ABS - YES!!!

 

Wish they were on my bike.

 

ABS comes into its own whenwe have lost control of your vehicle. Now before anyone starts with the I never loose control thing, I assure you that we all do it. Every time you lock atyre up and skid, spin a tyre on a loose surface, or start to drift, that is a loss of control to some degree. At those times you have less control on what happens next, than whenyou have full traction.This will happen to all of us at some time or other,whether due to conditions, road contimination, unforseen circumstances, whatever. Now if you are a good rider at the top of your game these situations will be kept to a minimum, however we all get wet, tired, cold and we are not at the top of our game, and unfortunately no matter what I tell my wife I'm not perfect, so I can make mistakes. These times rare or not are when the ABS can be the difference between a near miss and a stay in hospital. I have only needed the ABS one time in 28 years of driving, but that time definately saved me from a very nasty collision, which would have been very difficult to predict.

Personally given the choice I would go for the ABS.

 

How long have you been riding motorcycles? How many times would abs have saved you from a crash in the past? Harley's have been without abs forever, did the fact that the unavailability of abs stop you from buying a Harley? Ask any Honda dealer, non abs Goldwings out sell abs equipped Goldwings 3 to 1. I've owned many Beemers and Honda's with and without abs. It's a nice feature, but not a show stopper. 4 years ago I went down on a bike equipped with abs. Frankly, the fact that I had abs provided overconfidence, which contributed to my "get off"!

 

ABS is good for some, myself, I wouldn't have it. The actual stopping distance is increased however more controlled in a panic situation. If you have ever had a close call where you stopped just inches of a disaster, the ABS would have let you hit that object because of the "slippage" of the system due to modulation of the system to allow for no lock up of the wheel. It's got it's good and it's bad and depends on the rider if he feels better with it for $800, then go for it.

 

Do you need abs in your car? Do you never ride on a road that has water, sand or other slippery surfaces? Have you read any of the tests using real professional riders comparing their stopping distances with abs and non abs equipped bikes? With non-professional riders the difference in stopping distances are more than 100 feet on a wet surface. Non of the professionals could not come close to the advantage that abs offered. 186 feet abscompared to 230-300 feet from 60 mph.
The riders who opt out of abs usually rationalize with "I've never had it before so I don't need it now". "I'm better than most riders". The equivalent of never using a condom for the back alley visit because their partner at home has never given them herpes.

 

FWIIW:

ABS adds another level of complexity that you may or may not want on your bike. However with that being said, there are pros and cons of every electronic system added to a vehicle. Each one brings with it it's own positives and negatives. It is your bike, buy what you want, ride what you bought and enjoy it

Ride Em Carry Em

 

Here is some more data. Note that most people can stop in a shorter distance without abs if the pavement is dry. Also note that the abs systems in this article are the early systmes and the new ones are much better.
http://www.ibmwr.org/prodreview/abstests.html

 

abs wouldn't stop me from buying a bike, its not a deal breaker one way or the other... in fact, i'd probably prefer one without... but that's me...

 

Interesting views by some, and I can't argue that the ABS system is something else which may go wrong on an increasingly more complicated motorcycle, and probably will if you own the bike long enough.

What I can and will argue is that there I don't believe that in an emergency situation there is a rider out there who can beat ABS. I deal with maybe 50 to 100 collisions a year and get involved with maybe 5 fatals, dealing with maybe 1 or 2 of those as the OIC. In a car if you are prepared for a rapidstop in a test situation then maybe on a dry road with a sound surface, no oil or diesel andgood tyres, perhaps 1 driver in a thousand will come close to ABS, but I wouldn't bet my life on it. On a motorcycle it just isn't going to happen. I have never had ABS on a bike but if I can get it retrofitted to my King and have the cash spare its going to happen.

I can't say I ever needed ABS on a bike in the past, and I've ridden bikes on the road since 1978, but its been real close a couple of times, especially in my youth. But even though I would consider myself a competent rider and well above average driver, I know that one day it could help me, and it isn't ever going to harm me.

Would I buy a bike without ABS, yes of course I would and I have, if I could get what I wanted with ABS at the same price as the same bike without, its no contest.

I don't wish to come over all holier than thou about this, but I don't like seeing people injured either.

This is all of course just my take on things and I don't expect everyone to share my views, because its enthusiastic discussion and opposing views which make this forum so helpful and interesting, and I mean no offense to those whose views differ from mine.

Ride safe