By Michael GougisT
he KTM 790 Duke's throttle response
seemed a bit touchy as I pulled away
from the garage and headed out for a
session during a Ramming Speed Classic Track
Day at Willow Springs International Raceway.
Ramming Speed's name notwithstanding, it's
a very mellow, laid-back day at the track that
caters to vintage bikes, vintage riders (ahem!),
smaller machines, and more mellow operators,
and it's a very cool, chill way to spend a day at
the racetrack.
Rolling through the paddock, it occurred
to me that the last person to throw a leg over
this machine was Racing Editor Chris "I Don't
Need Traction Control" Ulrich. Keenly aware of
the difference in riding capabilities between a
professional Superbike racer and a club racer
like myself, I thought it might be best to ensure
that the machine was set up for my riding style
and capabilities, not his.
What I didn't do was head back to the ga-
rage. Instead, I pulled over to the pit wall.
What I didn't do was consult the owner's
manual or pull out a shop manual or text Guy
Coulon for advice. I started pushing buttons on
the digital dashboard.
The directions were simple and the in-
terface intuitive. I switch the machine's ECU
to Sport mode, which gave me a modicum of
traction control, full power, and sporty-but-
not-full-race throttle response. I activated the
anti- wheelie subroutine in the ECU and made
sure the ABS was set to its normal lean-sensi-
tive activation level, not the Supermoto setting
that allows you to lock the rear wheel while the
front ABS remains functional. I've spent an
entire career making sure that the rear wheel
stays fi rmly behind the front wheel, and wasn't
planning on changing anything at this time!
It took seconds to make all of the changes.And then I went out and hammered it around
the track like I'd stolen it. (Incidentally, if you
ever get a chance to ride one of these things,
take it. They're a blast. Seriously.)
My point here is that in 2019, MotoGP
and World Superbike-derived technology has
matured to the point where not only are elec-
tronic rider aids available on a wide variety of
machines, but they are accessible to the rider
who does not have a degree in electronic vehicle
dynamic management. The controls are easier
to use. The settings are clearer and easier to
understand. And you don't need a crew chief to
fi gure out how to tailor the bike to your tastes
Associate Editor Dave Swarts noted how
easy it was to program the rider aids on the
Honda CB1000R to conditions and rider skills.
Selecting your preferred level of engine brak-
ing, traction control and power was simpler
than programming a Fitbit. And it's only going
to get better in the near future.
Kawasaki's ZX-10R SE has electronically
adjustable active suspension as well, and has
a big, easy-to-fi nd setting for the suspension
called "Track." I used that when I was on, no
surprise, the racetrack. As far as power man-
agement goes, the green beast comes with three
power settings—100% (full power), 80%, and
60%—and fi ve traction control settings, as well
as off. And... if you're not sure where to start
setting that stuff, fl ick to the "How To Ride The
Motorcycle" chapter in the owner's manual and
Kawasaki has thoughtfully published a table
with suggestions for power and TC modes for
various riding situations. Electronic Rider Aids
For Everyone—how cool is that?
It's not just on the high-end stuff. Kawa-
saki's ZX-6R incorporates traction control into
a 600cc-class package with a suggested retail
price of $9,999. Even the stunningly inexpen-
sive Royal Enfi eld INT 650 and Continental
650 GT machines have assisted slipper clutch-es and ABS for less than $6,000. And those
machines don't look like beginner bikes at all.
They feel and ride like full-grown motorcycles,
even though I wouldn't hesitate to have some-
one start learning to ride on one. Technology
doesn't just make motorcycles faster, it can
also make them easier to ride.
And it's not just rider aids. Someone had
slipped a set of Dunlop Sportmax Q4 tires onto
that KTM 790 Duke. They’re street-legal, but
aimed at the track day rider, and the speed at
which the tires warmed up was simply amaz-
ing given the level of grip the tires produced.
These tires really didn't require warmers to be
well into their operating temperature zone after
three turns, and what an operating zone it is!
Look. If you're actually planning to road
race a motorcycle for a living, it's probably best
to develop your skill set on a machine without
any rider aids at all. You can't beat fi nely-honed
skills, and no matter what specifi cations the
rider aids are, a pilot with better skills will beat
a rider with lesser skills if the electronics are
the same. Put me and MotoGP World Champi-
on Marc Marquez on the same bike, with all the
same electronics, and he'd probably lap me by
the time I got to the end of pit lane.
But if you're a track day enthusiast, or a
performance enthusiast, and you're not chas-
ing lap times but just want to experience the
sheer, exhilarating, insane speed and handling
that a modern sportbike offers, it's never been
easier to access that experience.
As my wife Sandy always says when I go
riding on the track, be safe and have fun!RWRWINTRODUCTION:
FUN ON TRACK
Easy
SPEED...
(Above) Pushing a few, easy-to-understand buttons on the dash of the Kawasaki ZX-10R SE sets
the suspension, power, engine braking, and traction control for a rip around Auto Club Speedway
with Fastrack Riders. Photos courtesy caliphotography.com. (Right) Selecting power output, en-
gine braking and traction control levels on the Honda CB1000R is easier than using some ATMs.8—Roadracing World, Trackday Directory 2019