A few weeks after riding the Kawasaki ZX-10R with its KIMS system (see discussion here), I started to think about electronic/computer systems that might aid riders in the future.
In the automobile world, more and more electronic/computer control systems are available to intervene where driver error might otherwise cause an accident. Anti-lock brake systems have been around for a while, but there was some thought initially that these systems could be out-performed by highly skilled race car drivers. Now, the electronic/computer controls are accepted as being superior to human driver control. This is why you find the best drivers in the world (F1 drivers) benefitting from traction control, for instance.
Will we reach the point with motorcycles where relatively unskilled riders can perform nearly as well as professional level racers due to the electronic/computer controls future motorcycles might feature? Is traction control just the beginning? Food for thought, and we welcome your email (from engineers, particularly) expressing your views. By the way, and for the record, Kawasaki does not consider KIMS “traction control”, as pointed out in our earlier article.
