Traction Control Useful?

[mcman56]

I'm tempted to buy a new 2022 EM and see they have a couple trials models.  I have ridden an epure race and liked it but am not sure I would ever use the clutch.  Has anyone ridden the other model with traction control?  Is the traction control useful?  I'm no beginner but no expert either?

[dgshannon]

I have not ridden a 2022, with traction control, so I can't speak to that aspect of your question. However, I do have a 2021 "Race" with a clutch. Having ridden the bike for a little over a year, I can say that there is little to no reason to have the clutch, unless you are a very advanced rider. Unless you have need to rev the motor to high RPM, before a sudden clutch release, to leap up onto a rock, etc. then you don't need it. In fact, for tight and technical sections, full-lock turns, etc. the advantage is the fact that you don't use the clutch. It demands that you develop a greater level of throttle control, but the ability to ride the bike using throttle alone is amazing.

So, unless you a a high-level, accomplished, trials rider, it is a safe bet you would be happy going with a lower spec model sans clutch, traction control, tickover, etc.

[not ron]

This may ( and then obviously may not) be of interest as not specifically related to electric trials bikes

About 20 years ago I was on a test trip and one evening in the hotel we ended up talking about my motorcycle trials and the engine management guys believed they could  engineer a simple traction control system but there are several points to consider

1. As an internal combustion engine with no electronic control of airflow, via throttle or slide, it could only be spark based, simply instantaneously cutting or retarding spark.
2. On a four wheeled vehicle traction control is managed by instantaneously monitoring all the wheel speeds and then responding when the instantaneous wheel speed deltas go above certain thresholds, on more modern cars things like dynamic stability control ,yaw sensors etc get involved. On a trials motorcycle this is more complicated as the relationship between front at rear wheel speed may intentionally be changed by the rider. The only logic we concluded was that for each gear there would be a maximum rate of rear wheel acceleration for an engine speed range and if the acceleration was above that then it must be wheel spin and the system could respond instantly until the wheel acceleration is reduced to within the per gear threshold. With the addition of a rear wheel speed sensor by comparing the relationship between rear wheel speed and engine speed the engaged gear can be determined. The limit for assuming rear wheel spin is occurring should be programable for each gear or different maps and this could be selectable by switch to suit different types of sections and riding/traction conditions. The same switch could turn the system off, the position I think it would end up in most cases.
3. For an electric trials motorcycle, if there is only a single gear, then rate of change of engine speed may suffice but generally in cars the system response is reduced the further away from the tyre contact patch the system input speed is being monitored. I am assuming that electric motor speed change is sensed before loss of demand current as effectively the increase in rate of engine speed change  would trigger the reduction in current demand. 
4.   The final point which the engine management guys could not understand is how much a trials rider already responds to wheel spin or in many cases assumes it will happen and reacts accordingly , and the system may in most cases by changing the characteristic response to the throttle just interfere with the way the rider expects the machine to respond.

Another though there have been times with modern cars where I have got stuck going into a trial venue where whatever button on the dashboard I press, or not, the system will not allow me just to spin the wheels enough to get through the mud