My son was sick, so I went to coach his soccer team on the bike Saturday morning. A tractor trailer on a two lane road pulled into the left turn lane with his flashers on, and proceeded to then make a RIGHT right in front of me. I was able to stop the bike, however, I had to modulate the rear wheel locking.

After coaching I decided after a long winter layoff, I should do some parking lot practice. I practiced panic stops, evastive lane changes and cone weaves (essentially using every two spots as a cone the short way).

This reminded me that modulating the back tire and keeping it from locking is probably the most important panic stop factor. I've got a friend who will ride much closer to me on his BMW (with anti-lock brakes) than on his V-Rod (without). He's very aware of the stopping requirements of both bikes. Anti-lock brakes are available on many bikes, and Harley offers them on Police bikes. Why then do they not offer this feature, which could save many lives, on street bikes?

 

I had this same conversation yesterday with the Service Manager at my local dealer. My little brother let one of his friends ride his brand new Sportster. The supposedly "experienced" friend locked up the back brake, went down, hit the grass then high sided. The bike is totalled and the guy riding isnt in much better shape. Anti lock brakes would make up for a lot of inexperience and save a lot of pain and lives.

 

There's been a lot of discussion about the pros and cons of antilock brakes on bikes. I don't know which side is right, but I have antilock on my Honda ST1300 and I'm convinced they saved my life at least once.

 

Wouldn't care if they were an option, but I'd like the choice whether to have 'em or not.

 

I would like to have ABS on a bike.I think the stock brakes on our bikes mostly suck already.At least with ABS,Imight be able to just mash both brakes without fear of locking up.I wish my brakes were a little more like my sportbikes.

 

why don't harleys come with abs you aak. for the same reason it took them so long to go with fuel injection. do they have some models with it ? yes.look at the prices of these bikes now and think about how much more abs would cost them to put it on the bikes an how much more we'd be paying. besides, from what i've seen 90% of the people who are riding harleys don't like the newer technology on bikes. if they did the would riding a bmw or a honda or some other metric. not enough demand for harley to justify the xtra cost involved.

 

Most folks who have ridden other bikes will admit that Harley brakes pretty much suck @ss. I am hoping they concentrate on this area in 08. Anyway, BMW antilock brakes are the sh@t. You can lock them up on wet pavement and the bike will not go down on you. There is no real good reason Harley doesn't have them. They will cost more but I think they are worth it.

 

well maximum braking without ABS takes a lot of practice not to go into a lockup action. With ABS just give the lever or foot brake or both all you can and you will have maximum braking, with no lockup.

 

Wheels locked up stop in as short or shorter then fast pulsed brakes like on a ABS system. The advantage of the ABS is that they shouldn't lock up causing a hard to control instance. I personaly would rip a ABS system off a motorcycle I owned. Could care less if they offer it or not, they are easily removed. I think the large reason Harley hasn't gone with ABS across the board is the appearance and maybe cost. I know on my Dyna WG they would have a hard time finding a spot for the stuff needed for ABS and keep the look as clean.

 

I agree. Riding a Harley is supposed to be a raw experience. No doubt ABS would save some lives and bikes, but so would not riding at all. Who knows what direction Harley will go as the rider demographic changes, but I'd put my money on more technology and creature comforts.