traction control?
This is something that the racing world is doing that will one day trickle down to the masses. At this point you gotta have a $400,000+ motorcycle to get the traction control.
I'll say this though:
It might not be long before traction control is on the high-end sportbikes. GP hardware is getting to the street pretty quickly. They're already putting slipper clutches on some stock bikes. All a primitive traction control would require would be a rear wheel speed sensor connected to the ECM, and that wouldn't cost much. Inserting a few lines of code in the ECM to check wheel RPM and engine RPM for excessive acceleration in various gears would cost even less.
It might not be long before traction control is on the high-end sportbikes. GP hardware is getting to the street pretty quickly. They're already putting slipper clutches on some stock bikes. All a primitive traction control would require would be a rear wheel speed sensor connected to the ECM, and that wouldn't cost much. Inserting a few lines of code in the ECM to check wheel RPM and engine RPM for excessive acceleration in various gears would cost even less.
As far as I'm aware, Honda does not provide any of their 06 models stock with a slipper.
I wasn't aware Kawasaki was shipping bikes with slipper clutches, so thanks for that info.
All size Suzuki GSX-R models have them
Yamaha R-6 and YZF-R1 LE (limited edition) have them
I sure would like to have one. The higher the compression ratio, the worse the engine braking problem becomes while downshifting in a curve. As a guy who has ridden mostly two-stroke machines with minimal engine braking, I miss being able to downshift in turns smoothly.
I wasn't aware Kawasaki was shipping bikes with slipper clutches, so thanks for that info.
All size Suzuki GSX-R models have them
Yamaha R-6 and YZF-R1 LE (limited edition) have them
I sure would like to have one. The higher the compression ratio, the worse the engine braking problem becomes while downshifting in a curve. As a guy who has ridden mostly two-stroke machines with minimal engine braking, I miss being able to downshift in turns smoothly.
I'm not a huge fan of the slipper clutch. I'll admit that they definitely keep you from wiggling the rear when you do a bonehead downshift. However hard launching can be an adventure ...
Since the factory guys change sprockets for different courses I wonder if the traction control has to be reprogrammed for each set up. Also curious how tire size/wear affects it.
Since the factory guys change sprockets for different courses I wonder if the traction control has to be reprogrammed for each set up. Also curious how tire size/wear affects it.
Excellent points, chainstretcher.
You'd think the racebike traction control programmers would need to adjust the software slightly when they change sprockets. Or maybe not - wheelspin is wheelspin, no matter what RPM the engine is doing at the time. You can wheelspin at 2000 rpm on oil.
Same thoughts go for tire size and wear. Again as a thought puzzle, I don't have the answer, but you brought up some great points that engineers must have had to take into account already.
As for the slipper clutches, I'm very impressed by onboard video from GP bikes. It's amazing how the GP bikes accelerate until it's time to reduce speed for a curve, are able to drop three or four gears in succession, smoothly brake and navigate the curve, then immediately accelerate, already in the correct gear for accelerating out of the curve.
I have no way of knowing if sportbike clutches (aftermarket or OEM) are up to those levels of performance, but I'd be curious to see how well one works - just not curious enough to part with $700
You'd think the racebike traction control programmers would need to adjust the software slightly when they change sprockets. Or maybe not - wheelspin is wheelspin, no matter what RPM the engine is doing at the time. You can wheelspin at 2000 rpm on oil.
Same thoughts go for tire size and wear. Again as a thought puzzle, I don't have the answer, but you brought up some great points that engineers must have had to take into account already.
As for the slipper clutches, I'm very impressed by onboard video from GP bikes. It's amazing how the GP bikes accelerate until it's time to reduce speed for a curve, are able to drop three or four gears in succession, smoothly brake and navigate the curve, then immediately accelerate, already in the correct gear for accelerating out of the curve.
I have no way of knowing if sportbike clutches (aftermarket or OEM) are up to those levels of performance, but I'd be curious to see how well one works - just not curious enough to part with $700
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