Sorry
@scooby I only just saw your reply here. yes it will be the BMW 2D system that you sold me many moons ago. I added suspension pots and used it heavily whist racing and for trackdays. I also did a lot of work with others which was mostly on the more basic systems like the Aim Solo DL, etc as not many people got into the suspension stuff like I did. I love this stuff so excuse me for rattling on here but I was studying the dynamics whilst doing it with thoughts of trying to take it further: 'John Bradley - The Racing Motorcycle' is highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn.
Its a bit of a tangent but a good excuse to share some interesting pictures: by luck I ended getting involved with a car team that was going to race in the World Endurance Series. The idea was it gave veterans a way to gain experience on the job. I was supposed to be doing the data engineer role and we went to the Lambo factory for a week to train on the Hurricane Evo we were going to race. It was a pretty epic and there was talk of F1 placements but unfortunately it was also in the middle of Covid and it all fell apart before anything more came of it. I never got to do it at a higher level so I only know enough to be dangerous at club racing level so take my thoughts with a pinch of salt....
My take on the whole subject is that its very easy to over complicate it and look at things that really do not make any difference to the average rider on track who has not got the fundamentals sorted enough to have laptimes within a few tenths of each other.
GPS positioning is great to get an overall view of the track and to overlay your speeds etc but dont expect it to help you with breaking and acceleration points or lines since it is not accurate enough. Many of the iphone type apps give the impression they do this but its more useful for calculating things like top speed on the straights and lowest speed on the corner apexs. The bike has speed signals from the wheels/gearbox going around but they are not always accurate due to natural wheel spins. You can then use these to work on your braking and acceleration points.
In terms of system capabilities, unless someone has brought out something different in the last year or two, they fall into a few broad catagories in my mind:
1) Systems that ingest the common signals present on most new race bikes via plugging into the Can Bus: throttle position, speed, gears, rpm, and add in GPS. These are basically anything like the Aim Solo DL which are around £500-1000 and are not expandable to take suspension sensors. These cover what most trackday and club racers need to work on which really is just:
- Consistent 100% throttle for top speeds on the straights.
- Reducing the braking zone.
- Minimum corner speeds at the apexs.
- Being in the correct gear.
The BMW 2D system out of the box falls into this catagory but the big difference is that you can expand it. The value add you can get here by using Aim or 2D is with the software which is usually the same or very similar to the high end systems and actively being developed and kept up to date. That said you really can get away with the cheapest and nastiest systems if you have these data feeds and you know what you are looking for since you dont need to see much. Its not something thats very nice for non nerds hence the software being useful.
The really good thing these days is that most new bikes will give throttle, rpm, gear and speed signals via the Can Bus as standard which even the lower end data collection computers like the Aim DL (Data LInk) can consume.
2) For me the area in the middle is where keen club racers can find an advantage. Its tricky to find a system that is exapndable to include suspension pots that doesnt cost thousands of pounds. The BMW 2D system will do this since the bike already has suspension sensor inputs which is super useful. The Aim Solo DL will not expand to suspension pots but they do a bunch of good more high end systems at a similar mid point and their software is nice to use. Some of our team members had I2M which seemed to be good value as well.
Suspension seems like black magic because of all the youtube vids and suspension techs harping on about sag which is near enough a waste of time - its a sticky plaster for the wrong spring rate on road bikes mostly and you can't reliably measure it. The part that can make a big difference for Joe Bloggs is actually very simple. You just need the correct springs for your skill level and weight. If the front is compressing too much then you stiffen them. If you are not compressing them then you do not need such stiff springs and you are sacrificing grip - and arguably more importantly turning radius. After each session I would check the suspension movement on the fastest laps and change springs if needed. I have the Mupo CSP which have through rod tech which you can spring change in five minutes and dont need to worry about oil.
The rear spring is a bit more tricky to get on top of - wheel spin if it compresses too much or too much wheelying if its too stiff. I found a spring rate that worked and tended to stick with it - imo thats more of a high end analysis to get on top of. I'd usually just add a bit of preload on the rear as the tyre wore out and that would keep things balanced.
3) High end systems which usually come in at £3-5000 by the time you have bought sensors etc. These are the daddy systems that have plenty of inputs for suspension Pots, brake pressure sensors as well as engine and CPU related feeds which are not required by the average racer or trackday rider. The other areas is the bike setup and geometry which most amateurs dont mess with much and just take advice from where they can get it. I extended the wheelbase on my Gen 3 with a longer chain after speaking with some race teams and that was one of the best mods I made for calming the bike on UK tracks. There might also be extra subscriptions required to unlock software capabilities to make the most of the extra data.
