AS i have removed the flies on my 2010 machine and it's had NO effect whatsoever on the traction control i got to wondering...
... my theory is the Secondary throttle butterflies are there to protect the clutch.
Discuss.
Interesting observation! Have you managed to get the traction control to kick in on, say gravel, when starting off? I am tempted to pull the butterflies but I understood that it was linked to the TC unit. I was playing is Wales last week and had the TC kick in a couple of times on loose ground
Yes i have tested the TC on loose gravel. wet grass. wet road. all works fine.
TC doesn't use the secondary butterflies. It uses ignition retardation and control of the injectors.
The 'flies are used to reduce torque in lower gears so yes probably to limit damage to the clutch.
They prevent too much torque at lower speeds making the bike "safer".
TC prevents this too so I guess on the 2010 and later the 'flies are redundant.