What Are Triumph Thinking

[blacktiger]

Are you married??

Are you Gay?

[Chris Canning]

No I've been married 35 years maybe I can help you out  :icon_wink:

[blacktiger]

I very much doubt it. I'm trying to work out how that's relevant. Like I said I've been trying to work out your thought processes for years.

[Chris Canning]

And yet your happy to take help from a stranger at a manufacturer who doesn't know you or how your ride a bike with suspension and believe me both can end in a very bumpy ride  :icon_wink:

Yep I'm in that 5% I know what I want and I know how to get it with some R+D from me.

What electric suspension does is take you from a zillion options to 4 max and the price you pay for that is financial armageddon with an old bike even now after more than 10 years it's still not possible to get a K1200 looked after outside of a BM dealership yea sure you can find joe blogs to change your oil and blow your tyres up but when things go wrong it's BM dealership rates 

At the moment the options for me is either an XR or Multi even now it isn't possible to buy a stocker because they are so busy trying to hawk the electric version,of course the game has move on because with a change in suspension you also get a change in fuel map another step on the slippery slope.

The irony my Tiger is that good(still) all the modern bikes offer is  big horsepower they don't brake/turn/handle any better just because I could be bothered to get off my backside and engage my brain and change suspension,my rear Ohlins came back from K-Tech  a week ago and it's another league and that's from a stock Ohlins.

While I have had my doubts about BM's marketing dept!! in this instance they have been great give the punters a button to press and they'll love it  ,I've ridden two early versions of BM's ESA and also the ESA2 on the 1300 a Multi with electric Ohlins and the new Skyhook version.

Have a look at any of the forums,you want something different if your fat or light weight or put high mileage on a bike it's an absolute black hole.

[nickjtc]

If the manufacturers are providing what the customer wants (or think that they want) then surely everyone is happy...??

More bike sales means more money for R and D leading to more 'interesting' stuff for those who want the latest and greatest features in their new toys.. But as I commented in a previous post, if you are non-techno-geek (like me) who frankly could not care less whether the bike will make a cup of tea for you (metaphorically, of course) then it only leaves the option of going for an older bike which is less sophisticated.

The Roadie is already pushing my boundaries for all the electronic stuff it carries imho.

[blacktiger]

And yet your happy to take help from a stranger at a manufacturer who doesn't know you or how your ride a bike with suspension and believe me both can end in a very bumpy ride  :icon_wink:

Yep I'm in that 5% I know what I want and I know how to get it with some R+D from me.

What electric suspension does is take you from a zillion options to 4 max and the price you pay for that is financial armageddon with an old bike even now after more than 10 years it's still not possible to get a K1200 looked after outside of a BM dealership yea sure you can find joe blogs to change your oil and blow your tyres up but when things go wrong it's BM dealership rates 

Chris,
You're showing a lack of understanding of the latest systems. e.g. the Aprilia Caponord is infinitely variable and automatically adjusts for load (to maintain the ride height) and riding style (winds on some damping if you're pushing on). These systems don't just have 4 clicks. The servos/stepper motors wind in and out as required. Unlike the 30 clicks on your Ohlins or whatever you spent your money on.
This sort of thing has been on high end sports car for quite a few years now so is pretty much proven.
A couple of quotes from test write upsof the Capo:-
And it's not as though our press bikes had been tweaked with perfect suspension settings either. As on the stock Caponord, the Rally comes with Semi-active Sachs suspension front and rear. All you have to do is ride and the bike's onboard computer continually changes damping rates to find that perfect balance between comfort and performance. It's not substantially better than a well set-up conventional suspension system, but it takes all of the guess work out of getting the best performance from your forks and shock.


The semi-active suspension on the new Caponord is more advanced than any other system on the market. The Ducati and BMW systems only adjust compression and rebound on the move whereas the Aprilia system also changes preload. This isn't for ultimate performance but for comfort and ride quality. The end result is really impressive, amplified further with a pillion or luggage, bumps and imperfections almost disappear. It's a really impressive system, one of the best on the market, if not THE best. When you up the pace, the sporty handling is impressive, too. It's possibly not as sharp as Ducati's Multistrada, but still more than adequate with excellent ABS-assisted brakes and traction control.

So, for the 95% these systems are foolproof and safer. And no, I'm not in that 95% either but I'm willing to give it a try.

[trophydave]

To quote my 1200GS-owning friend's wife, "Stop effing with the suspension settings, my bits are jiggling".....

That seems like a good reason to own one.

[Chris Canning]

BT

Rather than me trot out a long winded post about when you buy an aftermarket shock you have to stipulate your weight because it will need a different spring if your overweight or ride two up and if you need to go up 2 spring spec's then you you'll also need the shock revalved to cope with such(like I have),all I can suggest is you go away and do your home work and then you'll realise how daft the PR stuff that gets put out.

You wouldn't go into a shop and be told one pair of trousers fits all and shocks are no different.

Having owned my K since 09 and pay over £300 a year for an extended warranty because these bike's are a financial hand grenade I's say to anyone looking at this stuff,if your in the market to buy a bike and unload it when the warranty runs out then the only thing you have to worry about is the quality of the suspension,if your in it for the long term then I'd avoid such like the plague unless you have deep pockets.

Rather ironic with this thread when I see Triumph are saying that the next Explorer will comes with WP suspension so clearly someone realised quality counts.

What I am guilty of and didn't realise until a conversation I had today these latest bikes that have combined fuel map and suspension settings doing nothing for chain tension,and as I had pointed out to me today if your going to be changing settings you will also need to check you chain tension baring in mind the latest systems are rising rate

What is so frustrating get these PR people behind closed doors and off the record they'll tell you a totally different story,because all the latest gizmos are about selling bikes and not what is best 

[nickjtc]

because all the latest gizmos are about selling bikes and not what is best 

The bottom line is always the bottom line.

[Bixxer Bob]

A great exchange of views and, whilst being poles apart, each have their own merit.   

[Chris Canning]

Bix

Look at MotoGP/WSB/Motocross or any other bike sport do you see anyone using electric suspension!! exactly and the reason for that in the greater scheme of the suspension world the latest offerings are on par with what the model T Ford is to the evolution of the car it's got miles to go and even then I've no idea how they will solve the spring issue.

Non which has anything to do with 'What the hell are we going to do with these bikes when there 6/7 years down the food chain chain  ,one of the advantages of running 4 different bikes you see what's on the other side of the fence,what is they say 'Be careful what you wish for'

As to comparing the realities of cars to bikes ho hum  brings BMW WSB to mind,they roll up with a 30 million budget and an army of software guys from the car world after 3 years they gave in,brought David Tardozzi who got rid of all e'm and brought in his bike guys from Italy and hey presto.

[nickjtc]

A great exchange of views and, whilst being poles apart, each have their own merit.   

Life would be very boring if we all agreed on everything. Except everyone knows that Shinko tyres and Wal Mart oil are the best to use on/in your motorcycle.....

[Nick Calne]

All this on whether or not esa is any good! Can't wait to see what you blokes make of the forthcoming dct on the africa twin. The punch up is going to be epic.

[nickjtc]

All this on whether or not esa is any good! Can't wait to see what you blokes make of the forthcoming dct on the africa twin. The punch up is going to be epic.

Ah yes, but will it make a nice cuppa tea??  :icon_wink:

[Bixxer Bob]

..... The punch up is going to be epic.

Considering it's Chris and Howie we are talking about, I thought it had been pretty tame up till now