What mode do you ride in?

haucke · Post by **haucke** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 12:21 pm

Another story about yesterday's ride...

My R1 has three throttle modes STD, A, and B. I almost always ride in B mode which is wet weather mode. Sometimes I forget and leave it in STD which is a little too zippy for me and I get reminded soon enough and change it to B mode. Well yesterday I jump on the bike and bump the selector over two times to B mode as usual. I take a ride to Fort Worth via Randol Mill Rd. The street was empty so I decided to open it up starting at 45 mph. The bike starts pulling hard and I hang on and the shift light starts shining while the engine is screaming and it hits 10,000 rpm, I continue to hang on and let it keep climbing. It feels like it explodes at 11,000 and the front end comes off the ground! Wholly Jesus! I ease off and bring the front down. That is the first time I have ever had the front end come up. The heart is racing and I cant believe it, I did not pop the clutch at all it just pulled it up! So a take it back down from 100+mph to 45 and try it again and Boom it does it again! What the heck! It has never done this before. Then I begin to realize two things, the first realization was I was in A mode not B mode and two I have never ridden in A mode since I bought the bike. It was shortly after that I had the unusual cemetery visit...

Post by **fixxervi6** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 12:29 pm

I ride in "A" mode 99.995% of the time, thats what the machine was built to do.

The only time I touch the other modes is if its really cold or if it JUST rained and the roads have that fresh rain slickness, otherwise its A in the rain as well.

All crotch rockets worth their weight in horsepower will power wheelie up if you pin the throttle, going from a cruiser to a R1 is a HUGE jump in machinery. Inlines are nice and docile at lower RPM where they are out of their power band, but if you get them up in their power band they will bite you very, very quickly, even the 600's get suprisingly powerful at higher RPM.

There are plenty on this board with far more experience than me that will have good advice, but my advice is keep it in the top mode and leave it there, then remember throttle control is key #1 to keeping the beast tame. Smooth everything, smooth roll on, smooth roll off, smooth brake, smooth like ice cream.

I'm on a 750 for a reason, 1K is too much machine for me, and will be for quite a while.

Put it in the top mode, then just respect the machine, smooth on the throttle is really, really critical. Short shift if you need to, to stay out of the power band until you become more and more comfortable with the machine.

Track days will help, work with your instructure and let him know these things.

haucke · Post by **haucke** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 12:45 pm

fixxervi6 wrote: There are plenty on this board with far more experience than me that will have good advice, but my advice is keep it in the top mode and leave it there, then remember throttle control is key #1 to keeping the beast tame. Smooth everything, smooth roll on, smooth roll off, smooth brake, smooth like ice cream.
.

Yes it is quite a change from a cruiser, thanks for the advice. I am loving this machine. All my other riding friends (cruisers) think I am crazy but I am always open minded and always had a need for speed and performance, that is why I raced the vette for several years. So racing is nothing new to me but the power to weight ratio is! It is awesome, and I cannot wait to get it out on the track so I can learn to handle the turns on two wheels instead of four. Oh by the way smooth applies to auto racing as well... Keeping the vehicle balanced throughout the track is key, and you do that by being smooth...

Saying it and doing it are two different things

Post by **milesmiles** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:03 pm

I'm not sure if "top mode" is more power or not, considering i have no modes on my bike. My personal opinion is keeping it in the "lowest power setting" until you are more comfortable with, as Fixxer said "throttle control" or "smooth". Think of it this way...if you going around a corner in the lowest power setting and hit a bump your hand might move a bit and give it more power or you are not smooth and you give it too much gas too soon...if you had it on the "higher power setting" then there is a higher chance the back end could spin up on you. Nothing wrong with getting use to the lower power and moving up as you go along. Better safe than sorry.

Rhino · Post by **Rhino** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:06 pm

You kids nowadays and your "modes".

I wish my Versys had modes, that would mean it was a Ducati Multistrada.

haucke · Post by **haucke** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:11 pm

Rhino wrote:You kids nowadays and your "modes".

I wish my Versys had modes, that would mean it was a Ducati Multistrada.

STD = Standard mode
B = wet weather mode
A = Spank the Monkey mode cause boy my heart was racing and thought I creamed my pants while my wife was no where around!

