So... I don't know if I've ever activated it. I don't turn it off. But what I really want to know is what happens if it does activate? Does it cut throttle, apply brake? If traction is broke in the rear, does it stutter like ABS... Or is it smooth?

I'm just curious. I can turn it off, just want to know what that looks like.

 

The instructions for shutting iff and truning on Traction Control are in the user manual. But, I would advise leaving it on (which I believe is the default), as when you NEED it, it will rsense the NEED for it way faster than you will, and will react MUCH faster to that need than any human can. On a motorcycle (versus a car) that can be what prevents a fall.

My wife used to drive a commute route over a Rocky Mountain pass 2 ways every day, mostly in the dark (winter in Canada). One night, she was coming down a 6% grade at just 30 kph = 18 mph after we had had some freezing rain. Even at that low speed, the traction control light came on and the car slowed itself a bit more, down to about 20 kph. after she got onto level pavement where the freezing rain had not frozen, the traction control light went off. No human could have matched that "feel" for thecondition of the pavement.

Jim G

 

Harley Traction Control

 

I simply do not know how I have survived 800,000+ miles in two wheels since 1982! We even had incandescent as stock headlights then!

 

I know they were "the good old days", but the headlights prevented seeing the deer while it was still possible to avoid it, on the British bikes you were lucky to have ANY headlight since the electrics were made by Lucas The prince of Darkness, the Norton clutch cables broke so often I carried a spare, riding a Norton Commando 2-up on the highway long distance was considered abusive and a warranty violation (yes, absolutely true), Ducatis started when they damn well felt like it, BSA dismissed their bikes' awful brakes by saying "We make them to GO not stop", a toolkit was an absolute essential to carry on any Harley because HD felt that final factory assembly was strictly optional and temporary, and we all carried chain lube and chain adjustmen tools on any trip over 300 miles or so.

I LOVE the fact that my 2023 Harley has a very low maintenance belt, a headlight that car drivers "flash" me about because it's so bright, that I don't need to carry a tool kit (just a flat repair kit), and that I get good enough fuel mileage to cover more than 400 km without refilling, no ignition points to maintain, no carbs to tune, a 6-speed transmission, an instrument setup that proactively tells me when a critical component (like alternator or fuel injection) is looking unwell, and a seat that I can actually sit on without discomfort for 3.5 hours at a time.

At the time in 1970, I considered my Norton Commando Roadster and then my Honda CB750 Four (with FOUR individual carb cables to adjust!) to be wonderful compared to anything I had previously owned and ridden. But today, I realize they were fun and the best at the time, but just a temporary stop on the way to what we have today, and what we will likely have in the future. In over half a century of motorcycling, I've bought again "classic" bikes that I had owned before, but the second time round, their flaws were suddenly way more obvious when compared to current model motorcycles, and I couldn't justify keeping them.

Jim G

 

What Softail models have traction control?

 

My 2023 Breakout 117 does (along with cruise control).

Jim G

 

Cool beans, I didn't know this.

 

I'd suggest you get onto some dirt roads, goose it hard in something like 2nd gear, and see how it responds. I have no idea how subtle, smooth or obnoxious it is.
Are you sure your softail actually has it?

 

TC+DragTorque would be nice to have on my bike. With ABS, CC, and the digitach stuff already on my bike, I dont really want anymore tech than that.
If I need nav, I got a phone. If I want temps and stuff I can use a powervision or something like that. I dont need rider modes.