder and pushing faster.. So therefore is likely to be MORE fun.

I expect more crashes though.

---

950 SMR, for men who know the difference

I think the answer to that is this...


How many people do you know that come out of bends sideways and needing more traction?

---

Problem child

Which is why i said that

Needing more traction is one thing. BEing able to open the throttle harder and having the TC do the work is another.

I know plenty of lads who don't currently pass the edge of adhesion... however given the technology i'm 100% sure they'd be 'using' the TC at times.

---

950 SMR, for men who know the difference

There are two answers to that. We all know of people who have come to grief because they gave it too much too soon,the type who can powerslide out of a corner doesn't have a problem as such.

The other is most riders on a trackday will be faster on a 600 than a litre bike because of highside fear,TC sorts that to some degree and allows riders a mental safety net.

Absolutely. If it was fitted to my bike (and I trusted it) then I'd be whacking the throttle open all over the place. Right up until the point it fails, or I don't make the corner

---

Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music in darkened rooms....

Never ridden a bike with electronic driver aids, but in cars they can either be brilliant or a PITA, depending on how well they are implemented.

When they are good you are barely aware of them until you do something really silly, then they help you recover from that silliness. When they are bad they can spoil all the fun.

I would imagine that bikes will respond in much the same way, and it sounds as though the Ducatti system is well thought out (rather than built down to a price) so I would imagine it should help rather than hinder.

---

Cousin Jack

A bof that rides a Bonnie T100.

That's why I find 600s a bit boring on track. I prefer the challenge of a litre monster

PS, TC may stop a rider high-siding, but if you get too much traction/acceleration, you'll end up crashing anyway

---

Oh dear.

Yup, TC out of a corner, ABS into a corner, Weeksy was the first to predict it in this thread, and other's have made the prediction elsewhere. Accidents are probably going to go up quite a bit when this really hits the market.

I remember when ABS was first becoming 'common' on rep cans, a contractor of ours crashed his sister's (brand new) Vectra into a brick wall on snow, he refused to accept that 1 tonne of metal will not stop from 20 mph on snow in only 30 feet, kept muttering that the ABS had 'failed'.....

I do wonder how many of the Couch Commando types will be put off by this, if it's going to stop wheelies then will it put folks off buying bikes with it on?

---

If beer is so bad for brain cells, why does my brain allow me to drink so much of it?

You say that but only Casey Stoner appears to have been capable of doing that in MotoGP on the Ducati.....

I'm not so sure I'd be putting 100% trust into electrickery......

YouTube - Susto de Dani Pedrosa en Phillip Island by mepicalapinga007

How's TC going to stop wheelies