As we head into a new year, it is often a time to reflect on how things have changed over time. In 2025 we saw a wider introduction of automatic transmissions and radar controlled rider aids but, when we think about it, these are just two more recent technologies which have changed the bikes we ride today.
It’s tempting to think that there haven’t been too many advances thus far in the 21st century, but 25 years is a long time in a world of innovation. The basic layout of a modern superbike hasn’t mechanically changed much since the late ‘80s, but there have certainly been plenty of changes under the skin over the past quarter of a century.
Wheel sizes were constantly changing in the 1980s, but they haven’t changed much since the 1990s, with 17-inchers and radial tyres ruling the road roost on most street orientated bikes for over 30 years. Even supposedly new tech like traction control actually dates back, at least in a rudimentary form, all the way to BMW’s K1 in 1988 and Honda’s ST1100 around 1992.
But if you look harder, there have been a wealth of motorcycle technological advances throughout the early part of the 21st century, ranging from brakes to suspension systems, and from electronic riding aids to high-tech ‘dashes’ many of which we take for granted today. We’re also seeing the once omnipresent inline four falling out of favour, with superbikes employing more compact and tractable V4s and more mundane models utilizing cheaper to build, not to mention more characterful, twins and triples.
But what have been the major advances? How did they come about and which manufacturers introduced them first? Here’s our pick of 10 of the biggest and best, in chronological order…
2003 Radially-mounted brake calipers – Aprilia RSV Mille R
The world’s first production motorcycle to feature the now commonplace radially-mounted brake calipers was Aprilia’s RSV Mille R in 2003 and, as with many performance aids, the concept came from racing – but perhaps not at the very pinnacle of the sport.
Although Italian braking specialists Brembo had been toying with the radial mount concept in the mid-1990s – because it gives improved rigidity and alignment and thus extra braking power – it wasn’t until Aprilia approached them to supply a system for its works 250 Grand Prix team that it became fully developed. It debuted on their race bikes for the 1998 season and, partly as a result of them posting a one-two finish at the first GP, the world took notice. The following year most of the 250 and 500 GP grid were so equipped and, in 2000, Kenny Roberts Jnr became the first 500cc champion for Suzuki on radial brakes.
The Aprilia link then led to the first production road bike to feature radial brakes, on the Italian marque’s then-new flagship superbike, the 2003 RSV Mille R. From then on, the whole world followed suit.
2006 Ride by wire – Yamaha YZF-R6
As is often the case with new technology, it can be slow to be fully understood, adopted and maximized, and that’s certainly the case with the first production bike to adopt ‘ride-by-wire’, where the throttle is actuated electronically rather than mechanically – Yamaha’s 2006 YZF-R6. RBW is commonplace these days and allows much more accurate inputs than a traditional throttle cable, facilitating many of the electronic aids we’ve now come to expect and giving the more precise fueling required to meet tightening emissions laws.
That year’s high-revving R6 was such a quantum leap forward in pretty much respects, such as power and handling, that it was enough to become the ‘boss’ supersports for the best part of a decade. The Yamaha’s ride-by-wire system (called YCC-T for Yamaha Computer Controlled Throttle) was in truth only a partial system, but the technology began to be exploited to the full on future models, as below…
2007 Power modes – Suzuki GSX-R1000K7
Yamaha may have introduced ‘ride-by-wire’ on the 2006 R6, but it was Japanese rivals Suzuki who were the first to use the system to allow the rider to select different power modes via the push of a button. In truth, the GSX-R, with three modes wasn’t the only new Suzuki with the new-fangled system that year, as 2007 also saw the debut of the Suzuki B-King, which featured an A and B mode, one full power, the other cut for use in the wet.
2008 Traction control – Ducati 1098R
Although, as mentioned at the beginning, both BMW and Honda came up with rudimentary mechanical traction control systems in the 1980s and ‘90s, it wasn’t until later, based on the introduction of ‘Ride-by-wire’ and the development of IMUs (electronic Inertial Measurement Units) and ECUs (Electronic Control Units) that electronic traction control became possible.
