new zx10

[vampyregirl]

its supposed to have improved handling. apparently they did some work on that rear suspension. if it has a horsepower boost this could be the ninja to dethrone the mighty gixxer this is a good year for sport riders

[palanon]

Cool beans!

[Clint]

It's been a good decade for sport riders!

[Tab B.]

Originally Posted by RowdyRed94

It's been a good decade for sport riders!

Hey, make that at least a couple of good decades for sport riders. Palanon knows why I feel that way! Eh dude?

[palanon]

Originally Posted by Tab B.

Hey, make that at least a couple of good decades for sport riders. Palanon knows why I feel that way! Eh dude?

Yeah, your definitely old school. Not only do you have one of the first ( US ) GSX - R bikes, you have the motorcycle magazines to go with it. You my friend are hard core. Some day, we'll get you on a newer Gixxer but, I'm not holding my breath !!

[palanon]

Oh, by the way folks. Tab bleeds blue and white. Trust me, I've seen it.

He even has a Suzuki flag hanging in his barn.

[Tab B.]

Yeah, but regardless of the color of your ride, it HAS been at least a couple of good decades. If you couldn't{can't} get it new, the aftermarket was{is} more than willing to help you.

That ZX10 has, for real, traction control. Seeing how the Matt and Ben show have been using it for awhile, I would have thought Suzuki would've had it first. Doesn't matter, it's here now!!

[palanon]

Originally Posted by Tab B.

That ZX10 has, for real, traction control. Seeing how the Matt and Ben show have been using it for awhile, I would have thought Suzuki would've had it first. Doesn't matter, it's here now!!

Maybe Suzuki wants to test more. I think it was in the DVD " Faster ", that you loaned to me, that showed all the trouble Suzuki was having with their traction control.

[Tab B.]

That DVD, as far as on board electronics are concerned, is aging rather quickly. Apparently Yoshimura Suzuki has been using traction control on their superbikes a couple seasons before the AMA made it legal. They technically weren't cheating because of the wording in the AMA rule book. The rule book was very explicit in what the bikes couldn't have as far as the known traction controls available. The Suzuki units were completely electronic "rate of change" type of control, contained inside the "black box". No wheel speed sensors were used or needed. The Kawasaki traction control is of the same type, from what I've read. I haven't seen anything on the 2008 GSXR1000 yet, so maybe it has it too.

[palanon]

I wish they would make a III and IV of Faster. Maybe with only 5 years to work out the bugs, Suzuki still doesn't feel comfortable in regards to liability.

I haven't researched it but, Maybe Suzuki's " Mode Switch " is an interim step before releasing a real full time traction control system.

[Tab B.]

Originally Posted by palanon

I haven't researched it but, Maybe Suzuki's " Mode Switch " is an interim step before releasing a real full time traction control system.

That's what I'm thinking too.

[themeatmanlandry]

I *think* that switch cuts power, as opposed to managing traction.

By that I mean, it doesn't concern itself with wheelspin and traction control, only available horsepower.

[Tab B.]

I've read something hinting that it was a real traction control, but we will have to wait and see, I guess. On the aftermarket there is a plug-in "rate of change" traction control unit available for about 1500$. I read the write up in RRW. Alas, it doesn't mean a thing to me because of the dinosaur I ride. I'm just enjoying keeping up with the incredible changes in these new machines.
Racing DOES improve the breed.

[MikeHump]

How exactly does traction control on a bike work? In a car, there are wheel speed sensors, yaw sensors, abs modules, etc..., making it very simple for the computer to apply power/brakes when the car starts skidding and body roll is detected. And in some newer cars the metallic-gel in the shock absorbers can be electronically energized/de-energized to stiffen/soften the shock absorber and reduce body roll in each corner of the car, depending on where the excess body roll is detected. Are the 'traction control' systems in new bikes just abs systems? That would make more sense to me.

[Tab B.]

Well, I'll give you a not very well informed sketch. The traction control on a bike is really for controling wheel spin caused by too much throttle for the traction available. That is of big use with todays liter bikes that have more than enough HP and torque to break loose, mostly in corners. Especially for those with not enough skills to manage it {street!!!}. The earlier systems had wheel speed sensors similar to ABS systems, in fact, from what I've read, it wasn't a stretch to make an ABS system into a traction control system. The latest spin
{couldn't resist pun} appears to be what is called a "Rate of change" system.
At least that's what I've heard it called so far. It doesn't require wheel speed sensors as far as I know. It is the system that the Suzuki superbikes were supposedly using in the AMA when "TC" was illegal. BUT, it wasn't illegal just by the wording of the rules. It is completely contained within the "balck box".
The genius engineers figured that an engine can only rev so fast, with no load on it, much less so as load is applied. So with that knowledge, you can define a threshold for how fast you allow your engine to rev. A tire losing traction will rev up quicker than a tire with traction. So when the tire starts to lose traction, and the revs start to accelerate too fast, and it approaches the "rate of change" threshold, that the engineers, programmers, or even the rider thinks is too much, the TC will do its' thing. Being a computer, there are probably a bunch of variable parameters that can be adjusted to suit the conditions, or rider's style. I hope this helps a little. As a matter of fact, you can now by a plug and play TC system of that type, for the most modern sport bikes, for somwhere under 2000$. It probably isn't truly just plug and play, plug maybe. I'm sure there is quite a bit to learn to get it to work the way you want.

[inspiron]

I thought that the traction control took advantage of the ABS sensors which are measuring the wheel spin, and comparing if one wheel is turning faster than the other ... at least that's how it works in my Audi ...

[marktoml]

It should probably be called RPM control for the bikes since it works in a completely different fashion.

There are some aftermarket devices that do (or claim to do) the same thing. I ride an 06 10R and there are times you wish it had something like this.

[MikeHump]

Originally Posted by inspiron

I thought that the traction control took advantage of the ABS sensors which are measuring the wheel spin, and comparing if one wheel is turning faster than the other ... at least that's how it works in my Audi ...

that is how it works in cars, in conjunction with the yaw sensor and a couple others. that's why i was asking how it worked on bikes, just to gain some knowledge. the rpm idea would work though, it makes sense.

[Tab B.]

I wonder if the RPM systems were developed just to get around the racing rules, which, from what I understand, strictly forbid any kind of mechanical speed sensing devices on the wheels. Having done that, well gosh, we can sell these things easier, than a wheel speed sensing system. It must be a lot easier to plug into an existing black box, than to retro-fit wheels with speed sensors, especially since ABS common on modern sportbikes yet.