It's true. You CAN outbreak an ABS system.....but you have to be really, really fecking good and on the top of your game 100% of the time to do so. So basically you need to be a Moto GP rider or have approximately the same skill level.

So yeah. Removing it seems like a stupid thing to do.

 

I wouldn't remove it but I'm so used to modulating that in two close calls of cars pulling out in front of me, I've never engaged it. And I'm far from a Moto GP skill.

 

If you want to remove ABS, it will be a DIY procedure. There isn't a mechanic out there willing to expose him or herself to the liability of removing it. And I would reckon a HD dealer would refuse to service a bike so modified. Kind of like asking Ford to remove the airbags and seatbelts from your car.
If you don't want ABS, easier to buy a bike that never had it.

 

I have no plans to remove it, and I plan on changing the DOT 4 often. If the unit did go south I'd figure out a way to trailer it to a dealership because my understanding is I can't get the parts to D.I.Y. There seemed to be quite a few anti-ABS people out there and I wanted to hear more opinions.

Honestly, as new and electronically controlled as this thing is I'm hesitant about changing anything from the way Harley designed it.

 

My bike never had it, never will. I wouldn't want one with it but I wouldn't de-value or compromise a ride that came with it.

 

isn't this question a bit oxymoronic in nature? :~)

 

I'm not a fan of ABS on bikes--I think folks here know that. With that said, it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me if the bike was what I wanted otherwise and the price was right. And I sure as hell wouldn't remove it if I happened to buy a bike that came with it it, either.

 

You're on the right track getting rid of the ABS, but why stop there? You'll still have brake pads, calipers, and a hydraulic system that needs periodic attention. Convert it over to drum brakes activated with cables! And not those double leading shoe kind, with twice as many things to break - use good old single leading shoe brakes. Good enough for grandpa, good enough for me. Besides, only pussies slow down.

 

Man, some truly self righteous people here.
One of the selling points for my bike was the ABS. I was very happy to have it. Oh, wait...
4 years latter I come to find that the MOCO's version of ABS is completely sub-standard and God help the poor fool who forgets to flush his system, because he may just become the next crash statistic that is currently plaguing the Mothership. Please, feel free to read about the free brake flush thats being offered, as well as the multiple documented crash reports from locked brake levers and pedals. So yeah, there are quite a few of us that were ONCE excited about ABS on their new bikes, but NOW are actively searching out ways to safely and permanently DELETE it. I'm one.

 

I wish my bike didn't have ABS. It engages at a super low threshold when the engine is off. It engages it too low of threshold when riding over wet BOTTS dots too. Then factor the bonehead design of "freezing the lever/pedal solid" when there's a defect, and you have NO FRIGGIN' BRAKES. Nope, I wish I didn't have ABS on any of my bikes...