BMW announces Active Cruise Control for motorcycles...

[CYYJ]

An interesting story over at Jalopnik:

BMW Is Bringing Adaptive Cruise Control To Motorcycles

Looks attractive to me, especially after having ridden over 1,000 miles in the last 4 days, with another 800 miles to go before I get home tomorrow.

Michael

 

[Upt' North]

Obviously the plethora of electronic gadgetry will keep everything straight and shipshape but I wouldn't want electronic interference of speed whilst cornering. So that would probably make it redundant on 99% of English roads but obviously not on the Motorway/Autoroute network of Europe.
This has been much debated elsewhere for its pros and cons with typical responses. Anything from I don't know how I rode without it to it's the Governmental control of our liberties. Nothing new there then.
I know I'll read a motorcycle magazine report soon with lots of pictures and "scientific diagrams" of said device where the end line will be, but I left it switched off anyway.
If it's anything like the four wheeled equivalent then lots of motorcycles are going to be uneconomical to fix after a front end knock and insurance cost will only go one way.
Interesting tech all the same but I think it has better applications than motorcycles but if they want to sell the new £25,000 model to their customer base then they need an edge.
Upt'North.

 

[kiltman]

There are days I would embrace this technology. I engage my cruise control a lot, sometimes I will disengage it for corners but the way the average road is constructed I leave it on. There’s many a time that I will come upon a line of traffic and it’s just not feasible to pass safely so I’m stuck in the que, having adaptive cruise would be an asset. Yes I could thumb the accel or deaccel button but then I have to set my speed again when I can clear the line..... such a problem, right?
Given my budget I won’t have the luxury of this option.... in the meantime my thumb can use the exercise......

 

[Gerhard]

One of the things I like about riding a motorcycle is that it forces me to concentrate on the task at hand. Seems to me this would make you less a rider and more a passenger. ABS brakes is a different kind of assistance and I wouldn’t want to give it up.

 

[W0QNX]

Gerhard your RT doesn't have a CC?

I say yes ban all the easy gadgets, don't buy a bike that doesn't have a kick start.

 

[Gerhard]

It does but I rarely use it the way I use it in a car, no km after km of having the cruise control control speed.

 

[BakerBoy]

I'm not surprised BMW is adding 'adaptive CC', as it is a natural add-on to a bike that already has a Cappuccino maker and a chilled Grey Poupon cubby onboard.

But I don't think adaptive CC would have been very useful to me. I would get out early in the morning riding away from the metro area to reduce number of vehicles encountered. I didn't use CC when there were vehicles around that I had to pace or follow. Any time close to a vehicle in front of me was short in duration as I was simply waiting for a safe passing opportunity.

 

[ST Gui]

Anything more than a throttle lock is more sophisticated tech that I probably wouldn't use. Before I postulated what a bad idea it is I'd want to know a lot more about it and make no assumptions otherwise.

But more tech means more things to go wrong. No real man or real motorcyclist relies or even used shiny electronic gee-gaws. Where's the kick starter and manual spark advance!

 

[ArTravlR]

IMHO We need our bikes to send electronic messages to left turning cagers that cause to car to stop/slow etc.. Same tech could help with red light runners.

 

[caldercay]

One of the things I like about riding a motorcycle is that it forces me to concentrate on the task at hand. Seems to me this would make you less a rider and more a passenger.

BING-GO ! I couldn't have said it better.

 

[SMSW]

Interesting reactions from everyone. Remember the debates (some of which are still going on) about ABS? I wonder what folks will be saying in 20 years about ACC - assuming they are still riding bikes then.

 

[OkieRider]

Making motorcycles like cars just makes them more expensive and harder to work on. Cruise control falls into the same category as ABS in my book.

The existence of ABS on motorcycles hasn't changed fatality numbers. Maybe it prevents lower level accidents.

Earlier studies suggested ABS saved lives. Here's a recent study from the instance industry that says otherwise. This article attributes it to risk compensation. That means ABS doesn't save lives because we ride harder knowing we can stop faster.

I think it probably has more to do with the fact that most motorcycle wrecks don't involve a rider's attempt to panic stop. When it's not someone else failing to yield, it's rider error. ABS is a solution looking for a problem imo, just like ACC.

 

[Gerhard]

The existence of ABS on motorcycles hasn't changed fatality numbers. Maybe it prevents lower level accidents.

ABS has been activated only a couple of times and only for the rear wheel but it does reassure me enough that I would always choose a bike with over one without.

 

[red one]

Making motorcycles like cars just makes them more expensive and harder to work on. Cruise control falls into the same category as ABS in my book.

The existence of ABS on motorcycles hasn't changed fatality numbers. Maybe it prevents lower level accidents.

Earlier studies suggested ABS saved lives. Here's a recent study from the instance industry that says otherwise. This article attributes it to risk compensation. That means ABS doesn't save lives because we ride harder knowing we can stop faster.

I think it probably has more to do with the fact that most motorcycle wrecks don't involve a rider's attempt to panic stop. When it's not someone else failing to yield, it's rider error. ABS is a solution looking for a problem imo, just like ACC.

