ABS on a bike? is it worth it?

[jaydub77]

the vfr also has integrated brakes...i think it was actually the first to do so on a bike...now those things sound scary to me...:S

[jaydub77]

whoops...forgot to read to post above me...hehehe...the vfr wasn't the first...honda was ooops!

[Mercury]

i personally do not like ABS in the cars and trucks....

I have tested this on my own and on snowy / slippery roads I can stop faster then the ABS system can stop me.

I too like to be in control of EVERYTHING and that does not happen with ABS

however... I speak from a car point of view... i never had ABS on the bike... but any bike that has abs is too pricey for me anyway i hope to keep my drifter 800 till its dead

kenny

[twhite]

Abs on a bike allows you a better chance to control the bike in emergency situations and ride out of a wreck. Locking a bike up more times than not will skid in one direction or the other with loss of control. Thats my experience with it. I would prefer the abs.

[aKorn]

I'm definitely leaning towards ABS. I had a situation 2 weekends ago where I sure could have used it. Everything was fine but there is always that pucker-factor when you wheels lock up.

[stonezx636]

LOL..koodus to those with balls big enough to ride their bikes on snowy roads AND do brake testing at the same time...wow, in my decades of riding I have never seen such skill.

[twhite]

The kaw dealer I bought mine from said he was only ordering 14s with abs. He used to road race and his thoughts are the same as mine. Wrecks are like bullets, it may only take one, so why play with it. Get the abs.

[Mercury]

stone - are you kidding??

Forget snowy roads... even rainy roads a fresh rain after a dry spell one of the first things i do on the road is pressure the rear brake till it locks up so i know how much adhesion the road can provide.,... i feel bad for those who do not test the roads

kenny

[airforce1]

"a man's gotta know his limitations"
The abs make total sense, really like the Honda model.
Seems best for the bigger tour/cruiser class.
I have a cruiser, so I try to exercise my "abs" every morning and then before I go to bed.
100 situps on average do it, but sometimes it takes more....
Hey, y'all,
"enjoy the ride, we only get to do this trip once!"

[zedx11]

we had a customer that ordered a C14 without ABS, for some reason the sales guy called him and told him his bike was in when we got one in that was ABS. the guy got the bike anyway. he came back about a week later and told me that he was very happy that he got the ABS. he lives on a gravel road and decided to try it out and proved to him that it was much better than he thought.

[rbentnail]

Originally Posted by stonezx636

LOL..koodus to those with balls big enough to ride their bikes on snowy roads AND do brake testing at the same time...wow, in my decades of riding I have never seen such skill.

Originally Posted by Mercury

stone - are you kidding??

Forget snowy roads... even rainy roads a fresh rain after a dry spell one of the first things i do on the road is pressure the rear brake till it locks up so i know how much adhesion the road can provide.,... i feel bad for those who do not test the roads

kenny

kenny's right- I'm always testing the road conditions too. I remember the first "real" bike I got at Christmas- a little Suz 50. Learned to ride it in the snow of NW New Jersey. After Dad saw we (2 brothers too) were reasonably capable he let us take it out on the frozen lake. That's when you learn how to feel the brakes. If we only had abs back then.....there might have been a few less bumps and bruises. If possible, I'll never have another bike without abs.

[twhite]

More and more bikes are coming with ABS. More and more bikes are on the road. I agree, i just makes sense. I have locked em up a time or two on my fz1, and was fortunate to ride out of out. 2003 fz1, 2002 carbon fiber vmax. ride hard or dont ride.

[jaydub77]

Originally Posted by twhite

More and more bikes are coming with ABS. More and more bikes are on the road. I agree, i just makes sense. I have locked em up a time or two on my fz1, and was fortunate to ride out of out. 2003 fz1, 2002 carbon fiber vmax. ride hard or dont ride.

sorry to be a bit off topic here guys, but twhite, how do you like your fz1, I'm looking into maybe getting the FZ1 TE next year, i'd like to hear you're opinion

[twhite]

I have the yellow and black avviersary edition 2003. I love it. I has the 1st gen R1 engine detuned a little for midrange. It handles great, is a good bike for a track day, has a ton of power, comfortable, you sit more upright. It is like silk. It is also one of the better buys. I have 15000 on mine with ono issues. I dont live in the rev limiter, but i dont baby it either. The new ones are fuel injected. Buy 07 or above. You should be able to get one otd for 9000 new. Hope this helps.

[Ericthejet]

ABS will save my hash more often than not, I'm all for it.
I don't buy all this "I'n not in control anymore" angle.

[jaydub77]

Originally Posted by twhite

I have the yellow and black avviersary edition 2003. I love it. I has the 1st gen R1 engine detuned a little for midrange. It handles great, is a good bike for a track day, has a ton of power, comfortable, you sit more upright. It is like silk. It is also one of the better buys. I have 15000 on mine with ono issues. I dont live in the rev limiter, but i dont baby it either. The new ones are fuel injected. Buy 07 or above. You should be able to get one otd for 9000 new. Hope this helps.

Yeah I may look into one one day, the insurance might kill me though, and I just went for my first SS test ride today and found out that it would probly be more than enough bike for me...but I may still take the fz1 out for a test ride

[speak]

Hi

Did you the test ride...

Thanks

[THRILLA]

Was checking the BMW site a couple of nights ago. Noticed the BMW R1200GS now comes with a linked front brake, stops front and rear, but a no-linked back brake, stops back wheel only.

[RichLockyer]

Originally Posted by THRILLA

Was checking the BMW site a couple of nights ago. Noticed the BMW R1200GS now comes with a linked front brake, stops front and rear, but a no-linked back brake, stops back wheel only.

I like that idea.

Kawi's answer on the Voyager is to disable the system below 10-15mph.

[bross]

Originally Posted by THRILLA

Was checking the BMW site a couple of nights ago. Noticed the BMW R1200GS now comes with a linked front brake, stops front and rear, but a no-linked back brake, stops back wheel only.

BMW has the right idea with their linking for sure. But I now ride a Honda with linked brakes and ABS and it works fine. So far we have owned 3 bikes with ABS, never had to test it on any bike yet but like the security of knowing it's there. As to the poster who said you may get lazy and count on your ABS to save you instead of bettering your skills. I can say that riding an ABS equipped bike has improved my braking because I'm willing to push the braking to a higher limit than I would without it, so I feel my aggressive braking is better than before I rode with ABS.

There was an interesting study posted on another site about safety features in vehicles like seat belts, ABS, traction control etc. and at least in cars these advanced safety features HAVEN'T caused a reduction in accidents, mainly because the people driving these vehicles have a false sense of safety and tend to drive faster than those in less advanced vehicles, who just slow the heck down when it's really raining or snowy, icy etc.

So yes I like having ABS and feel it *may* help me in a panic situation but also have to not let it lull me into a false sense of security.