The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) said in March 2010 that motorcycles with antilocks versus those without are 37 percent less likely to be in fatal crashes. In addition, the IIHS’s affiliate, the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), found that bikes with antilocks have 22 percent fewer claims for damage per insured vehicle year than the same model bikes without antilocks. HLDI also studied medical claims and found that under medical payment coverage, bikes with antilocks had 30 percent lower claim frequencies than bikes that did not have antilocks. (Claims frequencies represent the number of claims.) Claim frequencies were 33 percent lower under bodily injury liability coverage.

re: http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/i...ce/motorcycle/

 

Thanks for posting info..

These stats seem to show the value the of ABS on motorcycles, however, what they fail to say is that most people in an accident situation do not know how to brake properly...in a panic situation, most will slam the brakes hard, some will only us the front, some will only use the rear, some will get into a front wheel lock and not release the brake, some will get into a rear wheel lock, release the brake and get high sided...obviously, ABS helps in all these situations, but it also takes away true braking skills...something that is learned with years of riding and fighting the dangers on the road.

While stats are great...they don't always say the whole truth...JMO

 

So you'd think our insurance rates would about 30% less. Yeah right.

 

Interesting, I love my ABS and definitely know they work better than regular brakes, but I don't always go by what statistics show, they can be stacked the way whoever is doing the study wants them to be.

 

These studies are measuring correlation and not causation. There are many factors not controlled for here. I suspect ABS buyers are older, more experienced, more cautious in the first place, probably have taken an Advanced rider course. So just saying ABS buyers have less accidents is meaningless without controls.

 

If riders don't know how to brake properly then ABS can help save them. It sounds like the statistics reflect that. Are you saying that ABS wouldn't help if everyone used the brakes properly?

 

Of course ABS helps those that don't know how to brake and those that do...I feel they are an important safety feature...but the stats and those that create them make it sound like if you don't have ABS brakes then you are DOOMED...and that is plain BS.

 

What are you, an actuary or something?
Where were you 2 months ago when I was buying my road glide?

 

I would like to see the spreadsheet. ABS is a relatively new product and mostly installed on cruiser bikes. In the last year or so manufacturers of the superbike classes of bikes have been installing them so the stats can't be that comprehensive yet. It would be nice to see a break down of bike models affected by this study. I have faith in the IIHS as a non bias test and evaluation group being safety is their mission, but we need more info. I think in time a true picture will develop and I think it will support the early findings thus far. As Twistr indicated many accidents are caused by indecision and panic braking, an indicator of inadequate riding skills. But how can you realistically practice for that moment when its not feasible to test the edge of the envelope with your bike? There are ways and many riding schools teach them. I was lucky to attend the CHP motor academy, we practiced real life driving encounters even going so far to learn how to broadslide skid on a Harley. If you had too much momemtum by the time you got your bike turned sideways in the skid, you fell over bike and all. After repeated attempts and falls, you learned how to do it and at the same time learned the capability of both yourself and the motorcycle.

I ran into my old CHP instructor at a BMW bike dealership about 6 or 7 years ago and the subject of ABS brakes came up. He retired from the CHP and was working as a laison between BMW and the CHP. It was his contention having ABS on the CHP bikes created a false sense of security which led to increased on duty accidents. I guess you felt like you could brake your way out of any situation, but there is no substitute for good basic motorcycle riding skills, technology or not. At the time the CHP was formulating retraining classes aimed at this problem. Having ABS brakes doesn't mean you can follow too closely or do other things you wouldn't normally do. In any case I like the technology of ABS brakes and I also like traction control, however TC doesn't seem practical on a heavy twin, but if it can still be made to work on a tour bike in rainy conditions or when your rear end looses it on gravel or oil, I'm for that as well.

 

I have never been a fan of Harley's ABS. I am not denying that it probably stops the bike faster but I don't care much for the feedback in the lever and pedal. But like many here I am sure, I learn to ride before ABS and on a dirt bike which is the best thing to learn the concept of threshold breaking.