pro-level riders out there almost always turn off every electronic rider aid so they can stare down Death on their own terms . I get that . I also get it ’ s nice to have options where you decide what kind of power delivery you ’ d like on your bike . In all honesty , and from what I have seen , most riders would be much happier tooling around in Rain mode even when it ’ s sunny . One of the biggest-selling bikes of recent times was the Yamaha Tenere . Great value for money , and a bike with no engine modes . You ride what you get . Creating bikes with staggeringly complex electronics adds to the cost of the bike , and allows the manufacturer to tell you it ’ s “ all new ” – which it is as far as its CPU is concerned . And of course , staggeringly complex electronics add an entirely new dimension to the amount of suffering you ’ ll be in when those electronics choose to have a conniption . You won ’ t be fixing that with a screwdriver and a rock any time soon . I am not one of those fools who looks back on the 70s , 80s , and 90s , with any kind of rosecoloured nostalgia . The bikes back then were diabolical in so many ways , and we are all much happier and faster with today ’ s crop of machines . Yes , I know some of you dodderers believe you ache for the pounding only an SS Ducati could provide , or the angst only that six-neutral gearbox on an old Guzzi would give you , but I ’ m thinking your meds might be dialled up too high . The Good Old Days were anything but good . I ’ m pretty sure none of you are in a rush to replace your marvellous modern riding gear with that smelly old Belstaff shit . We are blessed to be living and riding in a time when bikes are truly marvels of engineering . They give us joy and pleasure , and thrill us to the very core of our being . As they should . But I ’ m convinced anyone who is unhinged enough to go swapping his engine mapping as he wobbles along the road has completely forsaken whatever magic motorcycling may have once offered him . And it sucks to be that guy .
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