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Riding modes and Traction Control


maximNikenGT

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Decided to test the riding modes after riding the majority of the last 2k miles in riding mode 2 (medium response) Traction Control System 2 (more traction control). Kept TCS at 2 and went to riding mode 3. Response was much more sedate at launch from dead stop in mode 3, am assuming this mode is primarily for rain/city duty. Kept TCS at 2 and went into riding mode 1, response sharpened from mode 2 and a big jump from mode 3. Felt "angrier" and definitely ready for some wide open throttle duty. Moved TCS into 1 and didn't notice a significant difference from TCS 2, but then again, I wasn't exceeding 7k RPMs in any given gear that would cause the rear to break loose. Will have to test again with a higher RPM level. 

  • Mode 1 - most aggressive setting - sharpest throttle response
  • Mode 2 - medium setting - throttle response is still immediate but not as sharp as mode 1
  • Mode 3 - rain/city setting - noticeably took more throttle in comparison to mode 1/2 to launch without feeling like the engine was going to bog down. 

Am curious if by leaving it in mode 2 or 3 whether the Niken high tire wear issue would decrease somewhat. Not sure what other riders are keeping their stock riding settings at. 

2019 Niken GT
"Motorcycles - the brand is not important, the fact that you ride is."

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32 minutes ago, maximNikenGT said:

Decided to test the riding modes after riding the majority of the last 2k miles in riding mode 2 (medium response)

Am curious if by leaving it in mode 2 or 3 whether the Niken high tire wear issue would decrease somewhat. Not sure what other riders are keeping their stock riding settings at. 

I'm surprised that you haven't tried the different ride modes until just now, if for no other reason than simple curiosity.  I think I had used all of them in the first 10 minutes of ownership.

I like the most aggressive drive mode/ throttle response also due to the short turn throttle, irregardless of tire wear.

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***2015 Candy Red FJ-09***

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The bike was and is still new to me. I switched out the modes when I initially first got it but really couldn't tell the difference because I was still in engine break in mode and didn't want to gun it until the engine was well broken in. 

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2019 Niken GT
"Motorcycles - the brand is not important, the fact that you ride is."

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I'm running Mode 1 and TCS 1. Tried all modes on my test ride and again on my first good ride of the new bike. These setting have been used ever since.

I'm not yet convinced there's a tire wear issue other than the stock tires just aren't that great. I've heard that sometimes the OEM factory tire isn't the same quality as the same brand and model sold aftermarket. Lower quality compound or shallower tread or both. Maybe that's the case here. I am surprised that as hard as the A41s are they haven't lasted longer. That said I'm not changing the way I ride or the settings I use to try and extend tire life. To me that's just the cost of doing business.

This is the rear on my Niken at 2,700 miles.

 

IMG_1881.JPG

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The majority of tyre ware in my experience is down to the way we ride and the tyre choice we make .My tyres will need changing soon and I will fit something diffrent from the A41 ,not because they are crap but because they don't suit the way I ride and the fact that the carcass on the rear does not aid comfort .Because the niken is a 3wheeler I may well mix and match the front to the rear .This is not a problem as the front and rear are not inline as per 2 wheels where the front is design to work in conjunction with the rear especially tread pattern to evacuate water from the path of the rear etc .I personally feel that the rear shock has a lot to do with rear tyre ware rate mainly on the damping side .I found mileage improved by reducing preload completely and backing the compression right down also made the tyre ware more even and have me greater grip with a 210lbs rider plus luggage.

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6 hours ago, Ferrett847 said:

The majority of tyre ware in my experience is down to the way we ride and the tyre choice we make .My tyres will need changing soon and I will fit something diffrent from the A41 ,not because they are crap but because they don't suit the way I ride and the fact that the carcass on the rear does not aid comfort .Because the niken is a 3wheeler I may well mix and match the front to the rear .This is not a problem as the front and rear are not inline as per 2 wheels where the front is design to work in conjunction with the rear especially tread pattern to evacuate water from the path of the rear etc .I personally feel that the rear shock has a lot to do with rear tyre ware rate mainly on the damping side .I found mileage improved by reducing preload completely and backing the compression right down also made the tyre ware more even and have me greater grip with a 210lbs rider plus luggage.

I'm sure there's some truth in what you're saying. Road surface also makes a difference. I ride mostly higher speeds, staying out of town as much as I can. I also ride a lot of county highways which are mostly chip seal and hard on tires.

Interesting comments on the suspension. I too have very little preload dialed in, only 4 clicks from full soft as there's very little static sag with the bike unladen but have gone the other direction with damping. Currently only 1/4 turn from full hard. The only damping adjustment in the rear is rebound and I felt like the back was kicking me too hard over our rough Illinois roads. To me the ride improved the more rebound damping I added. Can't say what that's doing to tire life though. The rear suspension feels like a classic case of over sprung under damped to me.

Just for reference I'm also 210lbs and have so far ridden only solo with no bags.

I'll be interested to see as people get more miles on these bikes what the favorite tire choices are. I bought a set of Michelin Pilot Road 4s because I could get a matching set and wanted a sport touring tire. I have also read that without having tires that run inline tire matching is not important Don't know if that also holds true for running a mix of radials and bias ply tires. There are a few motorcycles that come that way. If that's not a problem it would open up more tire options. I noticed that bias ply 15 inch tires were more common when I was shopping tires.

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  • 7 months later...
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Just saw this video getting posted which implies whether traction control on the Nikens were to blame for two different Niken crashes within an hour of another. 

Anyone understand Italian enough to shed some light on why they think it's traction control related?

 

Edited by maximNikenGT

2019 Niken GT
"Motorcycles - the brand is not important, the fact that you ride is."

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