kbasa
Well-known member
I'm stuck in the middle ground here...
I like EFI rather than carbs... EFI doesn't go south quite as easily. Sure, old gas will make it run kinda crappy, but the fix is pouring in some fresh gas. Old gas in a carb often means taking the carb out and cleaning it.
I like ABS... it's not required, but it's nice to have during a panic stop for when I mess up and give the brakes a bit too much pressure. ABS tends to correct a skid faster than I do.
On the other hand, *NEW* bikes seem to have gone tech overboard. I'm scared to know what that fancy LCD screen is going to cost when it breaks 10 or 15 years from now.
I can find aftermarket speedos and tachs for my *old* bikes... change out faulty power switches for the AUX lights and GPS mounts... but that fancy LCD screen is entirely dedicated to that specific bike.
There is no aftermarket for it, and that is a scary thought. If the screen dies, you have no option but to buy it directly from the manufacturer, who may or may not still build them.
I see a future where a perfectly good motorcycle is non-operable and deemed worthless because a damaged LCD screen would cost multiple thousands of $$$ to replace.
I hope I'm wrong and these LCDs just keep getting cheaper & cheaper where a replacement is only a couple hundred $$ instead.
BMW's Canbus seems to be open, so I think there's an opportunity for replacement instruments at some point when there might be demand.