Adaptive Cruise Control for Motorcycles is Here

[Bmacleod]

I use cruise in a vehicle all the time and I hate when I come up on someone going up and down in speed and I have to keep disengaging/re-engaging the cruise. I have only driven a car with adaptive cruise a few times in the mountains of northern Arizona on 2-lane roads. Each time I came up on these drivers who could not keep a reasonable steady speed and I was impressed with the ACC. It worked great. Now, in the 200 miles or so of driving, I never had an issue with with accuracy of the system, but a couple hundred miles is hardly a valid test, i admit.
Whether I would use it on a bike, I would have to wait and try it, but my thoughts are that I am rarely behind a car for more than a minute at most times, so I wouldnt think I would have much use for it. I really feel this is a car feature not a bike need, but that is just me.
Funny story... I was following a car on AZ87 into the town of Payson and I thought I would see how the system worked going down in speed until I had to stop (let the system do it all). Went form 55 or so, right down to 25 or 30, keeping the same distance from the car in front. The system worked great. Then, the car in front swung right, into a traffic circle and out of the sight of the sensor. That Honda wanted to fly then... LOL

 

[TourNut]

My youngest son has it on his '18 Outback , I drove it to O'Hare & back once , I liked it once I realized what it was doing . Probably reliable - it being in a Subaru . Wouldn't mind it being in a MC , as long as it wasn't BMW electronics !

 

[dduelin]

No thanks. We have a new Honda Accord with it. I hate it. I keep most of the "car control" mess turned off.

Our 2017 Accord had lane assist and adaptive CC and it was most un-Honda like in use. Coarse and unrefined.....POS actually. We traded that car for a CX-5 12,000 miles ago.

These features in the Mazda CX-5 work really well though. Mazda made them easy to live with and worth using. The ACC bleeds or feathers differential speeds intuitively and almost never comes in with heavy over-braking like the Accord did. It’s one of those features I would have never asked for but have come to appreciate.

 

[etalors]

I am very excited by this and will be sure to have it on my next motorcycle.

Good luck parting with 25 K for your next bike with ACC .

 

[ST Gui]

I do think so - this is just the first - Ducati, BMW, and now Honda offering it. Cruise Control used to be a rare thing but now comes on many bike. ACC. BSM and other tools will continue to roll out. I see this new tech as a positive and welcome it.

+1 100% When Zog created the obsidian hatchet some other trog said "I'd be concerned a careless user might cut themselves unlike with the stone hammer". It was a series of grunts and gesticulations but nonetheless That Guy felt he just had to make that point. And That Guy shows up every time there's some kind of change from Status Quo and especially when tech is involved. Zog really blew some minds when he brought fire back to the cave.

Any tech can be abused deliberately or misused unintentionally. The reality is most people adapt well regardless of the FUD spread about.

Cruise control on a motorcycle has never appealed to me. A throttle lock covers my needs. Others love CC and either seek out bikes with it or DIY it with kits. ACC doesn't seem that much of a stretch – not like the difference between auto- and manual transmissions. CC used to be an option for cars. Now it's not easy to find one without it. Pro Tip: it doesn't have to be used at all.

ACC is a feature that makes me thing CC could actually be useful to me on other than long empty stretches of road. If I were to choose a bike because it had CC it would only be because it's ACC. I'd certainly like to try it out.

 

[STJohnS]

+1 100% When Zog created the obsidian hatchet some other trog said "I'd be concerned a careless user might cut themselves unlike with the stone hammer". It was a series of grunts and gesticulations but nonetheless That Guy felt he just had to make that point. And That Guy shows up every time there's some kind of change from Status Quo and especially when tech is involved. Zog really blew some minds when he brought fire back to the cave.

Any tech can be abused deliberately or misused unintentionally. The reality is most people adapt well regardless of the FUD spread about.

Cruise control on a motorcycle has never appealed to me. A throttle lock covers my needs. Others love CC and either seek out bikes with it or DIY it with kits. ACC doesn't seem that much of a stretch – not like the difference between auto- and manual transmissions. CC used to be an option for cars. Now it's not easy to find one without it. Pro Tip: it doesn't have to be used at all.

ACC is a feature that makes me thing CC could actually be useful to me on other than long empty stretches of road. If I were to choose a bike because it had CC it would only be because it's ACC. I'd certainly like to try it out.

Are you agreeing with me? I thought the first part of your post was telling/making fun of me how wrong/dumb I am for supporting this technology. Then the last part of your post seemed to agree with me.

 

[STJohnS]

Good luck parting with 25 K for your next bike with ACC .

That is almost exactly the price of the 2021 BMW R1250RT I want! I hope to see it in the spring!

 

[Uncle Phil]

That is almost exactly the price of the 2021 BMW R1250RT I want! I hope to see it in the spring!

Hmm, I could probably buy 10 nice ST1100s for that price ...

 

[STJohnS]

Hmm, I could probably buy 10 nice ST1100s for that price ...

Now now - this board always seems to dump on someone who wants to spend money based on their own fiscal policies. If you want to buy 10 STs then please do but don't judge if I choose to buy 1 bike. And yes Phil.. I need another hug from you!
John

 

[dduelin]

That is almost exactly the price of the 2021 BMW R1250RT I want! I hope to see it in the spring!

