Single biggest improvement in the motorcycling experience?

[RhynoCZ]

[Polarbear]

Just straight up reliability.

When I started riding a journey of say 200 miles was a success if you don't have to stop for anything other than fuel. You planned the journey and what spares and tools you carried with the efficiency of a military operation.

Now I could walk out to the garage, get my bike out and ride anywhere in Europe and wouldn't worry about breakdowns.

Looking back in time I think the first bike I ever had the faith in to get me where I wanted to go was the FJ1200.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[chickenstrip]

[Shaft]

[chickenstrip]

[chickenstrip]

[Nobby the Bastard]

Heated grips.

/endthread
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[stevo as b4]

I can just about tolerate road riding in the right places now, but it would be better abroad in a warm country with less traffic, lower speed limits/ less cut&thrust rushing about, and more scenic and mountain type roads. Small bikes would be all you'd want generally too.

Off road always appealed more to me and was my first love on two wheels. I want to get back into trials and technical enduro riding, when I have the time and means to.

Can understand track days and stuff like sprinting, hill climbing events and drag racing. But it's all expensive and you can't just pop out your front door and do a track day every time you get an hour spare.

Fuel injection vs Carbs?
With expensive smooth bore carbs set up perfectly at the top end there should be not a difference in peak power theoretically, but on a performance orientated EFI system, there should be a touch more area under the curve and better transitional fueling again in a perfect set up.

[fireyphoenix1...]

I have only been riding on the road 9 years but been on bikes since i was 5.
IMO tyre tech, lighting and fuel economy are the biggest steps forward.
Also engine power, not so much of an issue imo as anything over 100 is good with me, but we have utterly insane power to weight ratios these days.

HIDs (proper bike ones with a shield to preserve the lighting pattern) are a game changer, i used to ride 40 miles of unlit lanes every night to see the mrs.Even osram night breakers dont compare to the HIDs.
All we need now is for cornering headlights to become standard, i tried a friends street triple fitted with one the other week and it was properly nice being able to see round the corner at night.

On rubber, first big bike i had was fitted with Avon Azzaros, they nearly killed me twice.The sods would let go under moderate braking on a GSX750F (which had very soft brakes to start with).And they took 10/15 miles to get warm enough to make decent grip.
Compared to the PR2 & PR4s i have mainly used the last 6 years and its a night and day difference.Grip well right away, have never once let go on me once warm and i can ride in the rain without constantly thinking "this is how i die".Plus i get 8/10K out of em... no brainer really.
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2014 Aprillia dorsoduro 750 factory.

[Golgarth]

LED lights area a godsend in on dark lanes. So much better than even HIDs.

Riding with decent LEDs has been the greatest revelation for me.

[kramdra]

My bike was released 17 years ago, but I can say it has fucking good lights that are better than most cars. Hids are a major annoyance, many cars now have them, and not set correctly.

Tyres have improved, mostly cold weather and life, but good tyres were available back then, and shit tyres still exist.

So for me, it is ebay. I can buy any part I need at a fraction of what it might have cost, and then used parts even cheaper.

[kgm]

I'm tempted to agree with improvements in tyre and suspension tech but I have to say, I'm really enjoying my old CX500 which is now 38. Admittedly it has adjustable Hagon twin shocks and fork springd which must be better than what they came with originally but the brakes are pretty much as they came (they're rubbish) and it's on cross-ply tyres (BT45). It doesn't offer the performance of a modern bike but it handles surprisingly well and is more entertaining than I expected. It's by far and away the easiest bike I've ridden with a pillion on it and it's really smooth.

I enjoy road riding but I live in Scotland where the roads are fairly quite during the week and there's some really cracking bits and scenic places. I've I lived somewhere more densely populated it wouldn't be the same.

[redeem ouzzer]

My previous reply was a bit shitty cause I was pissed up.

The best bits of modern (well 88-89 onwards) bikes are 17” wheels, cartridge forks and aluminium frames. Modern tyres, even narrow rubber is also very nice and tends to work in a wider range of conditions then even the best tyres 20 years ago. Can’t stand EFI, don’t understand it and it’s a pig to work on (even taking the tank off is a twat).
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Be a REAL MAN!

