Gizmology...'the pointless application of technology for technologies sake'
Well not really...I just made it up..But having recently read an article on the new Triumph Trophy Tourer I have concluded that when it comes to new motorcycles they have completely lost the plot and a new word is required...
The list of trinkets is so extensive on the Triumph it is hard to actually absorb it all and it strikes me the implications for accident repair, maintenance and long term ownership are potentially a nightmare...
Forgetting the weight of 259 kg or 571lbs before you add luggage and people....Consider this....
Heated grips and seat.
Linked ABS equipped brakes.
Traction control.
Cruise control.
Automatically tilting panniers.
LCD instrument display.
'Fly by wire' electronic throttle.
Blue tooth and I pod compatible Audio system.
Automatic volume control.
Incoming phone call support.
USB port, Flash drive, MP3 player support.
Sat Nav.
Electronically adjustable suspension.
Adjustable riding modes.
Self adjusting screen settings.
2 computers.
and last but not least...A self locking credit card holder?
......
Now THAT is 'Gizmology.....and in my view mainly unnecessary..
Remember when motorcycles were a simple and efficient form of personal transport?..
Shame that's no longer the case.
We now live in the age of the 'gadget' motorcycle where simplicity and light weight in 'larger' capacity machines are obviously no longer considered virtues.
The measure of a motorcycle now appears to revolve around excessive engine size and power output and the amount of 'technology' needlessly applied to its specification.... Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
Hi Ian,
Isn't Triumph the only make from the once World impressing British Motorcycle Imperium that still produces motorcycles today??
Perhaps Gizmology hasn't been made up by manufacturers but is it simply what the 'motorcyclist of today' wants...
Best Regards,
Sven
email (option): snvosselman@gmail.com
Not quite Sven! You can buy a brand new Norton, Royal Enfield and even a Brough.
Ron
email (option): ronpier@talk21.com
Some of it comes from the emissions lobby..Sadly,you have to have fuel injection now to meet the emissions standards...and that leads to one computer.
Some of it comes from the safety lobby..Like ABS brakes....Though you can ride a motorcycle safely without it...
'Riding Modes' and traction control may be indicative of the fact the average rider is unable to control such high (and peaky) power output without electronic assistance...That would indicate there is an excess of power 'on tap'..I don't think most people actually believe they need 150BHP or more to travel about if they really thought about it......
Some of it is like an electric toothbrush...A whole load of technology so you don't have to move your arm....(Screen adjustment, electronic suspension adjustment etc..) Do you really need cruise control when you have a frictionless fly by wire throttle?....I think not really..you have that thing called a hand on the end of your arm.....
And the self locking credit card 'dock'?...give me a break...
I do accept though that the guy in the asylum who thinks he is Richard 111 really is Richard 111 in his world.....but he obviously hasn't looked at the evidence that supports that idea rationally ...Or perhaps it's not about rationality anymore?..People just feel they have to have more...and more...and more...
I'm merely suggesting that the 'benefits' of this technology should be assessed in a logical fashion and that it not be swallowed whole without a second thought and without question....
I also wouldn't dispute that the British motorcycle industry failed because it didn't make what the customer wanted....Though I think that was more a demand for oiltight and reliable engines and electrics at the time...Basic requirements mainly and not really the type of technology I am talking about here.
But maybe I really am that out of touch ...or maybe I didn't listen when some advertising man or journalist told me what I wanted?...Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
A lot of this stuff could be fitted..or not..at the production stage...Good old Harley Davidson (the backward thinking company that lead their market sector) offer multiple choices at the point of order...They use this largely for 'customising' or specification options on the larger bikes...
The idea of flexible 'just in time' manufacture which many companies now use offers the prospect of real choice on short delivery timescales..
Maybe more of this stuff should be offered as an 'option' and then we could choose what we actually want (and can afford) around a base specification model...
While they are at it they can take the 10 unused programmes off my washing machine, and the 80% of unused functions of my digital camera....and I don't really want to learn how to play the piano, find out the time in Guatamala or determine my height above sea level using my telephone...
Next thing they'll have Whitworth spanners that pick up text messages and whistle 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' when you open the toolbox.... ....Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
Ron,
I was thinking of adding 'mass production' but I thought you would understand...
I also think all these options are ridiculous, but on the other hand I'm happy at least one British make is able to compete against other manufacturers even though they have to act like clowns!
Regards,
Sven
email (option): snvosselman@gmail.com
Ian, couldn't agree more. Recently had to rent a Ford Fusion for a few days; there's a large touch screen computer on the dash instead of the usual dials and knobs. Impossible to figure out; every time I went to change the radio station, the air conditioner turned on full blast! The wife and I were laughing so hard we almost drove off the road.
The world clearly confuses change with progress! Seems to me we're going backwards rather quickly now....
Mark
email (option): wingco40@hotmail.com
Speaking of old British manufacturers who are still in existence, have you seen the new Matchless website? www.matchlesslondon.com They are only flogging a range of expensive coats, but they do have the lovely Kate moss modelling them.
'Impossible to figure out; every time I went to change the radio station, the air conditioner turned on full blast! The wife and I were laughing so hard we almost drove off the road.'
'Seems to me we're going backwards rather quickly now....'
Hi Mark...It sounds like you might have been in that Fusion! ...
I should stress I'm in favour of technological advances that truly benefit us...Much of this stuff is there as another feature to list in the sales blurb, another way to make one manufacturer look more 'advanced' than the next or is simply there to appeal to base instincts like ego, social status and our own self images, whether they are of our own concoction or served up as Harley do with a dollop of 'tradition' and blueberry pie or Yamaha do with a set of racing leathers.......
The fact is with all the 'clutter' it's difficult to make a decision that is truly your own and most of us don't manage it..even if we think we do...
My own nomination in the 'useful category' of everyday technology in the last 100 years?...Well it isn't an I Pad...or ABS bakes...The humble automatic washing machine..That removed a massive amount of drudgery from millions of lives at one stroke...
Shame they couldn't keep it simple though.....
And here's another thought..'The Sports bike is dead, long live the Sports bike!'....
The mags are now telling us the age of the sports bike is coming to an end and we are entering the era of the 'all rounder'...That incidentally has a new 'Lifestyle' name...'The Adventure Bike'....I can see it now, out in the Sahara....
Unfortunately the journos, buyers and manufacturers have yet to come up with another way of judging a bike other than by engine size and BHP....(the old sports bike criteria)
So very rapidly we have arrived at the 1250cc, 150BHP 'all rounder' Adventure bike...Of course everyone knows you can't really ride something like that off road seriously...So tyres, brakes and suspension have been 'tweaked' to suit and we have....A Sports Bike...it just doesn't quite look the same....So is that an Adventure Sport Off road Trackday Bike?...More commonly known as a compromise? ...Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
ee by gum they dont make things simple anymore do they .oh the good old days .i bet the locking credit card holder costs more than a m20 back in the day .cheers bob ps any news on the paint batch 2
"Hi Mark...It sounds like you might have been in that Fusion! ..."
Ian, more likely I was in that con-Fusion!
email (option): wingco40@hotmail.com