5 electronic aids adventure riders (should) love

1. The third dimension
Until relatively recently, electronic rider aids were two dimensional. Like Newton’s third law of motion, if ‘that’ happened then ‘this’ occurred. For example, if the ABS sensed either of the wheels locking under braking pressure, then it would react and do what it needed to ensure the wheel resumed turning. Likewise, if the traction control system sensed a loss of traction then, with little regard as to what the rider’s intentions were, it would simply cut the ignition and bring everything back in line as surely nature, or the manufacturer, intended. That all changed with the introduction of the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). Using an inbuilt gyroscope, accelerometer and magnetometer, the IMU calculates orientation, movement and g-forces. It can measure angular acceleration and the force in which pitch, yaw and roll are all occurring, it’s doing this up to 15 times per second and it’s adjusting those once quite rudimentary electronic systems to work with you, your environment and your riding conditions.

2. Active suspension
Active and semi-active suspension makes very good sense on adventure bikes. It’s not uncommon to find yourself scratching up a mountain pass one minute and hopping over small logs and creek beds the next. With both styles of riding demanding very different suspensions settings to get the most enjoyment, and success, out of both scenarios, the suspension technology means the days of finding an ideal setting somewhere in the middle are over. With both active and semi-active systems, the bike can go from a stiff set-up suited to fast, sporty riding to a softer, more forgiving set-up in, literally, the blink of an eye and the rider doesn’t have to do or know anything about the hows or whys. Unsurprising, the systems use a combination of inputs from the aforementioned Inertial Measurement Unit as well as inputs from the bike’s ABS and traction control systems and, in around 10 milliseconds, has adjusted your suspension to a setting best suited to your riding. On top of this, there are handy byproducts, like ride-and seat-height adjustability (via preload settings) if and when you may need it.

3. Dual-clutch transmission
“Hey mister adventure-bike rider, you’ve got better things to think about than changing gears. Let me do that for you,” is what Honda’s top-spec Africa Twin is saying these days. And while the jury is still out on whether adventure riders have indeed fallen for the technology, its potential to have people doing things and riding places they otherwise wouldn’t go certainly earns it a mention in the loveable electronics list. But the latest generation of Honda’s Dual Clutch Transmission is far more than the seamless shift automatic gearbox the firm debuted on the VFR1200 in 2009. These days, using that all-important IMU, as well as the RPM and throttle position inputs, the smarts are detecting whether the bike’s heading up or down a hill, it knows the degree of inclination and it’s adjusting the shift rate accordingly. At very low RPM, it’s assuming you’re traversing a rugged section and, using all of those new dimensional inputs, it’s feathering the clutch and looking after all the tricky stuff for you. Not to mention making you look like an off-road riding god.

4. LED cornering lights
Once confined to luxury passenger cars, BMW’s bells and whistles tourer debuted the technology a couple of years ago, and now, like many tech once reserved for the luxo-tourer or top-end sportsbikes, active cornering lights have hit the adventure market. On KTM’s latest 1290 Adventure, for example, two banks of three LED lights are mounted at the very front of both side fairings, well below the headlight itself. Using that all-important lean angle sensor made possible by the aforementioned IMU, the bike will illuminate the inside of the corner the rider is negotiating with the brightness of such dependant on his or her lean angle. Take a right-hand corner at a lean angle of 10 degrees and the first of three lights on the right hand side will come on, 20-degrees of lean angle prompts the second light before the last and all three LEDs illuminate at 30 degrees of lean angle for the most light. Simple, yet effective.

5. Tyre pressure monitoring
I wouldn’t be the first person to say the single most important piece of maintenance in terms of handling and therefore safety, is tyre pressures. Running correct pressures for the correct environment is so important and so often overlooked as we ask more and more of our motorcycles. Some tyre pressure monitoring systems are sophisticated bits of kit which can not only tell you real time pressures, but also the temperature of the air inside you tyres, which also significantly affects the pressure. They can warn of a slow leak, can more often than not be switched between different units of measurement (eg, kPa, Bar and PSI) and, depending on the type of riding you plan to do for a particular trip or adventure, can often be set-up to provide a warning if either tyre deviates out of predetermined pressure perimeters. What it also thankfully equates to is less time crouching beside your bike and more time riding it.