[biker7]

Modern bikes have got ever more lavished with rider technology and dearer! Most of it is marketing. My riding skill helps me to corner more than traction control ever could. But then I prefer uncomplicated bikes with no disrespect to those who like to spend money on the best gizmos. I agree with the tyre bit - I had Supercorsas on my Daytona and went to a sport touring when they soon wore out! Boy did I regret that - the grip and lean angles achieved by the former over the latter were chalk and cheese. The new Busa, if it happens will no doubt be higher tech. Better to ride.....hmmm. I venture to say, the riders of yesteryear may have been more skilled than today's hi tech whizz kids. Throttle, brakes balance etc. Don't underestimate basic riding skills. Retro bikes are getting a bit soft too. Still, the new bikes are pretty tasty, nevertheless. Would I take a new Fireblade if you threw it at me. You bet! But I'd turn off the modes whenever I could! Still we'll (you'll, I'll be too old) all be riding electric before long. Oh gawd!
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Swansea area
Fat Bob (2019)

[Polarbear]

[Teflon-Mike]

The 15 year time frame, 'suggestion' almost covers the entire time I have had just ONE road-bike!

The CB-Seven-Fifty, did not have particularly 'advanced' suspension to begin with... I have 'improved' what it had... but what it had was a pair of chitty after-market R&R copies for a 400 Super-Dream, I think!

Tyres? Again, when I acquired it it had some soft and flakey concrete, I think 'Concorde' remolds on it! I have to say, in a rather perverse way they did 'add' to the riding experience, and if pushed... and not forced to get on the damn things, even go as far as suggest gave a 'sort' of fun not experienced for many decades!

Lights? More ho-hum, I think.... Seven-Fifty arrived with a chopped down polaris wind-jammer fairing bracket supporting what pretended to be a headlamp, vaguely pointing.. err, yeah.. just pointing I think lol! Having oy-dee-uz, when trying to tackle the naferiouselt butchered wiring around the headstock; stretched to the frame mounted lamps and or renthal bars, or cut or wrapped to suit alternatives; melted headlamp switches, accessory relays, the perms is pretty exhaustive, I have tried singles, twins, frame mounted, fork-mounted, halogen and HID etc etc etc... have to say I DO like HID's.... if you get'em set up right and match bulbs to lenses...... but ultimately, the thing has a cheap, single, Super-Dream/LC copy after-market lamp, hung on moto-fizz fork brackets, with halogen bulb, fitted 'for expedience' and simplicity.... and it WORKS... riding to the road I can see does the rest... that is not a lot on a foggy-February night, but what the heck!

Ultimately... as far as the 'bike' is concerned, I am not certain that there has been much significant 'improvement' in the 'product' since the millennia.... just a shift in the compromises.

Accessories? Well, I put the first Disc-lock on the UK market.... oh-dear! It WAS a good idea at the time.... honest... not sure the monkey-metal offerings most are these days are all that effective, but still.... better than nowt... as long as you remember its there!!!!

The ONE gizmo, though, that really revolutionized my riding, was the Fog-City shield. Double glazing for visors... I think circa 1991 ish. Glued round the entire perifery of the inset, it does, if fitted properly to a brand new and clean visor give real double-glazing and dramatically reduce fogging... but doesn't fit very well to visors that curve in two axis.. hence the pin-lock prevalence today.

In 1988, I bought my first Shoei; then an unheard of brand of hat, and I was called daft for paying more for it than the price of a Bell Star; ino £140 I think.... but I went in shop, and stuck hats on my head and pretended I was making an obscene phone call, and it was the only one that didn't instantly fog.... so I bought it! The 'vented' full-face helmet, heralded by the Arai 'Super-Vent', which back to back with the defacto AGV of the era was simply in a different league, was a revelation; the Arai and Shoei's remained for anti-fogging a long way ahead of the game, for a very long while, probably a decade, even as cheaper, hats like the 'Alien' adopted simpson style chin grills. I have to say, that I had been reasonably impressed with my Lazer, in the late '80's, which saved my head and prompted the Shoei, and made of poly-carb featured early venting and was remarkeably light weight; but still a long way behind the Japanese incumbents. The FOG-City-Shield, though, even on a premium Shoei, was as much a dramatic improvement...

