Can somebody explain to me what this"control by wire is?"

I know what it did for the F15's, but what is its purpose on bikes, and does it work?

 

Electronic throttle, no mechanical cable, just wires and sensors. It's a little more sensitive... but it works.

 

It replaces a mechanical link to the carb/throttle body (cable) with an electrical circuit. The easiest way I can explain it is it's sort of like a dimmer switch on a light. All the way in one direction it's off, but as it's rotated in the other direction the light gets brighter until it is fully bright. In actuality the tbw works in a completely different way than a dimmer, but my example is easy to understand

 

It is easy to misinterpret all of the acronyms nowadays.
TBW - Throttle by wire. Cages have been using it for years. Mechanical cables (wire) can have issues too.
DBW - This one can go a couple of different ways. Drive by wire - already on some vehicles. I haven't heard about this on production motorcycles yet. Die by wire - This is one of those things that I try not to dwell on when cruising at high speeds (Flying By Wire).
ACMBLB - This one can really scare you more than the others.
All Components Made By Lowest Bidder, including the wire.
Like it or not, we are wired.
Captsluggo

 

Means exactly the same! No mechanical link between rider and engine, instead some electronic magic stuff. You've probably been driving around with it for several years on 4 wheels.

 

 

Off topic. I recently rode a 12 Switchback with a throttle Cable. Talk about hard to get used to riding after the very responsive TBW for several years! You really notice a difference when you get back on a cabled bike!

 

A 12 Switchback comes with a throttle Cable and not TBW? wow.

 

Yes, they did not change the Dyna's this year.

 

TBW seems like the only learning curve for me with my new SGS. Been riding a 05 Road King for the last 10 years. What a difference with TBW. The sensitivity at low speeds is where I need to get better it can be a bit jerky at times in first gear. Then again I only have 260 miles on it so far, I am sure both the bike and I need more miles together