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[Tony_]

MC season is just starting in Norway, so I only have gotten a few rides from my new SR/F, which is an upgrade from my previous 2016 DSR.

One of the reasons I got the SR/F is that I wanted traction control, since I experienced a few situations with my DSR where I accelerated faster than what the surface would allow, and feeling the back wheel wander off on its own was pretty scary. I would generally use ECO mode during rain to compensate, but I got caught off guard even on non rainy days, for example on tram tracks, spills or wet leaves.

I have no experience with TC though, and instead of experimenting and learning by mistakes I am curious to hear what the real life experience of the community here is. How effective is TC? Will it be able to react fast enough to avoid slipping on wet surfaces when maxing out acceleration? And what are the practical impacts of the various TC modes. Will "sports" TC be useless on a wet road for example, meaning you will need to set it on the dedicated "rain" setting?

Any others here made the jump from DSR to SR/F? I also wonder how the wider tire on the SR/F would affect road grip in comparison. I'd assume it will give you a better grip, but it also has a flatter tire pattern and a rounder shape, so I am not sure how it sums up.

EDIT: I should point out that I am wondering about the effect of changing TC and not the riding mode. For example, in Sports riding mode you can set three traction settings: Street, Sport, or Rain.

[stevenh]

sinsro,

I made that exact same jump last April.  I had several incidents on the DSR caused by lack of traction on corners when accelerating (including a low side in my driveway).  I ride the SR/F pretty much the same, almost always in "street" traction mode with 100% torque, and have never had the rear wheel spin on me.  I do use "rain" mode when it's wet out just in case, but it's "street" mode 95% of the time without issue. 

I'd be interested to hear if anyone has had a low side on a corner on the SR/F due to lack of traction, I know many have on the SR/DSR.

Steve

[SkyYeti]

Hi sinsro,

I haven't made the jump from a DS to an SR/F but I do have an SR/F (came from a Yamaha R6).

I can definitely say that the TC on the SR/F is pretty good, and has 100% saved me from ending up in a hedge.
The first time I rode the SR/F the road was slightly damp. I had been riding around in Wet mode for a bit and then hopped across to Street mode for a while.
Rode for about 15 min in Street mode and since the bike had behaved impeccably I thought I'd try Sport mode. I changed the setting while waiting at a roundabout.
As I exited the roundabout my brain was still in Street mode and I opened it up way to aggressively. I was still slightly lent over and the bike's rear started stepping out almost immediately.
I felt the TC catch the slide and the bike shuddered back into line. Without a doubt I would have gone down. Was a real heart in mouth moment.

Rode back to the dealer in Wet mode at 10mph
That was my first ride on the SR/F - was on the dealers demo bike!

Since then I've treated Sport mode with much more respect and never use it in damp/wet conditions

Cheers,
Oli

[heroto]

Owned an S previously which dumped me on some slippery stuff. SR/F has been clearly better. I do not know it it is fool proof.

[Hans2183]

My first electric is the SRF so I can't compare with the other zero models that I only test drove a few times. Not really the occasion to check limits.

I do however ride all year round with my srf and within 9500 km I had traction control interrupt power to the rear twice.

Once after heavy rain on a wet road when I took off from a stand still too fast. This Wed when I just had the bike and I didn't know yet that switching ride mode also changes traction control to the default setting of that mode. Since then I have my custom mode adapted to have rain as default traction control. Now if I start the bike I'm in my own ride mode and don't have to check. That was just before winter. In summer I might update that again.

The second time was also in wet weather, during rain this time when I took off a bit too fast at stop lights turning green. So similar situation.

Other than rain I had nothing cause my tyre to break out. What I did notice is that the outbreak is way more (left to right) than what my BMW R1200 GS ever allows before traction control takes over. Their weight is about the same so that shouldn't matter. I think they both use a Bosch system so also no difference there. What could explain this is that on the srf you're riding way closer to the bike in a sporty position while on the GS you're upright. I had the same shakey experience on my Triumph Street Triple when I had to break hard and the back would almost get in front of you. But that bike didn't have traction control. That's how scary it feels on the SRF.

Default tyres are really sticky. They'll probably wear out rather fast. The worst tyres I ever had were the defaults on the GS. These would skip on any bump or debree on the road. Michelin Annakee if I recall correctly.

[VampyreLegion]

What is the most sensitive setting?

[Tony_]

What is the most sensitive setting?

That should be the Rain setting.

[remmie]

from the user manual :

Traction Control modes:

* The STREET selection is for performance riding with balanced power and traction control, while allowing the minimal allowable amount of rear wheel slip.
* The SPORT selection is for performance riding with direct response to power output, while allowing maximum allowable rear wheel slip.
* The RAIN selection is for reduced performance riding, while promoting maximum traction (least amount of rear wheel slip) on traction-challenged surfaces.
* The OFF mode selection disables the traction control functionality. This mode allows the motorcycle to operate as a non-MTC equipped motorcycle, with no control of the amount of rear wheel slip.
WARNING : The traction control warning indicator light will illuminate when the traction control OFF mode is selected.

