ABS for bikes, yes or no?

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ABS is great....I'd never want to ride without it again. I know several people that have crashed because they locked the front wheel in a panic situation. Cold roads, wet roads and gravel are much less of a concern with ABS.

Off course having really good brakes first of all, is the most important thing.

I see some people here that do not embrace a lot of the new technology. It's in ALL the best bikes out there now. The KTM Super Duke for instance has extremely advanced braking and traction controls that make the bike much safer and easier to ride for the majority of riders.
 
I'm a holdout on this issue. I love my bike and consider I have control whereby I can can keep the beast in chains but we have to be honest here. Our brains are faster than any damned computer but that sneaky electrical system may yet pull us up short of a snap with a light pole. I say go for it (ABS) but it needs to be disabled as to the the riders choice.


Chris.
 
Abs.... OK if it can be disabled with the flick of a switch. Linked braking system.... no thank you, my bikes brakes are linked by my central nervous and musculoskeletal system. Automatic brakes...... FUCK YOU, that is truly idiotic. Auto braking is only being put into production for shit heads who aren't paying attention. When was the last time you were driving or riding WHILE PAYING ATTENTION that auto brake would have helped you? Especially on a bike where you really don't have any distractions because your hide depends on being attentive. Anybody up for being thrown over the bars because a plastic bag wafted in front of your bike while on the expressway and the electronic nanny on your bike perceived it as a threat? Or power was reduced during a pass on a two lane road because the computer on your bike "sensed" a collision that wasn't really there? This shit is just getting out of control. Will the auto brake system be able to change a deers mind if is going to jump out in front of you? No? OK then, keep your experiments in your lab.
 
I can live or without them. As for linked brakes, I am really not a fan of them. Don't know the purpose behind them is, but I guess they must serve SOME purpose for someone...
(to make the brake manufacturing companies rich, I suspect)
 
I can live or without them. As for linked brakes, I am really not a fan of them. Don't know the purpose behind them is, but I guess they must serve SOME purpose for someone...
(to make the brake manufacturing companies rich, I suspect)

My Venture had linked brakes.......back linked to the front only. Can only imagine they were designed for really bad lazy riders who generally only use the rear brake. They worked fine.......but were worthless to me.
 
My truck USED to have ABS. That's how much I liked it on a Chevey. Linked brakes may be the only way I can keep my Vmax down the line. As the old right hand is getting weaker. ABS on a bike? I'm open to it. If a bike has them, I'd leave them connected.
 
My Honda ST has the ABS but I've never felt them engage yet. However, as a casual rider, I'm glad they're there if the need arises.

My Vmax brakes stink and I need to do something with them...maybe upgrade to the 'busa calipers or whatever will fit.
 
Linked brakes no, abs yes. Not mandated but i wouldnt have it anyway. I got my first bike with abs and it was very eye opening. I was able
To learn my brakes And their capabilities without fear and dramatically improved my riding. The way i see it if the tests ive seen where the top racers dont out do the best abs symptoms then im kidding myself if i think im gonna. Then even crazier if i think i am in a stress and sudden panic situation and im better than the abs. Yeah right. The most important is good brakes. Abs just makes it better imho.
 
I recall being a Luddite many (many) years ago when I got the my first bike that had indicators.
Several years of waving my arms about to indicate a change of direction seemed to have worked fine for me.
I then used the indicators. No longer did I have to take one hand off the bar in heavy traffic when it was raining.
I saw the light - technology can be very useful....like the time in snow when an artic went out of control in front of me and I had to brake hard to avoid a collision.
It was ABS that saved my arse.

ABS on bikes? Why not. 99.99% of the time you will never use it or know it is there until the one time you do....
Linked brakes? Not sure but when I read of riders who appear to rely more on the back brake than the front then perhaps for their own safety (and of others) it may be a good idea. I suspect anyone who believes that they will always be able to obtain the optimum front to rear brake balance under all conditions is deluding themselves...perhaps they are the ones who need it most?
Collision avoidance braking. Well as we all maintain total concentration at ALL time the clearly it is unnecessary. Yeh right!
A split second glance to one side when going just that bit quicker than we should and someone brakes hard in front of us.
As a result we brake a second or so later and travel several feet further than we might have done.
If we are lucky a change of underpants is all that is required. If we are not, you can make up your own scenario.

A point for all the riding God's that can outthink a computer 100% of the time.
Us mere mortals do not have your talent and we bow at your feet.
We DO make mistakes and anything that will help us to avoid hitting YOU should be welcomed.

