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it still baffles me why there is such a big discussion about this. If its "looks" "color" about a bike etc i can understand people going back and forth on it. But when it comes to rider aids, its kind of common sense at least for street riders. There is no point in considering pros and cons. If its available and affordable get it. If that small electronic thing saved you from major crash its worth it and negates " 100 pages of cons" you guys can come up with. I literally see what happens to folks who crash day in day out, believe me death would have been a better fate for some folks. Yes, tonic, knitting would be safer but if you enjoy motorcycles why not make it safer. to summarize for better comprehension motorcycling is high risk / high reward hobby / / more risky than skydiving and more fun than skydiving, akin to an endless fall and flying down from sky >>> Yes yes yes Does it make sense that any thing you can get a hold of reduces risk will be beneficial in the larger picture / starting from good helmet/ gear / better tires / brakes / all the way to electronic riding aids >> YES YES YES Street bike riders >> developing skills >> yes good idea Can you still develop skills set even with riding aids on bike>>> yes of course sharpening your skills to max day in day out while facing more risk without rider aid >> will it bring you any socio/economic/ financial/ championship gains >> NO NO NO Track day riding / track day timing/ milli sec benefit etc is an entirely different conversation and discussion. But for street riding this argument holds no sense at all. You get what ever you can to make you safer. After slowly moving up the ladder of safety net from nothing to abs tc etc I have not experienced even one moment where i thought " Boy, this road would have been so much more fun without my abs and TC " after a few years when this topic is being discussed it will sound almost like this discussion " you should put on many miles on almost worn out shinko tires to improve your skill set, that will teach you how to control slides and slips and loss of traction" ( i know this sounds absurd now >> exactly my point when we look back at discussion about abs and TC in 2025" rider aids are coming, getting better and here to stay. And i thank racing upto a level for this because the R&D, tech and money is bought into this due to that aspect a lot. I welcome all and everything that is tricking down from high level motorcycling racing world to regular street riding.

Last weekend my friend installed Spiegler handlebars on my 2018 Kaw Ninja H2 SX SE. The clip ons were torturous after 45 minutes of riding, the new bars are very comfortable. It was a (13) hours job, had to locate and drill holes in the bars for the controls along with rerouting wiring and brake/clutch lines. The direction were extremely vague and missing steps, like most aftermarket accessories. Really like the new bars!

Fair question. I'm not opposed to electronics (I said the GPS-based race tech is stupid and I stand by that). I've owned 3 bikes with ABS. I like the simplicity of riding...just me and the road. I can ride as smoothly and quickly as I want without aides. I have fun every time I toss that little 400 into a corner, which is why I ride in the first place. If I bought something with cornering ABS and TC, chances are it would probably lure me into a faster pace, which is not a current goal of mine.

Ran my abs all year. Didn't notice it until the rear wheel was off the ground.

Yesterday I when I road to work it was 45ish in the valley. I was lazy and just used regular gloves. Backs of the hands were cold with the grips on high. Since it was a short ride it was ok but if it had been an all day thing I would have really wanted them. If you are doing sub 50 degree riding for a few hours I would say you want them.

From personal experience, If you really planning to ride longer distance in colder weather the gloves really help even if heated grips. But for short commutes and only “fall temps” you can get away with heated grips.

Dyno tune finalized on the R1 by Jake at The Dyno Shop in Powell (seriously, go here if you need any tuning or really any work done to any bike - yes, even Harleys). 184 rear wheel horse ponies (170 stock), 79.6 ft lbs of torque. Fueling mapped. Spark angle mapped. Throttle position mapped throughout the rev range and for each gear to give a more linear progression/feel - this fixes the "snatchy" throttle people dislike on the newer Yamahas. A couple different power modes have been applied, but in general, mode A is going to be where this bike lives. Took the bike for a little test ride today just to make sure throttling felt good. This bike never stops pulling... Most importantly though, I fit on this bike. The seat and tank give me all kinds of room to stretch out and tuck in, it's really pretty amazing. I can even lock my legs into the tank like 99.9% of the rest of the motorcycling world, this is a new thing for me since my legs have been too long to actually lock in on any other bike so far. Feeling comfortable on a bike is a large part of going fast on that bike. I'm looking forward to getting to the track in the spring to really get a feel for the new blue beast.

