BMW released the K1988 in 100. With ABS.
All Old School motorcyclists pranced. The time of real driving and self-thinking was now definitively over. Now there are motorcycles with ABS, cruise control, traction control, power launch, quick shifters, anti hopping clutches, servo and slip clutch, and wheelie and stoppie control. Plus of course active suspension and damping, the tire pressure control, the 'modes' for rain, touring, sport, smoothness, moderate headwind and coffee stops with latte macchiato and a cookie. And then of course there is also a multimedia system with which you can connect your smartphone to your motorcycle.
The madness started after the ABS ??
That is of course very nice and we all have a smart phone nowadays. Yet. Even the most serious motorcycles had, at best, a dual disc at the front and a disc at the rear for the introduction of the ABS. The drivers knew that wet front discs had their own ABS when braking. It didn't stop there. Yet ABS is the only system that can be very practical in practice. And that even self-driving motorcycles (Honda) have already been presented? It will. But it still feels like hiring a temporary worker to give your loved one a fantastic evening.
Just learn how to ride a motorcycle
When a motorcyclist recently proudly told some friendly classic drivers how much digital intelligence he had on board, one of the listeners responded with "But why don't you just learn to drive well?" Because electronic auxiliary brains leave real brain cells inactive very quickly. With a TomTom it doesn't hurt that much. But the SuperSport rider who was allowed to play on a Laverda Jota went really hard on his plate. While bravely plugging in for a turn after a overtaking action, he drove as if his digital guardian angels were sitting on his shoulder. NOT! Sideways we carefully make the remark that there are a few things that you should never lend ...
The 'reading' of the road
'Reading' the road, knowing the peculiarities and the limits of our classics is what makes us a kind of artisans. The engine is our tool and we know how to handle it. In this way you are a unit with your motorcycle instead of being the least active party in a threesome. And if you don't already feel what the tire pressure is like, just check it regularly.
Recently I was allowed to ride such a very modern motorcycle for a day. And on an electric motorcycle I have already been on the road for a day. My most recent motorcycle is an 1991'er Guzzi. And that is modern enough for me. I step on it time and time again with a smile. And off. The time I fell with it? That also happened on the most modern engine.
Maintenance unfriendly
Another strange thing about modern engines: they are extremely maintenance-friendly. And for almost all activities they must be plugged in and read out. Fortunately, the modern motorcyclist appears to have little to do with technology. The problems are solved at a workshop rate that can easily amount to just under 100 euros per hour, we heard from a BMW driver friend.
Remember: maybe we are fossils. The most important hardware and software is simply under our helmets. The most important sensor is in your ass. It is almost spring again. So pay attention to the tire pressure after the winter break
A serious front brake ... No ABS
Beautiful story and completely true, indeed ABS can be the only tool that is useful to you, but all that other electronic nonsense can be stolen from me. You should be in charge of your motorcycle and not the other way around!
Well, I have a Guzzi California without electronic "guardian angels" and it will stay on until I am so stubborn that if I take it off the side, I will be amazed.
ABS is not really nice for sporty driving, especially when, like nowadays, both brakes are automatically operated when the front brake is used.
When braking hard before a corner, the pressure on the rear wheel is so less that the abs intervenes, so that the front brake is also released for a while! (BMW R1150R) You understand that you have to re-enter that corner at lightning speed or….
Luckily I bought a K75 pure sang last year, my adage to the time 'everything was better'!
Modes for latte macchiato and a cookie? ????
As I indicated in a well-known forum:
“I'm not saying with my story that everything used to be better ... but that I don't 'understand' the engines of today ...
Why does your motorcycle need to be programmed when it rains, and therefore in a different mode?
Aren't you the one who decides what an engine does?
It will all be fine, with 45 being probably just a dodo from an era that wobbles and blocking rear wheels were perfectly normal.
I think correcting yourself is more part of vehicle control than a vehicle that corrects itself ...
Well… again… dodo .. ”..
At a VRO3 course from high speed braked, engine with ABS was a truck length !! rather silent, difference between living motorcyclist and dead dodo. Not only the engine technology has changed, but also the traffic. I own both an engine from 1976, where you have to send a telex to the brakes to get some delay, as a modern engine with ABS. Both are fantastic of their kind to ride.
And that is in line with what I already indicated in another forum ..
https://www.motor-forum.nl/threads/vroeger-motorijden-prettiger.18469/post-28967744