Sorta like my next door neighbor who is running an excessively loud exhaust system on his motorcycle. He says it saves lives because traffic will hear him coming. I have told him more than once in conversation that Loud Harley's probably make up the most fatality list. Followed by the fast sport bike crowd with their open exhaust. If a study was done today vs yesterday i bet the motorcycle deaths would probably be close to the same. As far as active CC it will probably be used in combination with your new all electric fully computerized 2032 touring motorcycle. It will be connected with the GPS system and see that 40 degree hairpin turn up ahead and cut your speed quicker than you can reach your front brake handle. But it don't matter to me much cause i'll be 78 and i'll have only my memories of riding.

 

[TourNut]

After my 2 1/2 years of faulty , unreliable BMW electronics , that they and their supposedly "3 year warranty" never fixed , I would never trust them now with this !

 

[OkieRider]

[...] But it don't matter to me much cause i'll be 78 and i'll have only my memories of riding.

78 is the new 54. I'm 54 and still riding :-D

 

[ST Gui]

The existence of ABS on motorcycles hasn't changed fatality numbers. Maybe it prevents lower level accidents...

Here's a recent study from the instance industry that says otherwise. This article attributes it to risk compensation. That means ABS doesn't save lives because we ride harder knowing we can stop faster.

That second paragraph alleges that some riders ride harder and seems to ignore that other riders may not be riding harder and may have had their lives saved by ABS.

That article is a specious opinion piece without substantiating facts supporting the premise that ABS doesn't save lives. It states in part:

It’s not the technology, it’s us…
It’s impossible to argue that ABS isn’t a life-saver when you find yourself in an unexpected situation, so why aren’t the accident rates reflecting the fact that modern bikes are safer than their predecessors?

The answer is likely to come down to human nature, and a phenomenon dubbed risk compensation. And it means that you might subconsciously be more likely to get into a dangerous spot once you’re riding a bike with ABS.

None of that is supported by documentation. None of his stats show deaths attributed to over driving the brakes specifically. In effect he's saying ABS kills. Just like dual disc brakes kill because people ride faster because they can stop better. All motorcyclists over drive dual disks? All riders with ABS will over drive their brakes?

“My guess is that the effect won't be detectable in the accident statistics, except that the crashes may be at higher speed.”

Code for "I can't prove my opinion is fact but you can't prove I'm wrong".

So let's dispense with better brakes? Because somebody somewhere has and will always ignore warnings that improved technology is not a substitute for common sense?

There's a statement about seatbelts not reducing the death rate. That might be correct. That they didn't/don't reduce deaths and injury is false and ridiculous.

Helmets reduce death and injury whether or not they reduce the death rate. Maybe they give a false sense of invincibility and as a herd we'd ride more carefully without them?

There is an over used internet meme "You can't fix stupid". Maybe there should be another that says "Technology can't fix stupid". News flash: not everybody is stupid. Well except to the person who thinks they're smarter than everyone else.

I don't have the stats but as the linked article mentions reasoning I'll posit that ABS does and has in fact save lives whether or not it reduces the death rate. As such I further posit it's much more than a mere tech solution looking for a problem. If somebody wants a single disc bike with no TCC ABS LBS CC FI or other gee-gaw that makes riding safer or more convenient or both - godspeed.

 

[Shawn K]

I've spent almost the last two years driving 2000+ miles/week in a vehicle with adaptive cruise control (over 150,000 miles total). In the environment that I was using it, I found it a useful and beneficial technology in many ways. However, the one glaring issue that I found with the technology is that it is very easy (nay, almost inevitable) to be lulled into a false sense of security. The likelihood of getting mentally lazy with adaptive cruise is a real thing, and is dismissed at the rider's danger.

It's also not without its faults. Current adaptive cruise radars have a habit of losing the fix on vehicles under certain circumstances. The problem is exacerbated on winding roads, entrance/exit ramps, and smaller vehicles. There's also a significant issue with vehicles crossing the road in front of you, and a resultant action of panic braking from the cruise system. Dropping anchor in a 4-wheeled vehicle is one thing, dropping anchor on a motorcycle when you're not ready for it is quite another. I've had numerous experiences with false cruise locks, improper cruise releases, and emergency braking triggered by the cruise. They're not fun.

My opinion (based on quite a bit of firsthand experience with the current state-of-the-art) is that adaptive cruise is one of those technologies that can be done on a motorcycle, but maybe shouldn't be done. I predict that as the technology becomes available on motorcycles, you're going to hear anecdotes of riders crashing because of cruise behavior that they weren't expecting. Add to that my personal belief that BMW has some of the least reliable electronics on the road (along with KTM, who are also developing adaptive cruise technology), and there's no way that I'd spend money on a motorcycle with adaptive cruise control at this time.

 

[Tor]

Have CC on both of mine. Came as standard. I don't use it on the XR, but use it on the GSA if I "have to" ride on the interstate, and the traffic is light. I don't think active CC belongs on a bike. But, thats just me.

 

[Gerhard]

After my 2 1/2 years of faulty , unreliable BMW electronics , that they and their supposedly "3 year warranty" never fixed , I would never trust them now with this !

My experience has been all positive, had to have the cruise control switch replaced under warranty, BMW then replaced it a second time when a new design was released even though there was no problem at that time.