Over intrusive traction control almost caused me to drop my scooter!!!

I was at a stop sign stopped, made a 90 degree right hand turn over some loose gravel and the traction control completely cut the power for about a half second. I had to stab my leg hard on the pavement to stop the bike from dropping. The thing about is that I wasn't giving the bike too much throttle. If I had the traction control off, the rear tire would have slipped a fraction of an inch and that would have been it, there would have been no loss of power and no need to save the bike.

In certain situations, the traction control seems more dangerous than if the tire were allowed to slip for a half an inch. There were plenty of times where I'm not giving it too much gas and the power cuts off because the wheel slipped for a millimeter. The subsequent loss in power because of traction control intervention, is far more dangerous than a wheel slipping for a millimeter in low speed situations.

I'm looking to see where the fuse is for the traction control so I can pull it. I've owned 600cc, 750cc and 1000cc sportbikes (just got rid of a 2005 GSX-R1000) and none of them had traction control. I think I'm OK disabling the traction control on this scooter. The traction control as way to intrusive on my C650 Sport. There were times when I thought that the car that I merged in front of, would hit me from behind because the traction control doesn't allow not even a micrometer of slippage and cut the power. It isn't a good feeling expecting power and not getting anything while merging.

When did the scooters get traction control??

Hmmmm... I see "ASC" (Automatic Stability Control) is listed as a feature on the new C650GT, but I don't see any mention of that for the C650 Sport model...

My 2013 GT has it. I've tried it a couple times to figure out how it reacts. Actually it surprised me the first time since I thought it did not have it.

Really strange because my '13 GT doesn't have it. I've spun the rear wheel deliberately in gravel with no engine cutout or anything like that. I had to show a couple of my friends that I could accelerate fast on gravel. One time I got the bike a wee bit sideways on a dirt road and stayed on the throttle to prevent high siding myself. I used to race on dirt many years ago so it was pleasing to see that the old reflexes still kick in. I wouldn't allow a traction control on a bike I owned because there are times when you don't want the rear wheel from spinning. If you accidently get the bike is a slip, such as crossing a white line on the pavement in rain it will be nearly impossible to recover without power.

Hmm... I give it throttle and as soon as it starts to break loose the power is cut till it stops spinning then ramps back up. It does it every time although admittedly I haven't tried it sustained to see it might do.

TwoPort said:

My 2013 GT has it. I've tried it a couple times to figure out how it reacts. Actually it surprised me the first time since I thought it did not have it.

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Hey Two....Yah ain't got traction control, it's just those super fast reaction times yah got that make it seem like TC.

I read through the technical manual and it doesn't say anything about Traction Control, though I originally thought the 1st Gen had them when I purchased.

http://www.bmw-scooters.com/forum/t...-University-quot?p=10159&viewfull=1#post10159

Hey, Paul here, know they are not supposed to have t c, but my 2013 sport sure had something going on that was a lot like t c. By the way, love my new 2014 f 800 gt, good power to weight, just enough vibration to let you know you are on a motorcycle, 80 lbs. lighter than the sport.

Paul said:

Hey, Paul here, know they are not supposed to have t c, but my 2013 sport sure had something going on that was a lot like t c. By the way, love my new 2014 f 800 gt, good power to weight, just enough vibration to let you know you are on a motorcycle, 80 lbs. lighter than the sport.

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I test rode the 2016 model at the BMW MOA National last weekend and came away disappointed. I REALLY wanted to love the bike but I found it surprisingly sluggish for an 800cc motorcycle, and the vibration in the handlebars at speed was unacceptable. Too bad, because I found the ergonomics spot on perfect, too.

SteveADV said:

Hey Two....Yah ain't got traction control, it's just those super fast reaction times yah got that make it seem like TC.

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That is interesting if it does not. Cause the throttle is wide open and as soon as the tire starts to spin up the motor powers down until it stops spinning - then comes back up. And it is consistent for sure.. rev up... tire spins.... power down... then rev up again.

Could there be another explanation except something electronic doing this.

Jaime, I got a brand new 2014, zero miles, maybe they changed something. After I read your first post about it, I cranked mine to 5grand and above, some vibes, not bad. 55 in 6th gear is I believe about 3200 rpm, smooth as silk there.

I'll have to try another one, I guess. Odd that the one bike (and they only did bring ONE) they brought to represent the model would be so "off" though. I'd read reviews about the bike where the reviewers complained about the vibration, but I always like to form my own opinions. Thanks.

TwoPort said:

That is interesting if it does not. Cause the throttle is wide open and as soon as the tire starts to spin up the motor powers down until it stops spinning - then comes back up. And it is consistent for sure.. rev up... tire spins.... power down... then rev up again. Could there be another explanation except something electronic doing this.

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I'm thinking it's the "brain" protecting the engine from over-revving...

The F800Gt is a bike I did a little research into when deciding on the C600 and then again when looking this past spring. Vibrations are a common complaint of both the GT and the R. Some notice it, some don't. Those that notice it really notice it and can't stand it.

Still interested in the 800 GT.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

JaimeC said:

I'm thinking it's the "brain" protecting the engine from over-revving...

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Might be hitting the rev limiter, most of these bikes now have one. Hard to tell with the CVT although it should show up on the center stand. On a motorcycle it's easy to spot when winding up in neutral. I have experienced the ABS coming on in a real tight, slow turn. Apparently it thinks the difference in wheel speed due to the wider track of the front wheel is time to put on the ABS if you're using the rear brake to assist in a tight, slow turn like a U-turn on a narrow road. It's not a problem just kinda unexpected vibes in the brake lever.

JaimeC said:

I'm thinking it's the "brain" protecting the engine from over-revving...

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That is a fascinating answer which is probably true. Thx.

Speaking of vibes you ought to try the K1100LT. For the rider it was pretty smooth because the pegs and handlebars are mounted in rubber. I wanted to be able to stretch my legs like I did on my Goldwing so added a pair of highway pegs on the crash bars of the LT. Wow, talk about buzzy! Being hard mounted to the frame they really would put bad vibes on you feet. On the Goldwing I never could feel any vibrations at any speed from idle to wide open. That big flat six felt like a giant electric motor, just pure thrust smooth as silk.

The K1200LT fixed that by isolating the engine from the frame. In the earlier K-bikes, the frame was a major structural part of the entire bike. The K75s were smoother than the K100s because the 120 degree crank cancelled all of the primary and secondary harmonics, and the counterbalancer cancelled out the rocking couple. Unfortunately, though the inline 4 had no rocking couple, it had plenty of secondary harmonics (the high-frequency "tingle" typical of an inline 4). My K100 had that, but it came and went depending on RPM. It did have a sweet spot where there was no vibration at all. Unfortunately, the bike would be doing 80 mph...

Both of mine were the same. The smooth spot with no vibes was right about 73mph as measured with my GPS. I sure liked that bike but bad knees made me shift to the GT. Not that I'm complaining about the GT but it just doesn't sound as good.

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