Every year the electronic systems fitted to vehicles get more sophisticated and less intrusive.
Combining leaning ABS, linked brakes and collision avoidance into one system will, for the vast majority of users, only increase not only their own safety but also that of others.
 
"Every year the electronic systems fitted to vehicles get more sophisticated and less intrusive.
Combining leaning ABS, linked brakes and collision avoidance into one system will, for the vast majority of users, only increase not only their own safety but also that of others."
This braking technology cannot advance fast enough for me, Max.
Hopefully, before too long, vehicles will basically be able to drive themselves safely, and I can once again enjoy my God-given right to text, talk, and play games on my cellphone, without fear of being stopped and fined by some idiot cop.
Cheers!
 
I have a fairly steep grade(15°) gravel driveway, and going up is kinda scary but I learned to feather the clutch as to not keep the bike from delivering all its power to the rear wheel...going down, I use my rear brake exclusively. If I had linked brakes, my front would definitely lock up....
 
...going down, I use my rear brake exclusively. If I had linked brakes, my front would definitely lock up....

Not if you had ABS as it would release the front brake before you realised it was about to skid.
We might as well add traction control as well then you could give it full welly going up the drive and the electronics would take care of any wheel spin. :biglaugh:

Go on, admit it, you know you want it....
devil.gif
 
Having only ridden a BMW with ABS I will say Yes to the system. I honestly had a hard time with the mental aspect of grabbing a handful of brake in the rain and while turning. I just didn't trust it at first but I ALWAYS stopped harder and safely.
If you drive a modern hi performance car with all wheel drive and traction control, it is similar in that you just have to trust it to do a better job than you can. There is probably a reason Rossi doesn't have it on his Superbike but for the rest of us mortals, YES to ABS.
 
One issue I can see is that after riding an ABS bike, and becoming used-to it, when you switch to another non-ABS bike in your inventory, you may find yourself at a distinct advantage trying to ride using the ABS 'nail-the brakes' technique.

I am a fan of electronic aids though my two-wheel stock is all 'elderly,' so I don't have an ABS-equipped bike.

Another thing I can see is that once these ABS bikes get older, and parts dry-up for them, they may become unrideable, depending on what type of interface there is in the operational software. You would like to-think you could just abandon the ABS function, I assume the bikes have some-sort of 'limp-home' default if the ABS goes-out. I don't know enough about them. I could see where as the gov't. becomes more-intrusive in the operational characteristics of vehicles, that if your ride isn't operational 'within gov't-approved parameters,' it may not start. Sure, there will be a cottage industry of overriding those issues, but if upon discovery of being an operator of a 'non-conforming vehicle (2 or 4 wheeled, or more) you forfeited it due to confiscation, I think that would dampen the enthusiasm for black-market 'work-arounds.'

Is this all too Big-Brotherly? Perhaps for the moment, but not for the foreseeable future, I am afraid. Maybe there will be a big run on Honda 350's and those of us who survive the EMP waves destroying all the electronic circuits, knowing how-to file and set/time a set of points will become a valuable skill, and you will regret the day you junked your dwell meter!:rofl_200::confused2:
p.s.: I have the box on the right

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Count me on the no side. Ive never been comfortable with it in 4 wheeled vehicles and even though ive never ridden with it, i dont want it. Ive disabled it in my last 2 trucks and my car dosent have it. I may be young but when it comes to my vehicles im old school, "When you need a computer to do the work of a man, you take something away from the man."
 
While I'm against a lot of driver/rider aids (paddle shift cars, auto revmatch downshifts, etc.), ABS I'm for. Modern systems allow you to brake right on slip threshold of the tires, consistently, which even a professional can't do. Watch a MotoGP or F1 race and see how many times they lock up their tires on a dry track, even after doing 50+ laps in practice and quali that weekend. And it's even more often in wet or changing conditions.

Now move to the street where you have all sorts of debris and slicks that aren't seen on a track and it's almost a no-brainer to have ABS. In a panic situtation the natural tendency is to grab a lot of brake, no matter how many "panic stops" you practice in an empty parking lot. And human reaction time to respond to a locked wheel is much higher than an ABS system.
 
"Every year the electronic systems fitted to vehicles get more sophisticated and less intrusive.
Combining leaning ABS, linked brakes and collision avoidance into one system will, for the vast majority of users, only increase not only their own safety but also that of others."

Now if they can just think of systems to accelerate, steer and brake for me too, I'll be one happy MF'er! I can't wait!
 
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