MotoGP electronics

[BarryG]

Many of the riders are saying that electronics are making current 800 GP bikes 'too easy' to ride. Forgetting about what 'easy' is to those blokes compared to what 'easy' is to Joe Average bike rider, they may have a point. Grids are covered by a couple of seconds, someone runs away at the front but behind, the order doesn't seem to be that fluid, people tend to pretty well ride at whatever pace, and outbraking and accelerating earlier are a bit of a thing of the past.
I see that F1, starting now, has a standard ECU which does away with traction control and engine braking, maybe not all but certainly to the extent that it was free for all before. After the first tests, the drivers seem to be saying 'hey, this is fun again, we have more input at the wheel and pedals as to how quickly we go'. In other words, maybe dumbing down the electronics and removing driver aids will result in a better driver being able to overcome a slight setup difference to be able to make better progress on the road than has heretofore been the case (for quite a few years, anyway).
I wonder if MotoGP will be taking notice, and a control ECU and removal of rider aids will become mandated and racing, as we have it now, may improve?
Cheers
Barry

[quattrocchi]

... I wonder if MotoGP will be taking notice, and a control ECU and removal of rider aids will become mandated and racing, as we have it now, may improve?

Quite possibly. The thrill from this side of the bike is to see the rider do something and see the bike squirm or slide and buck, and it seems like something we can all relate to. (if it were me, if I had a moment at one corner I'd be still heart-athumpin' a few miles down the road...). But with these new 800s having electronic launch control and so on we just don't see so much action, and so the races may seem boring. They all arrive at the corner at the same time, etc. But if they were to ban them it'd be tough for Ducati who it seems has come up with a very superior version, by all accounts.

But then as I read on another forum if it was truly a prototype series the rules would read:
1. a rider.
2. Two wheels.
3. a belly pan.

[Sully60]

Good topic BarryG

I think this issue was best highlighted reading the reports from the Wildcards at the USGP. Roger Lee Hayden was commenting on the differences between himself and the regular Kawasaki GP riders. Comparing the telemetry compared to him the regulars take advantage of the traction control and in his words just whack the throttle open mid corner and let the electronics do the rest. He was riding it like a superbike and rolling on as he brought the bike upright.
Another example was Sepang, watching Casey breaking heavily at the end of the two long straights the back tyre would step out 6-8 inches and sit there, smooth and consistantly every lap. I take nothing away from Casey but to be that consistant over that many laps in that heat..we all know backtorque is an area where the electonics have also taken over the finer points of rider control.
I have even seen somewhere (and it wasn't a dream this time) that one of the electronics/engine managment companies if developing front tyre traction control, as opposed to ABS, WTF?

So when does Dorna draw the line, like both of you mentioned it seems everybody brakes and accelerates at the same time the only difference is the start (as long as you're not Dani Pedrosa) Anyway because I'm a luddite I want to see carburetted 500cc two strokes with drone motors again (when was the last time we saw a highside anyway?)

[denill]

But then there is the other side of the coin - the science fiction stuff that is available now will more likely feed down to the bikes we ride if the boffins are given a free hand. It is after all, not a production bike series like WSBK. If MotoGP is to be about prototypes - then anything and everything should be go. ie: The quickest, rider friendly machines possible.

[SimJen]

Interesting....see here http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/64022
I'd prefer no rider aids, it makes it more exciting and allows the riders true talent to shine through.

[speed63]

Im with Denill, it is not just about the riders it is also about technology. You dont want to limit the investment in research and development.

[cowpoos]

you guys really think that electronics have made the motoGP bikes easy to ride??

[Toast]

you guys really think that electronics have made the motoGP bikes easy to ride??

I wouldn't say they've become easy...but what about Schumi...5 seconds off the pace on the new Duc....15 seconds off the pace on the one from 2 years ago (supposedly that had a lot less electronic intervention according to the guy in the article that SimJen posted a link to).

Not that the majority of us would experience that kind of improvement with the new electronics...you've still gotta be trained to make the basic decisions required at those extremely high speeds, it's just that the more complex elements of throttle control are seemingly no longer a pre-requisite to going super-fast.

[kiwifruit]

you guys really think that electronics have made the motoGP bikes easy to ride??

Raj seems to ride his one pretty well, or so i hear

[Usarka]

you guys really think that electronics have made the motoGP bikes easy to ride??

Easy no. Easier to go fast yes. Its changing the skillsets required to be faster than someone else. mid corner and exit throttle control isn't so important, so braking will become more so.

[cowpoos]

I wouldn't say they've become easy...but what about Schumi...5 seconds off the pace on the new Duc....15 seconds off the pace on the one from 2 years ago (supposedly that had a lot less electronic intervention according to the guy in the article that SimJen posted a link to).

Not that the majority of us would experience that kind of improvement with the new electronics...you've still gotta be trained to make the basic decisions required at those extremely high speeds, it's just that the more complex elements of throttle control are seemingly no longer a pre-requisite to going super-fast.

Easy no. Easier to go fast yes. Its changing the skillsets required to be faster than someone else. mid corner and exit throttle control isn't so important, so braking will become more so.

so wsbk riders would be faster riders or better riders or something along those lines???

Raj seems to ride his one pretty well, or so i hear

he's a natural though mate...something we can only aspire too!!

[Usarka]

so wsbk riders would be faster riders or better riders or something along those lines???

if wsbk remove traction control and other gizmos and we give it a few seasons then maybe they will be better riders on non-gizmoed bikes

Might be a good opportunity for wsbk marketting???

[k14]

You just need to compare the amount of crashes now compared to 4 or 5 seasons ago. The amount of crashes are so small now that even some races this year all of the starters finished. Back 5 years ago that was impossible. Also look at how many highsides there have been this year? Only one i can think of is stoner at philip island when he was on a dry track and riding on wets.

[Cleve]

isn't fewer highsides more to do with better tyres and flatter powerbands though?

[imdying]

Rider aids... ha! I like bike racing... the bikes are the best bit. The sooner they biff the riders away and make it a pure bike on bike competition, the better. Then we'll know who builds and sets up the best black horse of steel once and for all