I might be wrong but:

I suspect Power is at least in part throttle responsiveness.
Torque. Yes. The computer detects one wheel going faster than the other so the engine response somehow compensates to even them out I guess that's a form of traction control. I suspect Honda are going for the safest combinations.
Engine braking means less need for disc braking which is more likely to cause the ABS to cut in. If it's wet, increased engine braking is good. Engine braking on gravel is safest but no good in the hands of a professional who needs the wheels to spin.

Someone with more knowledge will be along soon... 😐

 

I might be wrong but:
I suspect Power is at least in part throttle responsiveness.

That's what i thought/hoped. That Power would be power delivery and not power level. But according to the manual it's power level. That's why i asked.

Torque. Yes. The computer detects one wheel going faster than the other so the engine response somehow compensates to even them out I guess that's a form of traction control. I suspect Honda are going for the safest combinations.

But they are exactly the opposite combinations of what one would want, am i not right?

Engine braking means less need for disc braking which is more likely to cause the ABS to cut in. If it's wet, increased engine braking is good. Engine braking on gravel is safest but no good in the hands of a professional who needs the wheels to spin.

Would one not ALWAYS want hard engine breaking? I think that's the more controllable form of breaking.

 

Motorcycling use to be

 

It still is

 

As a matter of interest what modes have folks settled on ?

When I picked up my bike from the dealers on wednesday it was a very wet day. As I was starting from zero kms and running in, coupled with a deep mistrust of OEM tyres on Japanese bikes, I put the rain mode on for the 100km trip home. The following day I used the standard mode but still found it a little hesitant at times, partly due to me getting used to the fly by wire throttle response I suppose. Day three had me trying out the sport mode but after about 100 kms on that I reverted back to Standard mode. I think I am happy enough now at 900kms with that mode on the narrow rough and dirty backroads that I live on mostly. Final 100kms tomorrow and first oil and filter change.

Incidentally, on this occasion my distrust of the OEM Karoos was misplaced. They are very good tyres indeed.

 

As a matter of interest what modes have folks settled on ?

90% Sport mode. 10% Standard, only for heavy traffic and city rides. Still need to find the perfect User mode to settle on. Once i get my head around what is what and how it affects riding which was what this post was for.

 

I’ve been on standard for the run-in period. Throttle response on sport is a little quicker and I can see me using it when the urge takes me.
Haven’t felt the need for rain yet as I’ve only been through a couple of light showers - rain does feel very flat as you’d expect.
I can see me using standard for most riding.
I’ve got my 600 mile oil service tomorrow too.

 

Proves my point(s). Sport mode is much more suitable for off-road riding than Gravel mode.

 

Gravel is basically only for people who shit their pants when they realise their GPS has led them onto a gravel road by accident 🙂
I believe Honda has made it this way on purpose since they don't what to scare the average "adventure" rider and it is probably a good thing.

 

Think my tablet is playing up , keep losing the key board! Was trying to add - motorcycling use to be simple ! Ive never needed rider modes before, after 40yrs of biking I just adjust my throttle to suit the driving conditions .
ABS for road use is good technology though .

 

The levels of EB and T were also confusing to me, based on what the manual states. After a couple of hundred miles and testing in gravel/sand, the way I see these setting is the lower the number for T and EB, the less computer intervention.

So for sport T and EB are 1 for example. The manual for EB says 1 is the weakest engine braking and I just think the wording is strange.

 

I found this useful.

 

I am a new rider and found rain mode extremely helpful when in terrible conditions (ice and rain last few days) I made use of traction control, manageable power and engine braking.

saved me from dropping the $10,000 motorcycle a few times over 3 days. Honestly this means more experienced riders can throw these modes on and push themselves a little further knowing that they are less likely to get caught with their pants down.

frankly people say, “get rid of the driving modes and give me cruise control” my understanding is that en masse adding components to a vehicle to create cruise control is more expensive than programming a computer and replicating that program en masse. I could be wrong about what it takes to add cruise control however.

Anyway, that’s why I see them as a net positive.

 

It always delivers full powrer but the throttle respnse is delayed varying amounts.
All bikes work this way.
This can be done with engines that have ride / throttle by wire. No throttle cables are attached to the manual throttle the rider / driver manipulates. Instead an electric signal is transmitted to the throttle in simple terms.

 

Yes, a provocative title, bit of a clickbait, but now that you are here....

TL;DR / Executive summary: Either i don't understand Rider Modes (most likely) or Honda has their presets completely the wrong way around.

