Help understanding traction and stability control

[2manycars]

About a month ago I was going down the road at a fairly low speed and hit a few large patches of oil that a truck had apparently leaked somewhere up ahead. The rear wheel spun and slid to the side, making me wonder when and what exactly the stability and traction control systems do.

This evening to try and get a better understanding of the systems i found a patch of road where they are building new homes and there is no traffic at night. There are several patches of sand, gravel loose smaller stones etc. No matter how hard I tried I could never get any system to indicate it was intervening in any way. I rode into the sand on the road, held the brake and gave it throttle and released, the rear wheel spun, I burned rubber, and off I went-no intervention. I did the same thing for the gravel and stones, again no intervention.

I have no idea if I have any stability or traction control, because I have never seen the light on the dash other than when I start up up.

Shouldn't the safety devices keep the rear wheel from spinning and losing traction as it would do in my car?

The owners manual seems to indicate that there is no intervention on any speeds below 35 mph-Am I reading this correctly, and if so, what good is it when you hit a slippery patch (as I did with the oil), at a lower rate of speed?

Perhaps someone can enlighten me as to when each system should do its thing and keep the rear wheel from sliding or spinning.

By the way since the transmission fix some time back I have been a very happy rider (if only it was not so darn hot and humid). I just want to be sure I understand what the system should be doing, and some reassurance that it does function since I can not seem to make it work (perhaps a good thing), but I would love to know before I really need it.

[spyryder]

Did you have the handlebar turned when you tried this? I believe it needs to be turned at least 5 degrees off center for VSS to activate.

[TicketBait]

don't have an answer but the experts here will probably come up with a good one. My experience is every
time i go over a manhole cover with the rear wheel it feels similar to what you describe going over oil.
In fact certain roads here have manhole covers in the middle of a down hill curve so i always remember
that stretch of the road. I have never had an indicator light come on, but I do feel the bike trying to
recover immediately after

[DeeKay53]

Mine kicks in when I lift a wheel going round a round-a-bout or a tight hairpin. Feels funny when it first happens. Also had it happen on loose road surface. I'd get it checked out by your dealer as it may not be working.(Some would pay big money for theirs not to work)

[canam9]

(Some would pay big money for theirs not to work)[/QUOTE]
So true.

[NancysToy]

The traction control segment of the VSS needs to see straight-line slippage above 30-35 mph (indicated?), or a combination of a steering angle above 3-5 degrees plus slippage. At that point the engine should cut back until you regain traction. It will not prevent rear tire slippage, only control it to regain traction and prevent complete loss of control (spinning out). It works at much lower speeds in reverse (5 mph?) and shuts down the Spyder instead of cutting back. You may not see the indicator on the dash, as it appears only while engaged...usually briefly. It works on both of our Spyders. Most evident on snow or ice. Try turning the bars while you are spinning the tire, as a test.

The stability control portion of the VSS works differently and separately. It will try to maintain a stable attitude if you corner hard enough to lift a wheel, and will try to maintain your steering line if you drift.

I am not sure if the dealer can test the VSS to see if it is working properly, but you might want to ask.

[IWN2RYD]

The traction control segment of the VSS needs to see straight-line slippage above 30-35 mph (indicated?), or a combination of a steering angle above 3-5 degrees plus slippage. At that point the engine should cut back until you regain traction. It will not prevent rear tire slippage, only control it to regain traction and prevent complete loss of control (spinning out). It works at much lower speeds in reverse (5 mph?) and shuts down the Spyder instead of cutting back. You may not see the indicator on the dash, as it appears only while engaged...usually briefly. It works on both of our Spyders. Most evident on snow or ice. Try turning the bars while you are spinning the tire, as a test.

The stabilty control portion of the VSS works differently and separately. It will try to maintain a stable attitude if you corner hard enough to lift a wheel, and will try to maintain your steering line if you drift.

I am not sure if the dealer can test the VSS to see if it is working properly, but you might want to ask.

^^^ Bingo....

[2manycars]

As always, the board members are here to help. I did read the owners manual but was not 100 percent clear about when and if the system(s) cut in.

Thanks, or cheers as the case may be!