Hill Start Assist

It's nothing to do with 'basic machine control'. It's useful tech that comes in useful occasionally. In you ride in the flat lands you will never use it. If you ride the hilly county you might use it occasionally. If you are old, weak, feeble, short, struggling to cope with a bike that is really too heavy for you but that you just don't want to give up yet - it might just help to put off the evil day.

Who needs the internet anyway. Put your head in the sand and shout!
 
matchbox said:
It's nothing to do with 'basic machine control'. It's useful tech that comes in useful occasionally. In you ride in the flat lands you will never use it. If you ride the hilly county you might use it occasionally. If you are old, weak, feeble, short, struggling to cope with a bike that is really too heavy for you but that you just don't want to give up yet - it might just help to put off the evil day.

Who needs the internet anyway. Put your head in the sand and shout!
Click to expand...

You are not selling it to me:D

North Yorkshire is flat, dontcha know?
 
2 up with luggage I would imagine it to be handy to have,probably not needed on a day to day basis,bit like ABS and most other stuff we have but why not have it if it's available.
 
DC said:
Used it on the RT once in around 18 mths on the bike . Seems like you really have to rev the tits off the bike for it to release. As mentioned above , old school basic bike control is what it takes
Click to expand...

Actually, you don't have to do that at all. A simple squeeze of the brake lever will release it.

Maybe next time RTFM...

:blast
 
Warlord said:
I can't think of a single time in the last 250,000 miles of riding where I've needed Hill Start Assist.

Great gadget if you've got it for free and those rare instances where it might just help to keep both feet on ground, but I won't miss it.

The gadgets I'm loving most are...

- ABS Pro. So now I can steam onto a large traffic light controlled roundabout, get ahead of everyone else and after checking road surface, use front brake and engine braking while banked over to slow back down for next red light. Thats cool and it works.

- Cruise Control. Love it. Use this all the time for monitoring speed through 30, 40, 50, 60 mph zones. Great.

- Gear Shift Pro. Love it, always have quickshifters fitted anyways. Great on long rides to prevent clutch hand fatique.

- Keyless Start. Love it. I ride all year round in horrible weather, so stashing my key away helps tremendously from faffing about at petrol stations. Just waiting for my Samsung Smart Watch Gear S3 to have contactless payment and I wont even need to get my credit card out. Thats ace as well.

- Navigator Pro VI. Full colour display showing speed, tyre pressures, engine temp, navigation. Absolutely great, dont need bike display anymore, just use that.

- LED Lights. Amazing. Pitch black ride in Wales, all lights on was better than my car. Amazing distance and clarity.

The only thing so far that I dont like is the crappy horn sound. Should have a truck horn, would suit it better.
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I'd have hill start assist ahead of keyless any day - and yes, I've got and/or had both...

Each to his own I guess...
 
My car has hill start assist sort of gubbins it holds the handbrake for 0.7 of a second when you release the foot brake on a hill the problem is most times I beat it and start to pull away before it releases.

After years of not having this feature its second nature to get clutch bite quick I can see it been useful to less experienced drivers and riders who are not confident in using the brakes and clutch in harmony.

I see it as a good thing but as others say I would not pay for the option.
 
From a personal perspective I'm a mid life crisis biker who jumped straight on a GSA and had some of the best holidays of my life travelling Europe with Mrs C as pillion.

One of my fears was getting stopped on a hill two up loaded with holiday gear. It was a handful. My worst experience was getting on the Zeebrugge ferry and starting to go up the mezzanine ramp only to find a queue leaving me stopped half way up. I can still smell the clutch now!

If you have an apprehension of something like this if/when it happens your reaction is only going to be worse as you are likely to gripped by a degree of fear resulting in you going tense and over compensating.

I know this is my fault for not biking from the womb but if there is an aid for a rider which helps remove such fears then this can only ensure biking becomes a really pleasurable and safer experience.
 
JohnnyBoxer said:
Yep, something else to malfunction and if you lose the basic skill then whenever you swap to a normal bike, what will you do then?
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That's why I don't use the quickshifter on my XR other than the odd occasion.

Al
 
Cooperman said:
From a personal perspective I'm a mid life crisis biker who jumped straight on a GSA and had some of the best holidays of my life travelling Europe with Mrs C as pillion.

One of my fears was getting stopped on a hill two up loaded with holiday gear. It was a handful. My worst experience was getting on the Zeebrugge ferry and starting to go up the mezzanine ramp only to find a queue leaving me stopped half way up. I can still smell the clutch now!

If you have an apprehension of something like this if/when it happens your reaction is only going to be worse as you are likely to gripped by a degree of fear resulting in you going tense and over compensating.

I know this is my fault for not biking from the womb but if there is an aid for a rider which helps remove such fears then this can only ensure biking becomes a really pleasurable and safer experience.
Click to expand...

Now I understand

The Mezzanine on the Zebrugge ferry is a fear for many, it is a bastard

I usually wait until I can see it's clear and then wheelie up it (only joking:D)

Seriously, I can see your point and if it helps, fine

I was brought up on dirtbikes from 9 and did (still do) many years as a trials rider, so I guess clutch and throttle comes as second nature, but looking at most people's Uturns I can see where it would be useful as an aid
 
Blackal said:
For the reason given.........
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I could understand not needing it on any other bike, but the XR comes into its own, when ridden with the quickshifter. Ride it harder; that's what it's for.;):D
 
I had a wee practice with the hill start today and sussed it in 5 mins. Revs need to be up around 4K and clutch needs fed in very gradually, more so than a normal get away anyway. If it's released quickly like normal the revs dip before the brakes release and you could stall or pogo away. It was a case of using it the way it's designed to be used rather than using it the way I thought it should work. Very handy as a hand brake at lights/junctions where a slope would mean you sitting with a hand/foot on the brake at all times.
Sounds like a faff but if you're allowed out of the house on your own you are smart enough to work it out :blagblah
 
Its been on my RT for years, I use it occasionally, its useful when fully loaded and on a hill junction. I tend to just let the clutch out and just give the front brake lever a quick pull at the same time to release. As for forgetting how to ride normally, what a load of crap :) Its like gearshift pro, good bit of kit, but don't use it all the time. I ride loads of different bikes, and quite often don't use the clutch going up the box, gear shift pro, just makes it smoother and allows you to change down. Been riding 40 years plus, so pretty sure I won't forget how to ride without the gadgets :)
 
casbar said:
Its been on my RT for years, I use it occasionally, its useful when fully loaded and on a hill junction. I tend to just let the clutch out and just give the front brake lever a quick pull at the same time to release. As for forgetting how to ride normally, what a load of crap :) Its like gearshift pro, good bit of kit, but don't use it all the time. I ride loads of different bikes, and quite often don't use the clutch going up the box, gear shift pro, just makes it smoother and allows you to change down. Been riding 40 years plus, so pretty sure I won't forget how to ride without the gadgets :)
Click to expand...

What he said +1 (apart from the 40 years bit - I'm not that old!)

:beerjug:
:beerjug:
 
caldercraig said:
Hill Start Assist is an option of the 2017 model R1200GS

Does anyone know if this can be retro fitted to 2016 models?
Click to expand...

irrespective of the pro's and con's seems the original posters question is still not answered. My guess, ask the dealer......
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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