First successfully developed by Bosch in the early Noughties, this modern system of TC worked via the bike’s ECU, cutting power according to sensors detecting differences between front and rear wheel speed and an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) calculating the bike’s lean angle. It was introduced on Ducati’s race-spec 1098R in 2007.
2010 Automatic transmission – Honda VFR1200F DCT
Yes, we know, motorcycle automatic transmissions have existed earlier, most notably with Honda’s own ‘Hondamatic’ systems experimented with between 1973 and 1988. But it wasn’t until 2010, with its first ‘Dual Clutch Transmission’ system which debuted on the all-new VFR1200F before spreading to various 750s and, especially, the 2015 Africa Twin that it came to be considered a success.
The twin clutch system, which enabled the next gear to be selected before the first was disengaged, enabled both seamless, full ‘auto’ changes and a toggle switch semi-automatic function. Even then it was slow to be widely adopted. Today, however, DCT machines represent over 50% of sales on the models it’s available on and, with Yamaha, BMW and KTM all recently offering their own systems it’s clear bike ‘autos’ are here to stay.
2010 TFT dashboards – BMW K1600GTL (and others)
The widespread adoption of ‘ride-by-wire’ which, when paired with ECUs, allowed switchable riding modes from 2007, also fuelled the development of increasingly sophisticated instruments to display the functions now available to the rider.
At first this resulted in ever-more complex digital LCD displays, such as the one found on Ducati’s first 1200 Multistrada, but it was BMW’s K1600GT, followed swiftly by Ducati’s first 2011 Diavel, which introduced TFT displays to motorcycles.
First developed for cars, these TFT (thin film transistor) dashboards are a development of the LCD display and is an effective way of displaying a lot of information in a clear manner and with a choice of layouts and colours. Initially quite small and supplementary to an LCD display, TFTs quickly grew in size and complexity and have been adopted by almost every manufacturer in the following 15 years.
2011 LED lights – Ducati 1199
The 1199 is often cited as the first production motorcycle with an LED headlight as standard, but that claim is contested by BMW which arguably used the first full motorcycle system on the R1200GS in 2012.
LED is an acronym for Light-Emitting Diode which, in simple terms, is an electronic device that allows electrical current to pass through in only one direction with the result that the material’s atoms illuminate. With the previous incandescent bulbs proving expensive and ultimately becoming banned, LEDs became the norm and rapidly developed to the extent that they’re now used on all motorcycle lighting, including indicators and brake lights.
2014 Cornering ABS – KTM 1190 Adventure
The next electronic riding assistance feature, after switchable power modes, anti-wheelie and traction control, was ‘Cornering ABS’, as also developed by Bosch and introduced first on KTM’s 1190 Adventure of 2014.
Again, it was all to do with IMUs and sophisticated computing and was so effective nearly all higher end bikes are now so equipped. Bosch’s great German rival, incidentally, Continental, also developed its own system soon afterwards, supplying it first to BMW’s S1000XR…
2014 Semi-active suspension – BMW HP4 and Ducati Multistrada
Active and semi-active suspension is often confused. True active suspension dispenses with springs and uses hydraulics to position the wheel relative to the road, according to electronically measured circumstances, but it is currently too cumbersome for a motorcycle. Semi-active systems retain springs but use electronically controlled valves inside the fork or shock to make damping changes according to conditions.
BMW’s first semi-active system was Dynamic Damping Control (DDC) as introduced with the HP4. Ducati’s alternative system, Skyhook, was introduced on the second generation Multistrada 1200 and was similar but also used accelerometers on sprung and unsprung parts to determine the position of the chassis in relation to an imaginary fixed reference point above the bike, with this data then used to continuously vary damping with the goal of keeping the chassis on a steady path—as if ‘hooked’ to that imaginary fixed reference point in the sky.
2021 Radar – Ducati Multistrada V4 S
Radar-controlled riding aids have been the latest ‘new technology’ to come to motorcycles. They debuted on the 2021 Ducati Multistrada V4 and were quickly followed by similar systems on the likes of KTM’s 1290 Adventure. Today many larger capacity, premium machines feature radar, some both front and rear and are employed to drive a variety of systems ranging from adaptive cruise control, proximity warners and even braking assistance.
