I didn't see a better location, this is still a review, but on BMW's own software (of which some modes are cost options)
Traction control intervention / anti wheel should be renamed anti acceleration. I’ve been riding bikes for forty years and don’t like electronic nannies ruining bikes. Reading the owner’s manual I found very little useful information pertaining to exactly what affects BMW were trying to achieve with all the modes and settings.
On anti-wheelie it says its active in all modes, yet doesn’t state if the level of intervention changes dependent upon rider mode selected (which both the manual should clearly state for knowledge / safety reasons, and the mode selected should change behaviour for safety / enthusiasts), furthermore it doesn’t appear to have a mode to disable at all. For off road riding I find it odd / dangerous that a rider can’t rely on the bike safely following his instructions (enduro and enduro pro modes).
On testing the rider modes electronic intervention is far too intrusive. With the engine fully warmed up, tyres warm, 16C ambient temp, dry grippy tarmac, 120kg rider (with gear on), bike in first gear rolling somewhere around 15mph and 3000rpm
Rain - not tested, no intention of ever using
Road - roll on to full throttle, hideous intervention and flashing instrument lights for no reason at all from 4k - never want to use this setting again
Dynamic - roll on to full throttle, hideous intervention and flashing instrument lights for no reason at all from 4k – appears as unpleasant and intrusive as Road
Enduro - roll on to full throttle, intervention and flashing instrument lights for no reason
Endure Pro - roll on to full throttle, this started to allow proper acceleration without any silly intervention. Around I guess 5k the front started to lift maybe 1 foot off the ground so I gently rolled back from 100% to 80% throttle and rate of climb drops drastically and its beginning to run out of power and torque so I wind the power back on hard to keep acceleration in the right place and the bike continues its very controllable rate of acceleration and climb (just as any bike does) and on the electronics side it’s all good, no intervention, at present it’s just doing exactly as the rider is asking. Reasonably hard acceleration continuing comfortably with around 10m forward motion for each 30mm upward. At this rate, it will just accelerate cleaning and safely. Quite clearly the bike will have run out of power and torque well before any further consideration to roll off the throttle is required. But then with around 600mm of height the electronics intervene heavily. This is unacceptable. Very clearly the bike is a lot more than 1m of further upward movement away from needing to worry about greater riding skill or electronic assistance. The way these electronics are set up introduces an unacceptable and unnecessary performance restriction more akin to a 125cc bike, if I want a bike this slow I wouldn’t buy a 1200.
ABS pro it should be noted also varies between rider modes
In the manual its states Road gives max cornering ABS at the expense of braking power. In Dynamic it loses some cornering ABS ability, for enhanced braking power
To make matters worse the two off road modes cut out the cruise control.
If I buy and M series car, I get the choice of how I set it up. I want the same on my bike
Expert rider mode should be available with:
Anti-wheelie - removed from software all together
Traction control - enduro mode level of slip for road use (and completely off in enduro pro)
Cruise control - active in all circumstances
ABS Pro – should be linked to a rain sensor (just like wipers on cars have for the last 10 years - cost about 20p). So if Rain detected full ABS Pro, Dry and ambient temp (sensor already on the bike) above 20C braking as per Dynamic, Dry and ambient temp below 15C ABS as Per Road, below 7C as per Rain
The gist of this post is to ask how do I get this point over to BMW Motorrad so later software editions make the bike safer and fit for purpose. Or who is already in the software doing what BWM should have done in 2015 ?
Traction control intervention / anti wheel should be renamed anti acceleration. I’ve been riding bikes for forty years and don’t like electronic nannies ruining bikes. Reading the owner’s manual I found very little useful information pertaining to exactly what affects BMW were trying to achieve with all the modes and settings.
On anti-wheelie it says its active in all modes, yet doesn’t state if the level of intervention changes dependent upon rider mode selected (which both the manual should clearly state for knowledge / safety reasons, and the mode selected should change behaviour for safety / enthusiasts), furthermore it doesn’t appear to have a mode to disable at all. For off road riding I find it odd / dangerous that a rider can’t rely on the bike safely following his instructions (enduro and enduro pro modes).
On testing the rider modes electronic intervention is far too intrusive. With the engine fully warmed up, tyres warm, 16C ambient temp, dry grippy tarmac, 120kg rider (with gear on), bike in first gear rolling somewhere around 15mph and 3000rpm
Rain - not tested, no intention of ever using
Road - roll on to full throttle, hideous intervention and flashing instrument lights for no reason at all from 4k - never want to use this setting again
Dynamic - roll on to full throttle, hideous intervention and flashing instrument lights for no reason at all from 4k – appears as unpleasant and intrusive as Road
Enduro - roll on to full throttle, intervention and flashing instrument lights for no reason
Endure Pro - roll on to full throttle, this started to allow proper acceleration without any silly intervention. Around I guess 5k the front started to lift maybe 1 foot off the ground so I gently rolled back from 100% to 80% throttle and rate of climb drops drastically and its beginning to run out of power and torque so I wind the power back on hard to keep acceleration in the right place and the bike continues its very controllable rate of acceleration and climb (just as any bike does) and on the electronics side it’s all good, no intervention, at present it’s just doing exactly as the rider is asking. Reasonably hard acceleration continuing comfortably with around 10m forward motion for each 30mm upward. At this rate, it will just accelerate cleaning and safely. Quite clearly the bike will have run out of power and torque well before any further consideration to roll off the throttle is required. But then with around 600mm of height the electronics intervene heavily. This is unacceptable. Very clearly the bike is a lot more than 1m of further upward movement away from needing to worry about greater riding skill or electronic assistance. The way these electronics are set up introduces an unacceptable and unnecessary performance restriction more akin to a 125cc bike, if I want a bike this slow I wouldn’t buy a 1200.
ABS pro it should be noted also varies between rider modes
In the manual its states Road gives max cornering ABS at the expense of braking power. In Dynamic it loses some cornering ABS ability, for enhanced braking power
To make matters worse the two off road modes cut out the cruise control.
If I buy and M series car, I get the choice of how I set it up. I want the same on my bike
Expert rider mode should be available with:
Anti-wheelie - removed from software all together
Traction control - enduro mode level of slip for road use (and completely off in enduro pro)
Cruise control - active in all circumstances
ABS Pro – should be linked to a rain sensor (just like wipers on cars have for the last 10 years - cost about 20p). So if Rain detected full ABS Pro, Dry and ambient temp (sensor already on the bike) above 20C braking as per Dynamic, Dry and ambient temp below 15C ABS as Per Road, below 7C as per Rain
The gist of this post is to ask how do I get this point over to BMW Motorrad so later software editions make the bike safer and fit for purpose. Or who is already in the software doing what BWM should have done in 2015 ?