2017 M1200 quickshifter

I've just ordered a 2017 monster 1200 and chose the optional quickshifter. The quickshifter on the S model has an auto blipper too. I've been told different things by dealers though - does the optional QS on the stock monster have a blipper or is it up only?

Long shot but be good to hear from anyone who has this bike!

[Darren69]

Sorry I don't mean to bust your nuts I'm just in the mood atm but call me cynical if you like. I think bikes, like cars are getting so much tech these days, auto blipper? I mean where's the fun in riding something like that if it does it all for you? Ok so its a big powerful bike but you can't be in total control of it otherwise it might be too difficult or dangerous to ride. I mean you could get off a moped and ride something like that. Sorry in rant mode, anti wheelie off.

How long before we see the self driving motorcycle, with training wheels for those who can't balance one?

You don't have to like it or understand it. Try one before you knock it though - it makes dropping a cog and gunning it easier and quicker.

As a new rider, I love the tech you get these days. Traction control, cornering abs and slipper clutch all make riding safer and make riding fast easier. I'm not Rossi so I'll take all the help I can get! I don't get any less joy as a result. Where's the fun? Shiiiit, it'd take more than a bit of mechanical assistance to take the fun away from a 150hp bike!

[Dirty]

I'm a big tech fan, despite the fact I eschew injection

You probably got a similar reaction yourself from the oldies back in the day when you were waxing lyrical over such modern items as disc brakes and pneumatic tyres Darren

[Darren69]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo

[utopia]

Call me a cynic but I believe that the high level of tech on modern bikes is there purely and simply to attract sales.
Much of it serves little practical purpose.
But its a funny thing .. as soon as you make a statement like that you're accused of being resistant to progress in all its forms.
Surely if all the tech makes it easier for an unskilled rider to be fast then that is a potentially dangerous thing ......?
And of course it all increases the need for costly dealer maintenance .. which again is good for business but not necessarily for bikers.

Fly by wire, multiple power modes, traction control, ABS, computer controlled active suspension, quickshifters, auto-blippers ... the list of stuff I don't need goes on and on.
But its modern, so it must be good, eh ?

[Darren69]

Originally Posted by utopia

Call me a cynic but I believe that the high level of tech on modern bikes is there purely and simply to attract sales.
Much of it serves little practical purpose.
But its a funny thing .. as soon as you make a statement like that you're accused of being resistant to progress in all its forms.
Surely if all the tech makes it easier for an unskilled rider to be fast then that is a potentially dangerous thing ......?
And of course it all increases the need for costly dealer maintenance .. which again is good for business but not necessarily for bikers.

Fly by wire, multiple power modes, traction control, ABS, computer controlled active suspension, quickshifters, auto-blippers ... the list of stuff I don't need goes on and on.
But its modern, so it must be good, eh ?

You forgot gear indicators Jeff and don't forger idiot lights, so called for a reason!
I dunno, I don't want to be called a Luddite and all that stuff may have its uses in some situations (ABS/DTS in the rain etc) Its all ok but what if I don't want it? Can I turn it off?

[Uncle Bob]

My two penneth...

MotoGP riders are 'supposed' to be the elite of the elite, right? Yet their bikes are equipped with GPS that tells the bike exactly where it is on the track, and therefore it can alter things like traction control, anti-wheelie etc. to suit its current location. When all that goes wrong it usually results in a crash (especially if your name is Cal Crutchlow). So you could argue that the technology is masking the inadequacies of the rider, even at the top level. And that has nothing to do with bike sales. Not directly anyway.

Now then, I'm no Valentino Rossi, but I suspect that many unskilled riders will try to go fast, whether they have rider aids (that sounds wrong?) or not. So surely it's better that the tech is there for when it really gets lairy, and let's face it, things will get lairy for a new rider on a 150bhp bike at some point. If more tech prevents more crashes, and in turn doesn't cause my insurance premiums to rise then I'm all for it.

Some good points being made here though, from both sides. As for the auto blipping thing, it might make it "easier to drop a cog and gun it", but IMO if that simple process isn't easy enough to do manually then perhaps one shouldn't be gunning it anywhere... Just saying .

[Dirty]

Central heating, shoes, a computer, the tv, pencils, ratchets, white flour. The list of things we don't need is as long as the list of things.

[slob]

According to the Ducati blurb the optional QS for the standard model is the same as the one fitted to the S.
I'd always opt for the S model with Ducatis though... the suspension may not be race spec Ohlins but testing both always makes me think the S is worth the extra spend

[Saint aka ML]

I am not fully with tech. I do not see why 100bhp or less bike needs TC. ABS any day. Fly by wire I love it as it allows me to have slow throttle, 1 to 1 and qa at flick of button.

Anti wheelie or wheelie control takes all skill and fun out of it.

Motogp riders crash if GPS looses track of bike as their TC is 100% setup for that track. If you get same power on tight corner that you get in straight line it's bound to go wrong. Especially if you do not expect it.

And that takes me to next point I will never be fully for electronics as they allow you to be lazy and not learn certain things. Then one day it all fails and you crash.
ABS will not work on grass, sand, gravel, snow, oil you will assume it will but in reality you will not stop/slow down in emergency as much as on none abs bike and skilled rider.

[Saint aka ML]

Btw me and many more can safely ride older monster s4rs or 999 that has basically same power as m1200. Never felt either being dangerous. 1198 is another matter.