And less than the amount for a top-of-the-line Goldwing

 

[SMSW]

Hmm, I could probably buy 10 nice ST1100s for that price ...

Corner the market and you can set your own price. Somehow I doubt the feds (SEC) will come after you.

 

[ST Gui]

Are you agreeing with me?

Indeed I am. I was editorializing about how new tech is disparaged out of hand before it's even seen the light of day. Worst case scenarios are predicted as being typical if not rampant. And it's been like this practically since the dawn of time.

 

[kiltman]

Hmm, I could probably buy 10 nice ST1100s for that price ...

Possibly 7 once you add MCCruise to each one of your fleet, ask Tony for a discount and that might get you 8.

 

[drrod]

The ACC on my wife's Acura MDX is horrid. Shuts off when going around corners (sometimes) but the worse thing is the way it dramatically reduces speed when adjusting distance. If set on the "close" setting it will actually apply the brakes fairly aggressively. Overall, I would class it as more dangerous than useful. The ACC on my '06 M Infiniti works pretty good. Relatively seamless adjustment of distance. On both cars, the regular CC works as is should. So, I suppose it is like most things, in that it is the execution that is the biggest factor in usefulness and acceptance.
Incidentally, my KTM 790 has CC and if you really want to have an experience, engage it when in "off road" mode.

 

[Uncle Phil]

Now now - this board always seems to dump on someone who wants to spend money based on their own fiscal policies. If you want to buy 10 STs then please do but don't judge if I choose to buy 1 bike. And yes Phil.. I need another hug from you!
John

Not judging just making a statement - not my monkey, not my circus!

But a personal observation - A riding friend of mine over the years has bought one of each new 'sport and tour' bike as they came out.
He is always in need of the 'latest and greatest' which is his business, not mine cause I don't make any deposits in his bank account.
I, on the other hand, have kept riding my old ST1100s, picking up additional ones at bargain prices.
I chose to spend my money on rides - like to New Zealand, the Alps, Ireland, Scotland, Alaska, etc. - some costing almost as much a 'new' bike when I did them. At the end of the day in my opinion (and it is an opinion ) , he has depreciable assets losing value and I have incredible memories.
When I look at my pictures, I sometimes am amazed that I was actually there and took the shot.
I've done my 'bucket' list instead of hoping and praying I'd live long enough and have enough money to do it when I 'retire'.
When we have to hang up our helmets, it will be the memories of our adventures that will bring a smile to our faces -
not the hardware we used to get there.

 

[TourNut]

Or you now can spend $41K + tax , etc. ! for 1 new Harley with NO windshield or tail trunk ! ( 2020 HD CVO Road Glide ) With 2 whole cylinders , just like the 1909 model !

 

[kiltman]

I have been riding for close to 50 years (legally) on every bike I owned I had some sort of throttle lock on my bikes, be it a thumb screw on the triumphs or a friction type clamp on the CB Honda’s. It wasn’t until I got my first ST that I found out that one could adapt an automotive style cruise control on a bike, I embraced that with enthusiasm! In fact I spent a better part of a year getting one dialled in on my current machine. I use it whenever I can even on roads with lots of curves. I’m intrigued with ACC, mildly interested for only in the situations where you’re on a two lane stuck in a long line of traffic and there’s just no opportunity to pass because of the volume of oncoming traffic.
It’s taken awhile but I now have my bike set up for me. I’m rather content with it and I can spend coin on fuel and riding gear for my next adventures.
all that being said, I do enjoy looking at new bikes with new technology, learning from their owners, why they made the choices they made and how that technology is working for them. Conversations and passions are good.
If the bike following me has ACC engaged, and that maintains a safe distance behind me and isn’t pushing me to go faster, I gotta say I’m OK with that.

 

[jonjonboo]

I’m gonna step this safety orgy up a few notches, with all the safety cult, eco friendly, passive, politically correct liberal idiocy that seems to be taking over the world- motorcycles will be forbidden completely.
Imagine sitting in your recliner with your fantasy image screen motion activated helmet, air bag riding suit, knee high Kevlar boots pretending to be riding- ahhhh !

 

[dduelin]

I’m gonna step this safety orgy up a few notches, with all the safety cult, eco friendly, passive, politically correct liberal idiocy that seems to be taking over the world- motorcycles will be forbidden completely.
Imagine sitting in your recliner with your fantasy image screen motion activated helmet, air bag riding suit, knee high Kevlar boots pretending to be riding- ahhhh !

There will still be red Barchettas. Relax and chill.

 

[Coop]

My previous Mazda CX-5 and now Ford Ranger both have adaptive CC and it's pretty nice, you come up to a vehicle in front of you based on the distance setting you choose and the vehicle slows to basically match that speed, if you change lanes it starts to speed up again as it detects a clear path. Never saw it have any issues but I don't really drive a lot of scenarios where I need CC.

On a bike I think it could prevent some issues but most riders probably follow too close anyway, I only used my CC on the Tracer periodically and more as a temporary throttle lock than anything else but most of the time I like to be in control of the bike vs letting it go on it's own.

Out here on the Llano where we mostly have a clear field of fire the roads are straight and boring. My CC gets a workout. I do like that it can be cancelled with the throttle. There are a lot of 60mph towns out here. It would seem to me that adaptive CC would invite compliancy.

On the other hand, the Tracer is my first ABS bike and Larry you need to ride one.