I don't have a problem with the ABS. It's "saved" me a couple of times already. Why the parentheses? I should have said I felt it kick in. I probably wouldn't have crashed without it, but who knows right? And, I am old enough, have ridden enough, to know better. . . . It's just that I'm a screw-up sometimes! ::025:: Some folks ride year 'round. Up here in the Northern tier, I take the winter off. Skills atrophy w/o frequent use. I'm glad to have ABS.
It's the TCS that is crap, IMO. I, like Tombraider2, only ride on the street. I bought this bike for commuting (in comfort!), the odd daytrip, and maybe--just maybe--an actual trip. . . someday. My commute is 55mph back-roads (10 miles), interstate highway (10 miles), city streets (5 miles), and then the reverse going home. Normally the TCS isn't a problem until right near the end of my commute when I'm getting into the parking garage. Then it's lots of starting/stopping, clutching/declutching, maneuvering around the gate, turning speeding up, slowing down, etc. The TCS makes that type of riding very difficult. I find it especially troublesome when I want to take off while turning. Usually I let out the clutch, and the engine just falls on it's face--leaving me to try to figure out how I'm going to maneuver a 600lb. bike that suddenly doesn't have any power going to the wheels. So, I give more throttle, it "catches" suddenly, the driveline takes up the slack, I shoot forward, shutdown the throttle, driveline again take up the slack, and we've got a buckin' bronco on our hands. . . .
So, today I did something I hadn't tried before. I turned the TCS off. I didn't crash, or have any of the troubles that I've had w/ the TCS on. In fact I found the bike to perform in a very predictable manner. What's funny to me is that I don't think TCS has to be this way. When I googled "What does TCS do on a motorcycle", I didn't find anything about shutting down the power at walking speeds. Instead is was all about saving the aggressive rider from a high-side while leaned over in a tight turn! I'll have some of that, but none of the crap, low-speed stuff, thanks!
Well that's what I'm thinking anyway. . . .
GDI