GETTING YOUR ELECTRONICS ON TRACK
When it comes to discussing the rider aids on a modern bike, mainly in the Superbike category, it’s normally met with some debate over the need or requirement for assistance when riding on the road or on track. For road riding, why wouldn’t you just trust billions of pounds worth of R&D and simply run with it? Any bike that’s been built in recent years has such a high level of electronic rider aids that you don’t even know when you’re being assisted. But track riding is quite different, so here’s what I think about rider aids.
Ten to 15 years ago, I would’ve said turn it off, the anti-wheelie systems just felt like the whole bike was shut down for one second before slamming the wheel back down, traction control just stopped the bike from accelerating and ABS would have you running on at every turn. However, the technological advancements have blown my mind since then and nowadays I use these rider aids to my advantage.
Reality is, there’s only a handful of people who could actually control an unassisted 200-220bhp motorcycle with a 1:1 throttle ratio; the response from the engine would be so fierce that you’d struggle to hit full throttle for even just a brief moment at most UK circuits. Rider aids in 2020 are so much more than TC or anti-wheelie and it’s not until your wheel speed sensor breaks or you make the decision to turn everything off that you get to appreciate the benefits of these carefully developed aids.
During my last two years
