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Ren's Biking Blog
Excessive Tech
Blog Date - 08 January 2015
Just because you can, should you? A brief look at MCN's review of MV Agusta's Stradale 800 tells me it has a "blipper" for clutchless downshifts and of course a quick shifter for super fast clutchless upshifts. Yeah, great. Then of course most motorcycles today come with ABS, in fact it's pretty much becoming a legal requirement from the EU. There's various mappings for the mood, the weather and the road conditions. Top of the range sports bikes also have traction control, anti wheelie, launch control and I suspect somewhere there's an option to make a sandwich for you as you're riding.
In't technology great! Don't get me wrong I'm not anti these things. Some good friends with Triumph's Street Triple all love their bikes, it is apparently a fabulous machine capable of so much but there's one thing lacking, mapping options. Unlike similar machines the STriple doesn't have a rain, normal and sport mode, it's always at full bore. That's fine most of the time but sometimes it'd be great just to back everything off. You know, when it's cold and icy, when it's raining and the road is greasy or perhaps when negotiating particularly awkward back roads. I can see the attraction of mappings.
ABS is a life saver. I've never owned an ABS motorcycle but it's a well established technology with a proven track record. There are times when I've not been riding to a high standard and found myself braking rather hard and rather late when I should have been looking and predicting the problem. It's times like this when the inevitable human errors can be compensated for by technology. Come on, we've all grabbed a handful in panic haven't we?
A rider like myself, usually of the slow and steady mindset, is unlikely to ever need clutchless quick shifters, anti wheelie and launch control. Let's face it my 125 has inbuilt anti wheelie and traction control due to the lack of power, problem solved. However if you're track day Charlie then I'm sure these rider aides can make you look good and help to keep you up with those people who really do know how to ride...
What bothers me is if all this tech becomes standard, on all bikes.
My little CBF 125 is already fuel injected. It's great, it just starts on the button and the computer sorts out the right fuelling to get it going and then adjusts as the engine warms up, no choke for me pal. But what if it breaks down? If the Lambda sensor gives out can I get it fixed at the roadside? If the Mass Air Flow sensor isn't doing it's thing correctly can I adjust it? If I'm riding through Outer Mongolia can a local bloke with a spanner and a hammer clean out the injectors? Nope.
The CBF 125 is fuelled with tech and managed by tech, and it's a basic bike.
I do computer stuff for a living. If a PC component is suspected of malfunctioning you don't get out your soldering iron and start looking for blown resistors, you replace the component. With laptops as each component is pretty much bespoke to that model it's easier to replace the laptop than source a part and fit it. We used to have TV repair men, now we just buy a new TV when the old one starts to go fuzzy and crackly. Motorcycles are heading very much in the same direction, "No user serviceable parts inside."
There's no doubt at all that some modern tech is more reliable. Take CDI versus points. Having watched my friend struggle to set up and sort out the points on an old CG 125 I am thankful that all my bikes have had either CDI or computer controlled ignition. But when a CDI has let me down there's no option other than to replace it. Diagnosis is fiddly too, is it the CDI or the pickup? Who knows, until you replace one part at great expense only to find it's the other part.
Thankfully the gf's Chinese 125 has a CDI unit.
I want to travel. I want to explore. As such I want a motorcycle that is both reliable and yet also repairable. Yes, by all means put every bit of tech known to man on hyper-sport bikes and even lower end ones if you wish. I just hope some marques keep a range of models that are much simpler. I don't want to be stuck in Bolivia with a malfunctioning traction control.
Even the gf likes to be able to tinker with her bike.
Reader's Comments
Ajay Williams said :-
I have an rks and I need to change my cdi but can't for the life of me find it on the bike any help would be great
08/04/2019 09:12:37 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
The second image in this post is the CDI on Sharon's RKS. It can be found underneath the petrol tank, just above the battery. I don't know how mechanically adept you are Ajay - if you're new to this don't go ripping the tank off in a rush. Petrol is nasty stuff and damn lethal.
08/04/2019 10:35:26 UTC
Ajay Williams said :-
Found it took my time went slowly if it didn't move easy I searched for and undid more screws been having a few issues with the top speed not been able to get it past 53 lately so just refreshing everything I can do myself
08/04/2019 11:26:29 UTC
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