Opinion: Is there such a thing as too much technology?

Ever since electronic rider aids started finding their way onto top-of-the-line big bikes in the early 2010s, it was a common comment that ‘real men’ don’t need these sissy systems on their bikes. Perhaps it speaks to my realness or lack thereof, but I have always loved having advanced electronics silently running in the background every time I’ve ridden a superbike at speed.

Of course, there’s the massive safety element they bring, but for me, the allure is more about what I call the confidence element. Things like lean-sensitive traction and slide-control systems give a rider the confidence to open the throttle at big lean angles on corner exits, even when the rear tyre is smearing deep black marks into the racetrack. That ability was previously reserved for pro riders who could only earn it through years of training and multiple painful/expensive injuries associated with that quest. Today, safely pushing a 200+ horsepower superbike to a decent extent on track is a thrill that’s available to a much wider audience, and it’s all thanks to these systems.

The bottom line is that I’m a fan of electronic rider aids, and I think they have a place on motorcycles. At the same time, if you read our recent review of the TVS RTR 310, you’ll see that electronic features can create problems of their own. The features themselves aren’t the problem; it’s what they do to the price and the positioning of the bike. There is a Rs 78,000 difference between the Rs 2.4 lakh base model and the Rs 3.18 lakh fully specced-out top trim. There is no other Indian two wheeler with such a huge percentage of its base price going towards optional technology.

As a result, the TVS RTR 310 swings between being great value and prohibitively overpriced, and it all depends on what options you pick. This is not to say that the technologies TVS has worked on are pointless, and there’s some very clever stuff going on with ideas like cornering cruise, which adjusts the cruise control speed based on the lean angle detected by the bike’s six-axis IMU. Another good idea is the Dynamic Lamp Control that adjusts headlamp intensity and throw based on the speed and ambient light.

There’s a lot more to it, and those are just two examples, but it does raise the question of why bother with all this on a bike that displaces ‘just’ 310cc. The answer to that is simple: it’s because this is the top motorcycle platform that TVS has – for the moment. There are more exciting platforms to come in the near future, but TVS’ R&D department is constantly pushing the envelope, and it’s heartening to see that the company isn’t holding them back.

So yes, some of the features on the RTR 310 are unnecessary on a bike with this power level, and yes, they do drive the price very high. But if you look past that, they paint a bigger picture of the technology-forward ideology at TVS and hint at the exciting things to look forward to in the future. Best of all, you don’t have to have them if you don’t want to.

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