Originally Posted by utopia

Call me a cynic but I believe that the high level of tech on modern bikes is there purely and simply to attract sales.
Much of it serves little practical purpose.
But its a funny thing .. as soon as you make a statement like that you're accused of being resistant to progress in all its forms.
Surely if all the tech makes it easier for an unskilled rider to be fast then that is a potentially dangerous thing ......?
And of course it all increases the need for costly dealer maintenance .. which again is good for business but not necessarily for bikers.

Fly by wire, multiple power modes, traction control, ABS, computer controlled active suspension, quickshifters, auto-blippers ... the list of stuff I don't need goes on and on.
But its modern, so it must be good, eh ?

I don't agree this stuff serves little practical purpose. I s**t myself when I put the power on too hard in the wet and when I changed down too sharply on my current bike! Traction control and slipper clutch prevent that.

Motorbikes are dangerous regardless of how skilled the rider is. But we buy them because they're fun - people will ride fast regardless of what kit the bike has so some of this safety stuff just protects those people.

Originally Posted by Darren69

You forgot gear indicators Jeff and don't forger idiot lights, so called for a reason!
I dunno, I don't want to be called a Luddite and all that stuff may have its uses in some situations (ABS/DTS in the rain etc) Its all ok but what if I don't want it? Can I turn it off?

You can turn it all off on most bikes. You can also alter the sensitivity - so for example you can turn the anti wheelie down so it won't stop the front wheel coming up but it will help control it. Handy if you're new to power wheelies!

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

My two penneth...

As for the auto blipping thing, it might make it "easier to drop a cog and gun it", but IMO if that simple process isn't easy enough to do manually then perhaps one shouldn't be gunning it anywhere... Just saying .

Okay, i'll re-phrase that... it makes dropping a cog and gunning it more fun!

Originally Posted by Dirty

Central heating, shoes, a computer, the tv, pencils, ratchets, white flour. The list of things we don't need is as long as the list of things.

Exactly. I don't need an auto blipper... but it's bloody good fun!

Originally Posted by Saint aka ML

I am not fully with tech. I do not see why 100bhp or less bike needs TC. ABS any day. Fly by wire I love it as it allows me to have slow throttle, 1 to 1 and qa at flick of button.

Anti wheelie or wheelie control takes all skill and fun out of it.

Motogp riders crash if GPS looses track of bike as their TC is 100% setup for that track. If you get same power on tight corner that you get in straight line it's bound to go wrong. Especially if you do not expect it.

And that takes me to next point I will never be fully for electronics as they allow you to be lazy and not learn certain things. Then one day it all fails and you crash.
ABS will not work on grass, sand, gravel, snow, oil you will assume it will but in reality you will not stop/slow down in emergency as much as on none abs bike and skilled rider.

Good point re not learning if you always rely on rider aids. The chance of a failure is pretty minor though so that's less of a consideration. Going from a new bike to an older bike though means you need to keep your wits about you!

Originally Posted by slob

According to the Ducati blurb the optional QS for the standard model is the same as the one fitted to the S.
I'd always opt for the S model with Ducatis though... the suspension may not be race spec Ohlins but testing both always makes me think the S is worth the extra spend

Brilliant, where did you find that? I could only see the bit below which doesn't mention the stock model. There's still no configurator or finance calculator for this bike even though its been out for months! God love the Italians!

I'm not really fussed about the suspension so the S wasn't worth the extra for me - i'll just take the bike to a suspension specialist and get it set up for me.

From the Ducati website:
"The new Ducati Quick Shift (DQS)
The Panigale's Ducati Quick Shift becomes standard on the Monster family starting with the new Monster 1200 S, making it possible to change gear without using the clutch both when downshifting and upshifting. The DQS up/down system ensures more fun in sport riding and offers valuable assistance in city traffic and on winding roads.
DESIGN"

[utopia]

Originally Posted by whostheduke

I don't agree this stuff serves little practical purpose. I s**t myself when I put the power on too hard in the wet and when I changed down too sharply on my current bike! Traction control and slipper clutch prevent that.

Motorbikes are dangerous regardless of how skilled the rider is. But we buy them because they're fun - people will ride fast regardless of what kit the bike has so some of this safety stuff just protects those people.

Aids like traction control and slipper clutches enable new riders to cope with the excessive power that current bikes produce.
This makes perfect sense to the manufacturers as it allows them to constantly improve the most obvious sales characteristic of a bike .. its power output .. even though the old model already made sufficient for the circumstances.
Another important sales hook is the bike's techy content and so it makes business sense to use lots of tech to, er .. limit the excessive power.

ABS makes braking safer if you grab too much of a handful in the wrong circumstances .. but in doing so it restricts the learning process and perhaps teaches poor braking practice.

It seems to me that if you encourage a new or unskilled rider to go faster and rely on the electronics to keep everything safe, what you're actually doing is increasing the speed at which the inevitable systems failure (human or mechanical) will eventually occur .. with therefore more serious consequences.

Other systems like electronic suspension control, auto-blippers, quickshifters etc seem to me to be total overkill on a road bike because they serve little practical purpose.
Some folk may still "want" them though, and fair enough its their choice, but personally I'd rather have the simplicity.


But I'm certainly not anti-tech.
In fact I love tech .. but only when it serves a practical purpose.
Electronic fuel injection .. great (as long as that's all it is, with no extras)
Electronic speedometers, thus avoiding the drive cable .. great (as long as its with an analogue dial that you can read in sunlight).
Electronic ignition modules are far superior to the old contact breakers and mechanical advance/retard gadgets.
Lithium batteries .. mine saved me 5.5kg. Oh yes please.
And yes, fair cop on the gear indicator .. I do think that a top gear indicator would be useful on my 750.

Hope all this isn't coming across as having a dig .. no intentions there whatsoever.