As rider mode settings we have:
Power: How much of the 92HP do i actually get out of the engine.
Engine breaking: How strong does the engine pull back when you close the throttle
Torque control (i thought it was Traction control, but the manual says Torque control: Make sure your back wheel doesn't slip (or something like that).
ABS: Make sure your front and back wheels don't stop spinning under breaking. Has no levels, can only be switched on or off. BTW, there are actually THREE indicators to tell you if ABS is on or off. The orange light on the right of the dash, the ABS symbol on the Riding Mode display and the ON road/OFF road indication. A bit overdone, i think, but ok. [END QUOTE]

All that is achieved by wire, meaning it just needs different program and a bit better chips in electronic throttle control, no extra expenses no extra parts... for torque control -by default engine braking is at maximum, so by using 'it' more you decrease engine braking, meaning on gravel engine brakes less, while on road it brakes more, just like it is supposed to, and it is done by manipulating throttle valves. Or maybe you thought Honda got it all wrong? yeah right!
Traction control is also achieved by electronic manipulation of throttle and ABS is a separate unit, quite small actually. That ABS unit, together with some sensors, measures wheel rotation, engine rotation, earth rotation and what not...
and with computers, which are nowadays very powerful and very small (thanx to your cellphones, mainly) use all that data to signal mechanical pin(s), or something similar, that does the rest (dont quote me on that, brakes are not my thing)
All in all quite simple, but on a way that relatively soon that little chip will be able to ride by itself

 

So if the Transalp has no modes, which mode or settings would be factory set

 

For me, ABS front on (legal requirement), full power, whatever the engine provides in breaking i will get used to, no traction control. That would be my preference. Basically no electronics except for engine management. For me, the next Transalp will have no rider modes and spend the sensor, electronics and firmware money (read: throttle position sensor) on a decent suspension.

 

TLDR......

 

There is a lot to like about the Transalp, but the traction control is not one of those items. I really hate it. Being an old school mature rider who's been on bikes for over 40 years the fact that you can't shut off the nanny system is very annoying. There are times on dirt/sand/gravel you want rear wheel spin and this system just cuts power when you need it. I had a very jerky ride on washboard dirt road as the TC kept cutting in an out (even on its least sensitive setting) and I dropped the bike in the desert on sand as it cut power just as I needed it. If there is something I'm missing and you can teach me I'd appreciate it, but for now I think lawyers and/or people who don't really ride dirt bikes got involved with this overly intervening traction control.

 

You can switch it off. Go to USER mode, adjust the settings and long-press up on the TC.

 

Yes, I switch TC off for green laning.

 

I have been riding bikes for almost forty years now and can reasonably justify traction/ torque control, whatever it is called, and power modes, on a big adventure bike. Coming up the side of a greasy red clay hill, that seemed to go on forever, in full power, in semi tropical Queensland, is simply not going to happen. After numerous tries from smaller dirt bikes, i simply turned down the power, left the TC off, and powered up ... and this was on the karoo streets. We went where the Transalp should not have been. The TC is unusable in most offroad conditions and just cuts power completely when you need it most. The KTM system is vastly superior, and most of the time, you can't tell its doing its thing. However, once off on the transalp, i was more worried about the front suspension crashing into its stops as landed, coming off a washout ... and it happened a lot. But overall, with a bit of tweaking, the transalp shone, and stayed upright, in conditions, the others did not (all dirt bikes). Honda needs to fix the TC, but the power modes work great in the right situation. It went where i pointed it, and it stayed shiny side up. Job done.

 

 

I have the same understanding as you, specially EB and TC are not clear or easy to relate to the riding mode.
What the dealer explained to me, but it was his understanding rather than an official info, is that "sport mode" is for whatever you want to ride aggressively (even in Gravel). In that case you will have the less intervention of EB and TC which sound good for aggressive riding in Gravel. The "gravel mode" is for when a non experience off road rider goes off road, in this case the system over intervene to take care of possible mistakes but it make it almost unusable in my experience as the TC cut too much and EB I do not notice a big different to be honest.
Agreed KTM system is much more refined for aggressive riding but then you need to deal with camshaft problems
BR

 

So when I picked up the bike I spoke with the salesman about how many people drop the bike in the first mile. It is very different from my last bike. He suggested putting it in rain mode for the ride home and possibly for the break in period. I also want to point out you have all new rubber and should break in the tires. I think I will continue to use rain mode for the new tire break in in the future. Cheap insurance.

 

I rode my 2024 like any other bike from new.
No issues on pavement. Only had to get accustomed to and adjust my riding to the basic no-adjustable suspension which is worse than i thought it would be. Only the springs (pre-load) is adjustable.
I am in the process of upgrading the front and rear suspension to fully adjustable parts for my type of riding asnd weight as it is too bouncy for me on and off-road.
The Metzeler tires were OK for me on pavement but crap off pavement (the suspension never helped) so I put MotoZ tires on it. Huge improvement for my riding.

 

Proper tires, and stage 1 suspension set up completely transforms the bike.

