It never fails. We do a story on some new technological advance, and teeth start gnashing like a 1970s Sachs gearbox. Not all new technologies deserve instant adulation; either the bugs get worked out and we collectively embrace the change, or the latest-and-greatest never quite jells and is quietly dropped.
The first legit production motorcycle, the 1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmüller—happy 130th birthday to our sport—had no suspension or transmission, and you had to push start the 1489cc, 2.5 horsepower motor. When you wanted to slow down, you only had a spoon front brake that rubbed against the 26-inch front tire.
One can only imagine the complaining that followed as the motorized two-wheel contraptions continued to evolve. Naysayers would either complain that a new development was unreliable or attacked the essence of what a motorcycle is supposed to be.
Indeed, the introduction of a kickstarter had to have infuriated the proponents of bump-starting. My dad always talked about the dangers of not getting the manual spark advance just right on his Indian Four—an error meant a trip over the bars due to a vicious kickback. Does anyone miss manual spark advance?
Having been riding motorcycles for over a half-century, I’ve had a front-row seat to many complaints about technological advances that we now take for granted. Let me begin with dirt bikes.
On a positive note, there was little resistance to the development of long-travel suspension in the 1970s. Of course, there is now, as any AHRMA dirt bike racer can tell you.
After that, we heard complaints about electronic ignition (can’t fix it like points), water cooling (the radiators would all be torn off), disc brakes (the disc would all get bent and problems with hydraulics), inverted forks (the tubes would get scratched) and fuel injection (can’t fix it like a carburetor). Offer up a motocrosser without these features now, and everyone will laugh at your Flintstones-style model.
My favorite one, though, is electric starting. The moaning and groaning about electric-start dirt bikes was epic. “It weighs too much.” “What if the battery dies?” “There’s another thing that can go wrong.” “Kickstarting is part of riding” was a favorite of Associate Editor Jess McKinley.
Now, everyone complains that the Suzuki RM-Z450 doesn’t have electric start!
I will say the tide may be turning in the dirt bike world, as I’m not hearing a lot of complaints about traction control and power modes—two features I love.
In the street bike world, there were many of the same complaints about progress, as some riders clung bitterly to their points, carbs, and air-cooling, though most happily embraced electric start and disc brakes—thanks, Honda CB750K0.
We will leave Harley-Davidson traditionalists out of this discussion, as they are a cottage industry of technophobes, and we love them for it. I think the latest crop of Harley-Davidsons is amazing, though I confess to retaining a soft spot in my heart for the final generation of air-cooled Sportsters.
Linkage-assisted rear suspension met with some early apprehension, as some complained that inconsistent rear wheel suspension resistance was a problem for cornering. That’s popping up again with semi-active suspension. However, if you’re not on a racetrack, I think semi-active suspension is a brilliant way to adapt to road conditions, which are naturally unpredictable.
Anti-dive braking schemes came and went, while ABS kept improving as it stuck around. We hear a few complaints about ABS from pavement pounders, other than from streetfighters and supermoto enthusiasts.
Any transmission that deviates from a gearbox and clutch causes immediate uproars, though quickshifters escaped criticism. Honda has always been a leader in alternative transmissions, from the 1970s Hondamatic to the Human Friendly Transmission used on the DN-01 in the 2000s. Ultimately, both failed to capture the public’s imagination. In contrast, though it has many detractors, the Honda dual-clutch transmission is a fantastic feat of technology ten-plus years in. The DCT even won over Jess on the Africa Twin, much to his surprise.
My natural inclination is to get excited about new stuff. My mode is “innocent until proven guilty,” and I’ll complain after I test a new feature, not before. It’s certainly a way to stay in a better mood!
