I used to see the TC light all the time with the stock tires on my 2016. They were down to cord in just 2700 miles. I don't do burnouts. A lot of folks got a lot less mileage from the stock Rubber. I think the new bikes are coming with better tires now. I have been running Dunlop RoadSmart 3 tires for years and I never see the TC light anymore.
Got my first TC light today
Mid-corner and on the gas, smoothly and steadily- but wasn't pushing hard. I've been riding on TC=3 just on general principles. Didn't feel anything but perhaps a sign I'm getting more comfortable on the bike. My other 3 bikes didn't have any of the nanny features so its nice to start to see what they do.
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I find the traction control on these bikes to be amazing. Ride bikes long enough, and you'll get a high side which you may or may not crash from. TC stops those slides before they're detectible by most normal riders.
I do wish there was a TC setting between 2 and 3. I find 2 to be unpleasant because it doesn't even feel like TC; it just lets the rear tire loose. 3 lets the TC come on instantly upon even the smallest slide.
I personally find setting the TC to 3 and letting the bike float through the turns at 7500 rpm makes for the least drama. The bike feels like an underpowered 600 and thus makes for low insurance rates.
I do wish there was a TC setting between 2 and 3. I find 2 to be unpleasant because it doesn't even feel like TC; it just lets the rear tire loose. 3 lets the TC come on instantly upon even the smallest slide.
I personally find setting the TC to 3 and letting the bike float through the turns at 7500 rpm makes for the least drama. The bike feels like an underpowered 600 and thus makes for low insurance rates.
My R6 was really comfy deep into corners, I started backing the rear in every now and then. There is more to move on the gsxs and the balance is different- I'm still slower turning in.
Isn't there also around 50 pounds of difference?My R6 was really comfy deep into corners, I started backing the rear in every now and then. There is more to move on the gsxs and the balance is different- I'm still slower turning in.
The son of the great Neil McKenzie talked about the differences between a 600 versus a 1000 i4 bike.
It's notable he talks a lot about electronics on the more modern motorcycles and how that translates into motorcycles that are quite difficult to crash even in the hands of novice riders.
if i get to ride on ice, ill try the traction control, otherwise i wonder why anyone uses it at all....i call it the anti-fun switch...so mine is off ...mind you i like getting slides, wheelstands, and general hooligan type riding... aint that why you buy a 150hp 1000cc bike anyway ?Isn't there also around 50 pounds of difference?
The son of the great Neil McKenzie talked about the differences between a 600 versus a 1000 i4 bike.
It's notable he talks a lot about electronics on the more modern motorcycles and how that translates into motorcycles that are quite difficult to crash even in the hands of novice riders.
It used to be. I think most people couldn't even ride a pre anti fun bike now a days. At least the young crowd. All they know is TC and ABS and all of that crap. I never needed it and really don't want it. But, all new bikes have something these days.if i get to ride on ice, ill try the traction control, otherwise i wonder why anyone uses it at all....i call it the anti-fun switch...so mine is off ...mind you i like getting slides, wheelstands, and general hooligan type riding... aint that why you buy a 150hp 1000cc bike anyway ?
Yeah the gsxs is 50lbs heavier but the balance and leaning behavior is radically different... I could pivot steer on the r6, not at all on the gsxs. The gsxs loves to push under compared to the R6 so I'm learning to how it likes to get weight projected first... bike dynamics need unlearning and relearning. I'm quite happy to have the nanny stuff if I can turn it down as needed; even if its just a warning light.
My old Bandit was 100lbs heavier- 60-odd heavier than the gsxs- that was a firm steering bike compared to these two.
My old Bandit was 100lbs heavier- 60-odd heavier than the gsxs- that was a firm steering bike compared to these two.
The ever increasing death rate among motorcycle riders, and the 40% discount insurance gives to motorcycles with ABS, does suggest we have a lot of unskilled riders on the road. I do think ABS is critical on the street because it's dangerous to brake hard over wet surfaces. European riders experience about a 1/5 death rate as US riders do, and it's likely their tiered displacement laws have something to do with that.It used to be. I think most people couldn't even ride a pre anti fun bike now a days. At least the young crowd. All they know is TC and ABS and all of that crap. I never needed it and really don't want it. But, all new bikes have something these days.
As for TC...I like it although I grew up without it. I think TC is important, perhaps even most important, on the track. All my highsides came from following another rider and then trying to pass them with too much throttle too early. You have great grip and then it's like skating on ice, there is not much time to react to a high side.
The majority of anti ABS/TC riders don't have much if any track experience so it's hard to take them seriously when it comes to safety devices designed to function on the outer limits of motorcycle performance. If they've never tossed their bike through a 4th gear right-hander at 10,000 rpms and touched down a header, then you can be sure they've never actually ridden fast and thus have no clue just how dangerous these bikes are without safety devices. Doing burnouts out of 20 mph corners (which we've all done) is completely different from a 90 mph push in 3rd gear. The first is fun and safe while the second requires serious thought because the consequences of messing it up are so high.
👍if i get to ride on ice, ill try the traction control, otherwise i wonder why anyone uses it at all....i call it the anti-fun switch...so mine is off ...mind you i like getting slides, wheelstands, and general hooligan type riding... aint that why you buy a 150hp 1000cc bike anyway ?