@Pauly remembered. He got me this cool keychain for the Wing.

Happy Birthday Here is your sammich 🥪

I could machine that for you. I could get rid of either one but the low hanging one would be easiest.

Wow, I'd say that's close to a dick move.

It's going to be a long winter. We just booked a trip to Mexico in Feb to escape for a bit.

A ninja 400 doesn't really require any electronic rider aids (not really counting ABS here... I think looking at any sort of testing you'll find ABS outperforms non-ABS systems in stopping distance unless some sort of god is piloting the bike. Again, this is your choice/preference but not necessarily based on safety). You're not going to be spinning up the rear on corner exits or struggling to keep the front end down trying to manage drive on a 400 And yes, a ninja 400 is totally an ego bike. You bought that sucker thinking "I'm gonna go blow up those slow 1000 rider's day on this 40 horsepower mean green machine". I have the same aspirations on the grom down at deal's gap 😂

In my mind actively avoiding rider aids because it makes someone feel like less of a rider is like not wearing a helmet because it restricts your freedom. Is everyone able to make that choice for themselves? Sure. It's just maybe not a smart or informed decision. Unless there's a specific reason for not taking an advantage that can make something safer, it's down to ego and ego isn't the best thing to base important decisions on, generally .

I wouldnt get rid of it without trying it out first. I dont mind it as much as most and it has probably saved me once or twice. The lever has 0 feel and you will get some fade, but I love the linked brakes. Dragging that rear brake really settles the bike I think. The only other expert rider I can think of that uses it is Koflowitch, so everyone must be ditching it for a reason 🤷‍♂️. I am going to try it out and see how things go.

A thread about a cruiser turns into MotoGP talk 🤣

Here's what I'm doing today. It took awhile to get this far. When I got the bike the carb had painted black, and was totally clogged up with varnish and peeling paint. I think I have cleaned it up sufficiently and acquired the parts to rebuild it. I've never worked on a carb before. I fully expect to have to take it off again and troubleshoot it once it comes time to fire the engine.

Interesting. This story seems to indicate they are using the tech for the same reason we do. Insurance for when we f' up.

I have put 9k miles on the Voyager since April. It is my first cruiser and I can say the giant fairing is easily at the top of the "Things I Love About This Bike" list. A 600 mile day trip, in the wet, across the mountain, on the freeway... that fairing is non-negotiable. It just makes the ride so much more enjoyable.

I agree they're the best is the world. But, I'll bet they'll develop the TC profile to match Tony's throttle modulation. At that point, why even give the riders a throttle or a brake lever...I mean the GPS link already knows the throttle and braking points. The rider could just be leaning weight like the "monkey" in sidecar racing.

Take that all away, those guys are still the best in the world and would prove it on any bike. Even the back markers could come over here and whoop on the MA paddock. At the level they are competing at, they are looking for any kind of advantage. There was a post I was looking at, it was an interview with Josh Herrin and he was talking about him and Tony Elias going back and forth. After looking at Toni's data, Toni was getting better drives out of corners because he wasnt just whacking the throttle open, he was progressively opening it where as Josh was just whacking it open and letting the technology take hold. Guess what he found? Toni using his skill to open the throttle was faster than just letting the TC sort things out. So Josh followed suit. So even over here, riders arent 100% relying on the bike to go fast.

Cuz you are a dumbass? Now get gloves that plug into your liner.

I'm highly impressed. cartiage forks, adjustable rear shock, brembro brakes, cornering TC and ABS, extended reach options for tall people, few taller windscreen options on top of the already impressive engine specs. Priced right in my opinion. $22k-$28k. Future replacement for the Connie? Maybe...LOL Only thing I see missing is top luggage. Also with a 6 gallon tank and 680 wet(full of fuel) win, win.