Busy bike

[cheshirecat]

New safety measures (http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-news-new-bikes/bmw-advanced-safety-concept-the-bike-the-future/18460.html) in the BMWs K16000GT and comming your way on what ever you ride in the not too distant future. Already ABS will shortly be compulsory in the EU plus member countries (France Belgium) are making extra visability requirements.

Whilst welcoming anything which makes a bike safer especially for those starting off, what price (literally and otherwise) are we starting to pay. Having been brought up in an era when actually starting the thing let alone keeping it running long enough to return home was a major (remember 6V Miller electrics and 6 inch leading shoe brakes) I have mixed views, meaning I believe equal if not more responsibility should be placed on the rider.

[jaffaonajappa]

Agreed - just another example of Mr Big forcing us to become Mr Safe.
Does it come in Fluoro colours tho?
And....will it have an automatic /Wave arm on it, so the rider can stay safe and keep both hands on the bars (or do K series have steering wheels?)

[240]

If abs becomes compulsory it had better be switchable (i mean you can turn it on/off)
I looked long and hard recently when buying and decided against as it increases your stopping distance in the dry.(straight from the bikes manual).However it is good in the wet.
As my riding is discretionary i very rarely ride in the wet so i decided against abs.
As for visibility, shit if you cant see a fucken headlight what else can we do (all though have a look on Google at headlight modulators they are fucken grouse but unfortunately illegal over here all though push bike riders can use them!)

[baptist]

Agreed - just another example of Mr Big forcing us to become Mr Safe.
Does it come in Fluoro colours tho?
And....will it have an automatic /Wave arm on it, so the rider can stay safe and keep both hands on the bars (or do K series have steering wheels?)

And after the steering wheel it's seat belts, airbags oh and I think they might be fitting a couple of extra wheels.... oh no sorry wait that would be a 3 series :facepalm:

[jaffaonajappa]

.... oh no sorry wait that would be a 3 series :facepalm:

Yeah, durrr. The 3 Series usually have an Inline 6 cylinder motor. We are talking about bikes here which have....what motor does a K1600 have?

[swbarnett]

As far as I'm concerned if you need these extra "safety" features you shouldn't be riding, period!

And the same goes for cagers.

[Kickaha]

I looked long and hard recently when buying and decided against as it increases your stopping distance in the dry.(straight from the bikes manual).However it is good in the wet.

Very few people can beat ABS stopping distances if something unexpected happens wet or dry

[cheshirecat]

I'm trying to remember the last time I did an emergency stop. Oh once in 1989 on Tot Court Road London (that was the only emer stop during 3 years of DRing), when some peds walked out and once around the 70's. Although learning how to stop is important I think there are far more important things to learn, like not putting your self in the situations to start with.

[swbarnett]

Although learning how to stop is important I think there are far more important things to learn, like not putting your self in the situations to start with.
Exactly!

There's absolutely no need to waste millions of dollars on "safety" systems if people are taught how to ride/drive properly in the first place. This includes ABS.

[pritch]

The K1600GT is a big bitch, but for a six cylinder tourer it is reportedly very agile.

BIKE put it through a series of handling tests with a couple of other bikes and four different riders who rode each bike in turn. In a "cone test" the K1600 matched the times of a GSXR600 which is more than a bit surprising.

Still, I fancy something a bit smaller these days, both the bike and the price.

[jaffaonajappa]

In a "cone test" the K1600 matched the times of a GSXR600 which is more than a bit surprising.


Surprising..... is an understatement.....
Im suspicious. Especially of this lol.

[Sable]

I would love ABS if I could afford it. It's wrong to force it onto consumers with legislation though.

[Vacquer0]

I had a debate with a Honda Salesman about these being mandatory in the future. I drove up to the Suzuki shop instead of being told what was best for me. Just makes me uncomfortable.

http://www.sportrider.com/features/146_1107_abs_as_standard_equipment/index.html

[cheshirecat]

I've never tried abs but if reviews of recent systems are even half true I'd go for a bike with it on compulsory or not. Put it this way, its wet and low light, you're on a motorway, there's a pile up ahead and the car(s) behind haven't seen it. I need to be able to brake with out wondering what my front tyre is gripping (or not) and focus on navigating through the carnage both front and in my rear views. This has happened more than once and I'd just like to improve the odds a little. And I'm not mentioning tram lines, wet cobbles (downhill) , snow, black ice, lane width diesel and trucks jackknifing along side you in the wet. oh I just did

[swbarnett]

I've never tried abs but if reviews of recent systems are even half true I'd go for a bike with it on compulsory or not. Put it this way, its wet and low light, you're on a motorway, there's a pile up ahead and the car(s) behind haven't seen it. I need to be able to brake with out wondering what my front tyre is gripping (or not) and focus on navigating through the carnage both front and in my rear views. This has happened more than once and I'd just like to improve the odds a little.
I've had my fair share of unexpected stops in the wet etc. Not once have I had any need for any more braking than was available. I've even failed to stop short of the obstacle because I wasn't paying attention. I didn't hit them because I knew what to do and went down the side instead. Even in this case I didn't need more braking, I needed to pay attention and ride to the conditions.

What I really don't like about about ABS and the other "safety" measures of late is the amount of money and resources that are being consumed to prevent things that are truly one in a million ocurrences. Today's society is just far too paranoid.

[Big Dave]

It's a very fast 300kg motorcycle. Some owners will need all the help they can get just dealing with that factoid. Some of us are legends.
Doesn't have the cornering clearance of a sports bike - I was dragging my toes while (on the GTL) riding at someone-else's-40K-bike speeds, but the paralever and telelever setup chucks around very,very nicely and for such a big unit the clearance is outstanding.
It handles as well as a Connie 1400, pulls almost as hard and has more shizzle than a Gold Wing.

And ABS is a good thing.

[banditrider]

And ABS is a good thing.

I had no choice in getting it when I got the Connie but would have paid extra for it if I had needed to. It has it's faults but in the wet on a big bike with awesome brakes it just makes sense.

[Gremlin]

Word with the mandatory ABS in Europe is that they don't want it switchable... which I don't agree with. However, my limited amount of off road riding (not trails like the really off road group) is that the ABS is actually quite usable on gravel.

While you can't escape physics, I've found BMW make some extremely well sorted bikes, often providing performance/handling that punch well above where they should, for their weight.

In the TT2000 earlier this year, a ZX14 behind me couldn't believe that I only had about 100hp with the GSA, and I was much more laden than him, but still setting a respectable pace.