I remember the first R6's being completely bonkers when it came to turns. I rode one when it was near new, I think back in 2004-2005, whatever generation that was, and thinking to myself that I'd probably crash it if I bought it.Yeah the gsxs is 50lbs heavier but the balance and leaning behavior is radically different... I could pivot steer on the r6, not at all on the gsxs. The gsxs loves to push under compared to the R6 so I'm learning to how it likes to get weight projected first... bike dynamics need unlearning and relearning. I'm quite happy to have the nanny stuff if I can turn it down as needed; even if its just a warning light.
My old Bandit was 100lbs heavier- 60-odd heavier than the gsxs- that was a firm steering bike compared to these two.
Beautiful bikes but they are bikes I like my friends to own and not me.
I do understand about the "push" in turns you're talking about. Maybe not an actual push as in sliding the front tire, but that feeling of a light front end or a bike that feels rear-tire biased. I think that's just a function of all these high-handlebar motorcycles. And yet videos of GSXS1000 seem to show them being fast and easy to ride on any track, usually just smoking 600's while not exhausting the riders by NOT having 200 hp. The 145 HP our bikes make means they actually have less HP than any GSXR1000 ever built. They're figuratively a fat 600 in power and weight.
My R6 had a stage 1 jet kit put in by a pro tuner when it was new - the pile of documentation with the bike had receipts. I had the bike dyno'ed as below. 100hp peak is good for a gen1, later gens could get up to 120 IIRC. In that sense I suppose the gsxs might be a "fat" 600, but that is a <lot> more power and torque than a gen1 r6.
The "push under" that the gsxs likes is the opposite of the pivot steer method aka K.Code's ToTW material; where you push the outside peg while pushing the inside clipon- helps keep the bike upright and your weight inside. The R6 responded quite well to that. Paradoxically, the Bandit did too in a limited way- I lowsided it at one point and broke the rearset so fabbed up some fittings to mount ebay salvage Hayabusa rearsets which moved the foot position back a bit, and that made it possible to put weight on the outside peg more easily than on the gsxs.
The gsxs likes to lean under, in the manner of a quick swerve to avoid something in the road; so the game for me is to change how weight is projected to the inside, so as to keep the bike more upright.
I've sniffed around a bit for adjustable rearsets for the gsxs, to move the foot position back a bit, but good ones cost and I'm not really a fast enough or good enough rider for it to really pay off.
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The "push under" that the gsxs likes is the opposite of the pivot steer method aka K.Code's ToTW material; where you push the outside peg while pushing the inside clipon- helps keep the bike upright and your weight inside. The R6 responded quite well to that. Paradoxically, the Bandit did too in a limited way- I lowsided it at one point and broke the rearset so fabbed up some fittings to mount ebay salvage Hayabusa rearsets which moved the foot position back a bit, and that made it possible to put weight on the outside peg more easily than on the gsxs.
The gsxs likes to lean under, in the manner of a quick swerve to avoid something in the road; so the game for me is to change how weight is projected to the inside, so as to keep the bike more upright.
I've sniffed around a bit for adjustable rearsets for the gsxs, to move the foot position back a bit, but good ones cost and I'm not really a fast enough or good enough rider for it to really pay off.
1st corner on the hillclimb event is a 200-250kph corner, with not very grippy road tyres its easy to push thru sliding the rear, but im not keen on pushing the front into a road corner with wire/post fences on both sides, those with bigger balls than me get a superbike on slicks through there at 240+ kphThe ever increasing death rate among motorcycle riders, and the 40% discount insurance gives to motorcycles with ABS, does suggest we have a lot of unskilled riders on the road. I do think ABS is critical on the street because it's dangerous to brake hard over wet surfaces. European riders experience about a 1/5 death rate as US riders do, and it's likely their tiered displacement laws have something to do with that.
As for TC...I like it although I grew up without it. I think TC is important, perhaps even most important, on the track. All my highsides came from following another rider and then trying to pass them with too much throttle too early. You have great grip and then it's like skating on ice, there is not much time to react to a high side.
The majority of anti ABS/TC riders don't have much if any track experience so it's hard to take them seriously when it comes to safety devices designed to function on the outer limits of motorcycle performance. If they've never tossed their bike through a 4th gear right-hander at 10,000 rpms and touched down a header, then you can be sure they've never actually ridden fast and thus have no clue just how dangerous these bikes are without safety devices. Doing burnouts out of 20 mph corners (which we've all done) is completely different from a 90 mph push in 3rd gear. The first is fun and safe while the second requires serious thought because the consequences of messing it up are so high.
The 600cc bikes were/are crazy! Stock R6's and Kawasaki ZX6's make upwards of 120 hp, but then again stock 1000cc bikes are now making more than 200 hp. Still don't understand how a BMW S1000RR has about 50% less insurance than a Kawasaki ZX6.My R6 had a stage 1 jet kit put in by a pro tuner when it was new - the pile of documentation with the bike had receipts. I had the bike dyno'ed as below. 100hp peak is good for a gen1, later gens could get up to 120 IIRC. In that sense I suppose the gsxs might be a "fat" 600, but that is a <lot> more power and torque than a gen1 r6.
Twist of the Wrist seems like one of those books that most riders should read because it's a very scientific way of getting around a track both faster and safer. I feel riders who spend an undue amount of time and money on their bikes would be much better served by reading TwOTW 1 and 2, and watching his videos.
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