Electronic Throttle
- Thread starter V8N3T
- Start date
S7R4NGER
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It is not impossible for many drivers to beat the ABS, but the driver must be focused and prepared. The ABS works when the car slides, and usually if this happens in an unexpected situation, the ABS works better. Don't forget most car drivers are not paying much attention when cruising around.
Very true about the idle, Where as I have not had to replace a throttle cable on any of my bikes(and I tend to rack up tons of miles before I sell them off) we have had hundereds of recalls & repairs related to the TPS.
On another note, I kid you not, Volvo is comming out with a truck with no driver(currently in development) that will follow a lead truck. It uses radar to pick up on obsticals & traffic in the area. It brakes, accellerates & turns all buy computer. I'm sure they will incorporate GPS and have it run solo here before long.
bitabur
Registered
ABS isn't as good as you think....
The tires have to be locked up before ABS can kick in and react.... sure, this is only for a very small ammount of time (milliseconds, or even microseconds), but the nature of how ABS works means it's not as perfect as threshhold braking.
Every car I've ever had with ABS couldn't brake well in the snow.... the wheel rotation sensors get confused because the wheel lockup pressures are very different, and the braking is uneven. I've tried both situations, I certainly don't like what ABS does to unsettle the car on uneven-traction surfaces. ABS works best in the rain, because the slickness of the road surface is fairly even and it reacts evenly at all four corners.
On dry pavement I can definately beat my ABS. On wet pavement it's close but ABS can probably beat me most of the time. On snow or ice I can certainly beat it.
Now I'm not suggesting we get rid of ABS. I certainly understand that most people aren't very attentive drivers and don't have very good emergency reaction skills...
As a rider you should be more in tune than your everyday soccer mom with the threshhold capabilities of your brakes... You know what an emergency stop on your bike will feel like... you need to know (and probably do!) where the threshhold is so you can stop hard and not lock up the tires.
You should certainly understand that it's always possible to stop faster without ABS, just not always as probable.
My main point is that the automation that works in cars isn't necessarily a good thing on bikes... mechanical control systems are very consistent and dependable. I like that. Having your throttle cut to idle in a drive-by-wire car, for instance, means that you're going to slow down quickly.... in 99% of situations that's not going to be very dangerous in a car. On a bike, anytime that happens in a corner, you're at risk of rapidly unstabilizing the bike and high-siding it. Would you want drive-by-wire brakes on your bike? I know for damn sure I wouldn't.
My Toyota Prius commuter car uses a fly-by-wire throttle (and shifter!), and MAN is that thing fast!
Seriously folks, think about it - how can a fly-by-wire throttle connection on a bike, be any faster than a direct cable connection? The same twisting motion has to take place -- and it's just a matter of how fast you twist it! Now... if you want to replace your twist throttle with a ON/OFF SWITCH, that "might" make a fractional difference! And be fun to watch too!
The only advantage I see to a fly-by-wire throttle on a bike, might be for those who enjoy a disconnected "joy-stick type" feel over their machine. Of course don't forget they'll have to throw in some sort of fake return spring pressure for the throttle grip too; that should be interesting! I can see all sorts of after-market gadgets for that!
Anyway, it sounds like manufacturers are running out of the "NEW THIS YEAR!!!" items. Can you say "sales gimmick?"
As for ABS on bikes. I think most people know that braking power is most efficient just before the tire locks up. ABS maintains that efficiency point in hard braking, much better than a human can do. In a panic situation us humans have a tendency to lock the tires up. This not only screws up the braking efficiency, but also lessens your overall vehicle control. I have ABS on my FJR and it works fantastic UNLESS (as mentioned earlier) there is gravel, wet leaves, snow, or anything else to screw with the wheel sensors. Then all bets are off...
Seriously folks, think about it - how can a fly-by-wire throttle connection on a bike, be any faster than a direct cable connection? The same twisting motion has to take place -- and it's just a matter of how fast you twist it! Now... if you want to replace your twist throttle with a ON/OFF SWITCH, that "might" make a fractional difference! And be fun to watch too!
The only advantage I see to a fly-by-wire throttle on a bike, might be for those who enjoy a disconnected "joy-stick type" feel over their machine. Of course don't forget they'll have to throw in some sort of fake return spring pressure for the throttle grip too; that should be interesting! I can see all sorts of after-market gadgets for that!
Anyway, it sounds like manufacturers are running out of the "NEW THIS YEAR!!!" items. Can you say "sales gimmick?"
As for ABS on bikes. I think most people know that braking power is most efficient just before the tire locks up. ABS maintains that efficiency point in hard braking, much better than a human can do. In a panic situation us humans have a tendency to lock the tires up. This not only screws up the braking efficiency, but also lessens your overall vehicle control. I have ABS on my FJR and it works fantastic UNLESS (as mentioned earlier) there is gravel, wet leaves, snow, or anything else to screw with the wheel sensors. Then all bets are off...
You know i saw this commercial the other day for i think it was a lexus that (according to the commercial) looks like it can parallel park itself. Commercial shows a guy pulling up to 2 huge pyramids of classes with enough space between them to park his car, he hits a button and the car stears itself into the spot. No wonder those cars are so expensive!
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