Post by **DarcShadow** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:26 pm

Ok, a wet mode I could see, but why a standard mode, and a full power mode. hell if anything the standard mode should be full power, A should be mid range, and B Mommy mode.

Bailout · Post by **Bailout** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:31 pm

mommy mode, yamahaha mode, whats the difference??

Post by **fixxervi6** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 1:40 pm

Bailout wrote:mommy mode, yamahaha mode, whats the difference??

Says the guy on the cruiser

fireblade · Post by **fireblade** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 2:19 pm

I always ride my bike in A mode. My bike has a biomechanical connection to my arm via my hand. I use the hand to adjust the power output on my bike. I twist my hand counter clockwise, the power is increased. I twist my hand clockwise, power is decreased. In rain and stuff I dont twist my hand counter clockwise too much and it keeps the bike under control very well.

El Diabro · Post by **El Diabro** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 2:29 pm

amen to that

Bailout · Post by **Bailout** » Mon Sep 26, 2011 2:40 pm

fixxervi6 wrote:
Bailout wrote:mommy mode, yamahaha mode, whats the difference??
Says the guy on the cruiser

Sport Cruiser, thank you very much!!

HA 22 years of sport bikes they will always be Yamahaha's!!

Firewa11 · Post by **Firewa11** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 9:32 am

fireblade wrote:I always ride my bike in A mode. My bike has a biomechanical connection to my arm via my hand. I use the hand to adjust the power output on my bike. I twist my hand counter clockwise, the power is increased. I twist my hand clockwise, power is decreased. In rain and stuff I dont twist my hand counter clockwise too much and it keeps the bike under control very well.

mahart · Post by **mahart** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 4:51 pm

I ride in a la mode.

Aviconus · Post by **Aviconus** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 6:42 pm

Im guessing this "A / B" thing didn't come on some of the older bikes. I have an 07 R1, and it's been all or nothing for 4 years. If I don't Short shift the front wheel comes up, just the name of the game when it comes to 1k's. I guess I took the perfect path for riding, first bike was a 600, then a Vtwin 1k (Higher Torque, Lower Top End), then finally to an inline. I bought it with zero miles so I was required to ride it soft for 600 miles, which gave me enough time to get used to it. Now I can ride the wheels off of it, with little worries. Takes some balls to ride it like it was ment to be, but if you learn your limit point, you should do just fine keeping it in "A" mode.

-Avi

Werehusky · Post by **Werehusky** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 11:05 am

I ride in 1F. F = full power, and 1 = race traction control, the front wheel comes up about 2-3feet and then comes back down.

jon_af_gonzo · Post by **jon_af_gonzo** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 10:53 am

I ride in Beast mode.. lol

armedandinsain · Post by **armedandinsain** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 10:57 am

I normally ride with my bike in - ON/RUN mode

Post by **Valentina** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 6:05 am

A and B modes???what the heck?No modes the best mode!!!Go with the feeling!!!....HONDA:)

Jenson · Post by **Jenson** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 4:04 pm

Ha! Yeah Honda still doesn't offer traction control, relying instead on superior design and build quality.

Rhino · Post by **Rhino** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 4:07 pm

Jenson wrote:Ha! Yeah Honda still doesn't offer traction control, relying instead on superior design and build quality.

I'm curious how build quality is going to keep you from spinning up your rear tire on corner exit.

Maybe their "superior design" is severely underpowered engines?

Post by **fixxervi6** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 4:24 pm

I love hearing people complain about technology and traction control. I remember when ABS started getting popular, all people did was bitch about it. Now every car you buy has ABS and almost all have ESP, and people still crash and can't drive, and no one complains about it anymore.

Bottom line is, people don't like change, adding traction control is change so people complain about it. 10 years from now it'll be standard equipment, people will still wreck.

MotoGP has been running quick shifters, traction control, slipper's all kinds of fancy tech for a long time, if it sucks so bad why does the best use it to get an edge up?

Maybe thats why rossi sucks this year, cause of that electronic crap right?

If they were real men they'd be back on 80 year old two cycles, bunch of pussies with their fancy technology.

Fuel injection, multi compound tires, slipper clutches, dampers, multi stage fuel controllers, quick shifters, drive modes, nice digital displays.