B-U-T these days I wear a Shark Evo 'flip', which I have to say I REALLY like.... no chin-down, no fogging! Makes me wonder what all the fuss was about really! Its also one of the only flips that you can practically ride in open or closed, so does work as a duel-hat... but gawd it IS heavy, and cost of a new visor for it is frightening! Still...

In answer to the original question then..

The Disc-Lock, has to get honorable mention; in 1990/91 when first put on the market there was nothing else like it, and struggling with dire bike thefts, heavy chains or awkward packlocks, it was a 'convenience'... that has probably had it's day.

Another honerable mention should go to the Frank-Thomas 'Aqua-Pak' I bought around 1990. Purpose made wet-weathers that folded up into thier own little belt pouch. They worked! Unlike old fishing trousers and hiking jackets and stuff, pressed into service; A-N-D easy to carry.... and of all protective wear, I find staying dry, rather harder than staying upright! So it WAS a big boon.

The vented Shoei helmet that actually stayed relatively 'fog-free', was through the 90's, a geme changer. The Fog-City-Shield, added to that for all weather commuting, even more so, and raised the bar on possibility and expectation.

Sealed Ring chains, probably deserve an honerable mention too; radial tyres, err... yeah... they HAVE been a game changer... b-u-t... pushed many, I think to ride beyond thier real limits of capability.... old cross-plies, one has to admit DID give plenty of brown trouser moments to suggest shutting the taps a tad!

Otherwise, I would have to say, that the biggest 'improvements' really have come in the world of accessories NOT bikes..... and things like throw-overs that don't fly-away, have been a real boon, and I don't even think twice about, now.

Biggest 'advance' of the last twenty or more years, though, I have to say is NOT technology but PRICE!

In 1990 a Shoei was worth 3x the price of an AGV because it just worked, and there was nothing else like it on the market, and a lot was like that. In the intervening years, product evolution rather than revolution has had its head; best of the best 'features' have been adopted, adapted and distilled, and 'value-engineered' down to a price, where even the cheapest of bikes or accessories boasts the sort of 'usability' that was, twenty-thirty years ago, either a dream, or the preserve of the dedicated enthusiast who could afford it..... now the 'generally-accepted-quality-level' has shifted center; and we DO tend to get a lot more for our money these days.....

But I don't think, that any 'one' thing can be said to have stood out, and I certainly don't think that you can hang an awful lot on any particular bit of motorcycle design technology, since the 1991 CBR600 came along as an 'integrated product', showing that the whole is more than the sum of its bits, and bottom line is the bottom dollar....
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[Rogerborg]

ABS, which can in fact brake better than you feel you can.














https://i.imgur.com/NmOKmbd.gif
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[chickenstrip]

[chickenstrip]

[MarJay]

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[chickenstrip]

[DJP]

Tyres that actually grip and fuel injection so the bastard actually starts.
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Suzuki Bandit 1250
https://deejayp999.atwebpages.com/index.html
That's http not https

[Evil Hans]

The scratch resistance of modern plastic visors!

Back in the '80s plastic visors used to be opaque after 6 months of road use.

These days the helmet seems to wear out before the visor. My current one is two years old (I commute daily) and it's still unmarked.
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Triumph Sprint ST 1050. And it's Red.

[stinkwheel]

All my bikes are either actually or spiritually over 25 years old. The VFR is still technically in production but a new one is worse in every measurable way. Same goes for the wifes CB500.

The only thing I've done to that couldn't have been done 15 years ago is the tyres and they are indeed better.

So yes, I'll specifically go for silicone compound tyres rather than just tyres in general. Ones that grip wet roads. PR4s.

Fuel consumption seems to be better on newer bikes. I'm bunging a lot more bang-water in my old bus than guys on newer stuff over the same trip.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.