VOL. 54 ISSUE 25 JUNE 27, 2017 P111
And have you ever tried turning
off your mobile phone for an
entire day without first warning
everybody?
The same could be said, I
think, when speaking about the
latest technologies applied to our
motorcycles.
Traction control can sometimes
make our powerful motors feel
like they are being neutered.
ABS can often hinder us from
easily backing-in our bikes into a
corner.
Our rider aides are almost
universally helpful, but at times, I
find myself wishing for the good
ol' days when a motorcycle was
just a motorcycle. If you rode it
poorly, you crashed the stupid
thing. Too much front brake? You
low-sided. Too much throttle,
and you high-sided yourself into
a guardrail. Hit a car hiding in a
blind spot, you died.
Hmmm.
Okay, so on second thought,
maybe we should continue to
come up with these new and
sound ways to make our be-
loved motorcycles safer through
its electronics. But couldn't we
maybe accomplish this progress
without losing all the thrills and
chills of what it means to really
ride a motorcycle like you stole it?
OFF TO NEVERLAND
Enter the recent Bosch Mo-
torcycle Riding Event—held at
Bosch's massive proving grounds
facility near Boxberg, Germany.
The grounds are a very impres-
sive private mass of land, similar
to a military base, including a
Miller gets
the lowdown
before trying to
crash the KTM
1290 Adventure
R. He failed.