If you hate technology give up your crotch rocket and get a harley, because the game is "faster and faster" and they are going to do that with technology. If you don't beleive that then your not reading enough info on the 1000rr or looking at the tech they are packing into the new GP bikes and how they are setting new records just about every race out.

Post by **DarcShadow** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 8:06 pm

It comes down to what do you want to get out of something. Do you want a car/bike that a monkey can drive fast around a track, or do you want a car/bike that you drive and when you turn a good lap you know it's you that did it and not the car/bike.

I hate traction control because I have yet see a system that responded quick enough and predictably enough to make me comfortable. Case in point, Kevan has a mustang and was driving it spiritly, got on it around a turn, rear end kicked out, he counter steered and prepaired to let it drift around the turn but then the traction control kicked in and shot him the other direction so he had to quickly steer the other direction. He "fish tailed" back an forth a couple of times before getting straightened out. Had the traction control not of kicked in he would of made a sweet turn. Had he not counter steered, the traction control would of kicked in to late and he would of been off into the weeds. See crap like that in cars, I sure as hell don't want it on my bike.

I also believe all this "safety" crap is making us worse drivers so the accident rate doesn't actually go down. I'd lay money that had none of this crap ever been put onto a car, we'd have exactly the same accident rate now as we did before. The safety crap allows less than good drivers to get well above their skill level and not realize it till it's too late and the nanny crap can't recover.

Now, if you're on the track and you just want a fast as shit lap time, then sure, make use of all the technology you can. Me, I want to enjoy the drive and don't care about time. If I have a fast lap time great, if I don't who cares, I'm haveing a hell of a lot of fun.

Jenson · Post by **Jenson** » Sat Oct 01, 2011 12:25 am

Rhino wrote:
Jenson wrote:Ha! Yeah Honda still doesn't offer traction control, relying instead on superior design and build quality.
I'm curious how build quality is going to keep you from spinning up your rear tire on corner exit.

Maybe their "superior design" is severely underpowered engines?

Hey it works for me. Though it would be nice to have a slipper clutch, I'm not sold on the idea of computer assisted traction control. People have balked at every step of the way along the progression of technology, this is true. However, every step thus far has brought the rider more in touch and more in control. Fuel injection gets rid of (for the most part) the hiccups and altitude/pressure irregularities and surges of the pot metal mixers of yore. Aluminum frame and chassis technology has replaced the old mild steel tubes that held overpowered engines and high speed/mid corner wobble. Tire technology has advanced light years, allowing the rider to transmit all the power and chassis and rider input to the ground on that TINY little contact patch. All this in turn gives feedback to the rider, letting them know if the they are pushing the bike a little hard. Now we come to the point where engines are making so much power and chassis/tire technology is so good that we feel the need to throw a computer IN BETWEEN the rider and the bike. You lean hard into a corner and give it full throttle, and the computer reacts fast "I don't think so-how about half throttle? there you go. No crash for you today." In my humble, uneducated opinion, this is pushing the rider and bike farther apart. Furthermore, in 04, when the latest traction control made its way onto the track, it caused more than a few brutal wrecks. a few riders left Moto GP entirely, disgusted with these "digital bikes". This has all been ironed out, but every electronic system fails eventually, and what happens when it fails mid corner, knee down, going FAST? I don't want that question on the back of my mind. I'm a slow rider on an underpowed, ragged out hunk of honda, but I want to push the limits of me and my bike. I want to twist the throttle and introduce more fuel and air into the combustion chamber. I don't want to crack open the throttle and ask the computer "hey man if it's cool with you I'd like you to open the throttle as you see fit, taking into account lean angle, rear and front wheel speed and a dozen other factors I can't be bothered with now, seeing as I'm too busy being ham fisted." Does this make us better riders? In my opinion, no. BTW all sportbikes these days are amazing contraptions. I don't view Hondas as superior. Maybe a little behind the times, and overbuilt in some respects. This concludes my rant.

NickS · Post by **NickS** » Sat Oct 01, 2011 6:25 pm

It seems to me that everyone would be happy if manufacturers did one thing. Include an "off" mode for the traction control.

Fort Worth Motorcycle Riders

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