Personally I have a custom mode with everything on 100% (speed, torque, neutral and brake) but with street traction (not sport). I call it "stealth" mode 
I really like the high regen when closing the "throttle". and the regen even higher when touching the brake lever (just a little so the brake light engages but the brake pads are still not engaged)

only downside is that the brake light does not light up when just closing the throttle, I hope they will fix that in a future firmware if it is even possible (MBB must be able to control the brake light)

[stevenh]

from the user manual :

Traction Control modes:

* The STREET selection is for performance riding with balanced power and traction control, while allowing the minimal allowable amount of rear wheel slip.
* The SPORT selection is for performance riding with direct response to power output, while allowing maximum allowable rear wheel slip.
* The RAIN selection is for reduced performance riding, while promoting maximum traction (least amount of rear wheel slip) on traction-challenged surfaces.
* The OFF mode selection disables the traction control functionality. This mode allows the motorcycle to operate as a non-MTC equipped motorcycle, with no control of the amount of rear wheel slip.
WARNING : The traction control warning indicator light will illuminate when the traction control OFF mode is selected.

Personally I have a custom mode with everything on 100% (speed, torque, neutral and brake) but with street traction (not sport). I call it "stealth" mode 
I really like the high regen when closing the "throttle". and the regen even higher when touching the brake lever (just a little so the brake light engages but the brake pads are still not engaged)

only downside is that the brake light does not light up when just closing the throttle, I hope they will fix that in a future firmware if it is even possible (MBB must be able to control the brake light)

I use the same custom mode with the top speed limited to 95, just to keep passing within reason!  I love the off throttle progressive regen!

Steve

[flattetyre]

Traction control for slow street riding is a crutch that means you are really, really bad at controlling the motorcycle and probably should spend more time doing drills and dropping your bike. Eventually you will learn your own traction control, right in your brain. And best of all it works for cornering and stopping.

Don't get me wrong it could be even safer to have aids like traction control on top of good skills. My point is that if you think you NEED traction control simply to ride a motorcycle on public roads, you probably shouldn't be riding motorcycles on public roads since you have no clue what you're doing.

[princec]

Yes yes but it's a shame that the cost of learning is death, isn't it. See also daft arguments against ABS.

Cas

[Tony_]

Traction control for slow street riding is a crutch that means you are really, really bad at controlling the motorcycle and probably should spend more time doing drills and dropping your bike. Eventually you will learn your own traction control, right in your brain. And best of all it works for cornering and stopping.

Don't get me wrong it could be even safer to have aids like traction control on top of good skills. My point is that if you think you NEED traction control simply to ride a motorcycle on public roads, you probably shouldn't be riding motorcycles on public roads since you have no clue what you're doing.

And seatbelts are for people who doesnt have the skills to drive a car and should simply never drive?

I doubt many thinks that we need less protection and safety measures on motorbikes...

[Crissa]

Traction control can respond to differences in traction faster than human reflexes.

And it does this so we can focus on the task of staying upright and not colliding with other threats.

A motorcyclist rides without an eye on the pavement beneath them anyhow - they need to be looking ahead and crosswise to see threats coming into their path.  They shouldn't be distracted by a bit of gravel or oil on the ground that was too small to see far away but totally changes their traction.

It's great to be aware of all these things - I don't have traction control - but the tool lets the motorcyclist focus on keeping the bike where they want it, and not have to panic when there was a discontinuity in the surface under them.

-Crissa

[stevenh]

Traction control for slow street riding is a crutch that means you are really, really bad at controlling the motorcycle and probably should spend more time doing drills and dropping your bike. Eventually you will learn your own traction control, right in your brain. And best of all it works for cornering and stopping.

Don't get me wrong it could be even safer to have aids like traction control on top of good skills. My point is that if you think you NEED traction control simply to ride a motorcycle on public roads, you probably shouldn't be riding motorcycles on public roads since you have no clue what you're doing.

I never even thought about traction control on any of my ICE bikes.  None of them were torque monsters, and needed to be at high RPM's before the power really kicked in.  In the rare case where the rear wheel broke loose, it was pretty easy to control.  When I had my low side on my DSR, I could not believe how quickly the rear end slid from left to right, it was like someone just pulled the bike out from under me, really quickly.  I just missed the wet spot on the pavement.  I like having technology look out for me when I make mistakes, sure beats the alternative, and I think bikes that can spin up the rear wheel as quickly as these can, really do need traction control.

Traction control was one of the reasons I traded my DSR for the SR/F, and I am glad I did.

Steve