 

Very good questions. . . It would be nice if Honda had a more clear and concise manual. Perhaps a detailed tutorial video.

 

My last "Adventure" bike was a VStrom 1000 and I didn't miss all the computer stuff one bit.

 

After 30k on the bike I am used to it but yes, fo me they can remove all the tech. But I do wonder if th bike would still comply with all regulations if they did.

 

And like this everybody has their own opinion. Traction control off-road. Off-road you NEED traction. Not a system that takes it away.
ABS. Ever gone downhill with an ABS enabled bike? It’s like having no brakes at all.
Why do MX and Enduro not have these systems? There you go. I know, th TA is a street bike, but if you can switch everything off on a cheap Chinese bike, why not on a Honda? Definitely it’s not a regulatory thing otherwise these Chinese bike were not allowed here.

 

Ever gone downhill with an ABS enabled bike? It’s like having no brakes at all.

Yes, all the time with front ABS on. The engine braking helped a lot slowing down the TA. Mix it with the fact that I go on easy off road and stay away from the mud.
I think all depends on the track you're on and how good you are off road. I'm not good off road but never had the feeling that ABS was limiting my braking....I am my on limit if you will....

 

Our group rides 50/50 type stuff, and we are hard/fast off road riders. When I start the route, I set my T to off and ABS to Off road. When we stop for short breaks, I just keep the key on, using the engine stop switch only. Learn to live with it and have fun and stop complaining.

 

have fun and stop complaining.

I have such trouble with people who buy an inexpensive bike (relatively inexpensive), like the TA, that can do a whole lot of shit very well, and they focus on minor annoyances and whine about how they can't live with it.

I'd hate to be a friend/spouse/child/pet/anything to someone like that. Squeeze the toothpaste from the wrong end and YOU'RE OUT!

Focus on what it is, not on what it isn't. Everything in life has it's warts.

 

ChatGPT, on a Yamaha Tenere 700, when you switch off ABS and traction control, after you switch off the ignition switch and start it again, are ABS and traction control enabled?



Yes — on the Yamaha Ténéré 700, both ABS and traction control reset to ON every time you cycle the ignition.

• ABS: By design, it always re-enables when you restart the bike. You can switch it off (or set it to rear-only, depending on the model/year), but once you turn the ignition off and back on, ABS is active again.
• Traction Control (TC): On later T7 models that have TC (like the World Raid or newer Euro 5+ versions), it behaves the same way: it defaults back to the standard “on” setting at each key-on.

This is deliberate — Yamaha (and other manufacturers) do it for legal and safety regulations, since ABS and TC are considered mandatory safety features on the road.



👉 Some riders who do frequent off-road work install aftermarket dongles or piggyback modules that let the bike “remember” the ABS/TC settings after a restart.



Would you like me to check which exact model year / variant of the Ténéré 700 you’re interested in? The behavior is slightly different between the early 2019–2021 bikes and the newer 2023+ ones with selectable ABS modes and TC.

ChatGPT,Is this the same for all modern motorbikes, even the Chinese brands?


Pretty much, yes — but with some nuance:

• Big Japanese & European brands (Yamaha, Honda, BMW, KTM, Triumph, Ducati, etc.)
  Almost all of them reset ABS and TC to ON after you cycle the ignition. That’s partly regulatory (EU, UK, US, Australia all require ABS on-road), partly legal liability.
  • ABS especially is almost never allowed to “remember off.”
  • Traction control is often the same, though on higher-end bikes (e.g. KTM 1290, BMW GS), there may be an “off-road” or “rally” mode that remembers some settings if you have a dongle or select a custom ride mode.
• 
  
• Chinese brands (CFMoto, Benelli, Zontes, etc.)
  Most follow the same rule because if they sell into the EU/UK/AUS markets, they must comply with ECE regulations. So when exported bikes are homologated, ABS will reset to ON after ignition off.
  • In domestic (China-only) models, you sometimes find cheaper implementations where ABS can stay off, or bikes only have single-channel ABS (front wheel only). But once those bikes are exported under Euro 4/5/6 homologation, they behave like the Yamahas — ABS always defaults to ON.
• 
  
• Exceptions:
  • Some adventure/off-road bikes offer a “dongle” or memory module (KTM, Husqvarna, GasGas). That’s a deliberate accessory, not stock.
  • Pure dirt/enduro bikes (non-road legal) can have no ABS or TC at all, so nothing to reset.

👉 So the rule of thumb:

If it’s a street-legal motorcycle made for the EU/US/AUS markets, regardless of brand (Japanese, European, or Chinese), ABS will re-enable at restart. Traction control usually does too, unless the bike has a specific ride mode system that lets it remember.



Do you want me to dig up the exact regulation text that forces ABS reset on road bikes, so you know it’s not just manufacturer choice?