has anybody heard anything about the electronic throttle on the 08 ultra? just dont seem like a good thing to me. but ya never know.

 

The "fly by wire" system is nothing new, a lot of autos already are operated that way. Even previous bikes had a throttle position sensor, it was just mounted on the throttle body before. The cable from the throttle operated the TPS. Only thing they did was to mount a TPS on the handlebar now. It should not cause any noticeable differences or problems.

 

I haven't had any problems so far... but I only have 1000 miles on it.

 

When digital audio first appeared many of the old-school golden-eared die-hards noted a very real difference in sound quality between the digital and analog versions of the same recordings. This was verifiable and had some to do with the conversion methods used early on, some to do with the nature of the beast. Today there's hardly a noticeable difference between the best of each breed, but there is still a difference in sonic quality produced.

What does this have to do with the cableless throttle? The cable is an analog system and the wire is a digital system (I'm not declaring the latter with authority but in this day and age it would be quite rare for it not to be). At any rate, even with ultra-fast processors there will be, to the "golden-wrists" among us, a measurable latency, or delay in response, between the input and the result. This will matter little while cruising or going to pass, but for critical applications such as taking off and/or delicate ones such as tight maneuvering where precise control is important, the latency will be noticed. Think of the way a conversation goes when it's taking place over a satellite link. Like a news anchorperson talking to a field reporter on the other side of the world, with awkward dead spots between the "home" question and the "away" response.

 

Here's a better, more accessible example. Next time you're in the home entertainment center with a wall full of televisions all showing the same content, get to where you have a tube-type screen next to a (true) flat panel one. The flat panel will have digitization going on, with its added latency. Watch how the digital display always slightly lags behind the analog one. It's usually most notable with a complete screen change like at the start or end of a commercial, or when graphics snap up on a sporting event. The delay isn't a bad thing if all you're doing is watching the program. I'm not an XBox or PlayStation user, but I understand the latency can really wreak havoc with the gaming experience, where in certain "critical" situations you can be responding to something that's already come and gone when you can only perceive it just coming.

Again, for the very most part this is not hyper-critical in the throttle usage, but do a search for posts by users saying the new '08 touring throttle has taken some "getting used to."