How to use traction control

bruised

Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
Messages
150
Location
columbus nebraska
First time I rode mine in sand I went down cement contractor left a pile 4 inches deep in my drive I didn't see it made my turn from alley to garage and was spitting sand before I knew what happened


Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
 

racer

New Member
Founding Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2010
Messages
133
Location
Vincennes, Indiana
Scoop47501 said:
Florida sounds nice !
I am starting to think Glacier National Park for this summer.
I talked with Obermeyer the other day and he said you thought you passed me with 3 others near Monroe City last fall.
It was us and I thought that the black Tenere was most likely you as well.
You still riding the Alps each year ??
Scooper
IBA # 55459
Yup, it was me, returning from Obermeyers. Rode down there so I would have a source to buy Heidenau tires. Ordered them yesterday and they'll mount them next week before I leave for Daytona. I think I'm going to have a cold ride to Jasper and back. Its been a tough winter! Haven't ridden the Alps for a couple years. Rode Spain and France in the Pyrennes a year ago, but taking a year off from over seas. May ride up to Nova Scotia this fall. I'll PM you next time I'm heading over your way. BTW, found the bird house guy last fall, up around Boogs lake. Cool dude.
 

Langolier

Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2013
Messages
134
Location
USA, WI
TC1 or TC2 for road gravel and shallow sand TC off for deep sand & mud. Would recommend leaving throttle in T mode at first. Let me know how it works out, I'm currently snowbound with only 300 mi on the clock. :'(
 

outdoor

Active Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2023
Messages
102
Location
Ottawa, Canada
I'll take a shot...

TCS1 is for rain or any other slippery pavement conditions.
TCS2 will serve most average non-aggressive off pavement riding.
TCS Off- for aggressive off pavement including all water crossings.

As far as sand riding...? You're on your own. Good luck.
Why would u not have tcs 1 on when riding on mud? Or through water?
Would it not help prevent resr slipping out on slick mud or slippery wet rpck in water?

I can see if you are stuck in mud then no tcs
 

sheikyerbooty

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 12, 2021
Messages
539
Location
Dunedin, NZ
I'll probably get bagged for this, but IMO TCS2 is a bit of a gimmick. The only time I've found it useful is ascending corrugated gravel. But on the pegs, weight forward, gear selection and throttle control works the same. TCS off definitely if your stuck or think you're gonna get stuck. Like a diff lock in a truck. Riding modes kinda gimmicky also. 'T' mode for run in up to 1000 miles, since then 'S' mode, where it shall remain.

Wish I had a GS
 

Jlq1969

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 5, 2018
Messages
1,749
Location
Argentina
Why would u not have tcs 1 on when riding on mud? Or through water?
Would it not help prevent resr slipping out on slick mud or slippery wet rpck in water?

I can see if you are stuck in mud then no tcs
It is that you have the answer, in your question…..”when you are stuck in the mud”…..stuck…it is too late to think about the TCS On or Off….if you anticipate what is in front of you (deep or not, mud)….you have to decide before what to do…TCS On or Off…..if you don't want to go through the mud at high speed, ….with TCS off, the rear wheel goes faster than the bike itself, it will prevent you from getting stuck….
TCS ON, will limit the throttle, when the wheel starts to slip...and this will cause you to sink into deep mud
 

cyclemike4

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2016
Messages
815
Location
ky
I don't ever like traction control on for any situation. I turn it off every single time I start the bike. That is just me though. Not saying it is best but I feel it is best for me.
 

RCinNC

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2014
Messages
2,816
Location
North Carolina
Traction control works really well for when you're riding on some freshly wet asphalt and you hit one of those slick spots where the rear wheel breaks traction and begins to spin a little for a millisecond, causing the rear of the bike to start to drift. Traction control reduces power to the rear wheel momentarily until it matches speed with the front wheel to keep the bike from drifting, and it does it faster than you can react, until you get past that brief slick area. The key there is "momentarily". Most hardcore dirt riders would tell you that the ability to be able to keep the rear wheel moving and providing power when on soft terrain is pretty crucial to controlling the bike. If you're trying to muscle a bike around tight turns in soft dirt, the last thing I think you'd want is for the bike's TCS to constantly be cutting power to the rear wheel. Same with a water crossing; continuous forward momentum is your friend, and losing that momentum for that split second when the rear tire hits a slippery rock and the TCS cuts in could mean disaster. The same thing goes for riding in mud. If you're in mud, all the TCS is going to do is keep reducing power to the rear wheel, right up until you stop moving forward because the TCS is trying to match the speed of the rear wheel to the front.

My experience with this phenomena was getting stuck in a deep sandy road in South Carolina and forgetting to turn off the TCS before I got on the road (the deep sand happened all of a sudden on an otherwise fairly decent dirt road). As the front tire slowed down because I was plowing sand and the rear wheel started to spin, the the TCS sensed the speed difference between the wheels and began to slow the rear wheel, right up until the point I stopped dead in really deep sand. At that point you're screwed because you really are stuck, and even when you shut the TCS off, you're still stuck. If I could have kept the rear wheel going and, most importantly, kept my speed up, I may have made it through that deep sand (though with my deep-sand skills, I still might have flubbed it).

Traction control is kind of a misnomer, since it implies that it's doing something to increase traction, but it really isn't. It's simply modulating the power to the rear so the bike can cope with a situation where traction is suddenly and briefly reduced. It's come in handy for me on slick wet asphalt, but it's been a giant boil on my ass when I was in soft stuff off pavement.

I say all this as a guy who is most assuredly not a hardcore off-road dirt rider, so it's always possible I'm wrong.
 

Cycledude

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2016
Messages
3,998
Location
Rib lake wi
I have had to ride Tenere through 6 inches of snow on my 300 foot driveway a few times after coming home from longer trip, the traction control didn’t cause any trouble just the extra light on the dash while I was also pushing with my feet.

My Goldwing doesn’t have traction control but I managed to get it stuck once just before making it to the garage because the snow was simply to deep in one spot so had to get out the tractor and snowplow . One trip when I got home someone had plowed my driveway and I was never able to find out who that was so I could thank them, have suspects but they denied doing it.
 

outdoor

Active Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2023
Messages
102
Location
Ottawa, Canada
Im just thinking of 2 situations ive experienced with my voyager 1700 no tcs

Once was crossing a small patch of snow taking it outbof storage one year. As soon as rear tire hit snow wanted to kick out. I was barely moving.

Second time i was going in on a dirt road to do some camping. There was a puddle in middle of road with edges wet mud. Not deep just surface slick

As soon as rear tire hit mud i was down before I knew what happened
 
Top