ABS

[daveclark]

Hi, can any one tell me, how good ABS is?
Never had it before, sounds good so thought I'd give it a go!
It's on a FZ1s

[Exupnut]

Good in the wet and shit in the dry.

[daveclark]

Been told of a test they did with ABS, dry day through sand on a stretch of Tarmac breaked and it was great no movement, just came to a stop, then sprayed it with water and same result, I do vaguely remember it in MCN a few years back, but can't remember details! I'll google it:-)

[solorider]

generally any vehicle with ABS brakes will be worse than a vehicle without, even in the wet, but where ABS wins is that in a situation where a wheel loses grip the control is kept with ABS where it is easier to lose control without ABS. the problem with ABS is take some of your control away, but having ABS could be a life saver, basically swings and roundabouts

[Exupnut]

In the dry w/out abs u can lock up the back wheel and grab loads of front brake to stop much quicker. Not somethin u want to be doin in the wet.

[seangee]

Crashed a few years back from diesel on a roundabout and often wondered if ABS would have saved it. New bike has ABS and the other day a (ahem) lady on a bicycle decide she would shoot across my path going around Trafalgar square in the dry. ABS kicked in and I stayed on. Pretty sure on the gen 1 I would have been off which meant the bike would have slid forward and hit her (or just got squashed by a bus)

[MEM62]

I have a Gen1 Fazer which, of course, is not fitted with electronics but R1200RT has both ABS and traction control.  I guess they do give peace of mind but they are both unobtrusive in daily use so I never usually give them a second thought.  Perhaps the only time I'll really notice them is if/when they save me.   

[PaulSmith]

ABS simply stops the wheel from locking. How you much benefit that is to you depends on how good your breaking abilities are.

Valentino Rossi could probably stop the bike in a shorter distance without ABS then with it in most situations so if you think you are as good as Rossi, then it probably wouldn't help you.

Even if you don't think you are as good as Rossi, in a straightline breaking test (after some practice) you could probaly stop in the same distance with and without ABS.

Only when something unexpected happens in the real world, does ABS get the chance to do the only thing it does, which is to stop the wheel from locking. If that gives you the time and concentraion to worry about avoiding the thing that made you break, instead of concentrating on the breaking itself, then I would suggest that is a good thing.

[Andy FZS]

I seem to remember I vid clip on here recently were someone grabbed a big handful of brake and ended up on the floor. I'm not an expert but I reckon abs would have kept him upright? Some people would have managed without abs but given the choice I'd rather have it, but maybe I'm just crap.....

[chaparral02]

Hi, can any one tell me, how good ABS is?

ABS could be a life saver ....
 
I come off more then once over my biking years from locking the wheel/s up by hitting patches of mud/sand/wet drain covers/wet leaves/oil/gravel etc while braking

[AyJay]

I think the early motorcycle versions of ABS gave anti lock brakes a bit of a bad rep. They're pretty damn good these days and we may as well accept it, because all bikes will be ABS equipped very shortly.

Personally, I believe that unless you can lock the front wheel at 80mph on purpose and save it every time, you'll be safer with an ABS bike. How many of us could say that they would be happy practising that? You've got to be concentrating really hard to outbrake ABS and you only get the one chance in an emergency.

Now, funnily enough, and just to blow my own trumpet, I did save a front wheel lock up at 80mph last year. It was dry, no oil or water on the road, tyres at the right pressure etc. started braking at about the ton and the wheel locked after a second or so. I went back after I did my shopping to see if I could work out what happened.


I used to lock the front wheel quite a bit when I was younger, but with the grip of modern tyres, it's the last thing you're expecting and I'm still a bit baffled as to what happened, but I will get an ABS bike next time I buy one because it really shook me up.

That big dark streak in the centre of the road is top quality BT023 and it was wrapped round the front tyre just 30 mins previously. And not bad braking for a 95k set of discs and callipers, eh? Gotta love Fazers . . .

[lew600fazer]

I watched a video clip a while back and I think it was Jamie Whitton on the bikes. Not sure what he was riding but in the wet and again in the dry  the ABS model out braked the non ABS model.
All this will be irrelevant come 2015 as ABS becomes compulsory on all bikes above 125cc as far as I am aware.
Certainly here in Europe.
Lew

[b1k3rdude]

ABS wins is that in a situation where a wheel loses grip the control is kept with ABS where it is easier to lose control without ABS.

My new 1200 comes with ABS so I am hoping it will stop the rear locking up under braking..

[Slaninar]

I watched a video clip a while back and I think it was Jamie Whitton on the bikes. Not sure what he was riding but in the wet and again in the dry  the ABS model out braked the non ABS model.
All this will be irrelevant come 2015 as ABS becomes compulsory on all bikes above 125cc as far as I am aware.
Certainly here in Europe.
Lew

Fuck em! It's all too bloody expensive. Don't want it. Well, keeping the Fazer.

ABS is good, but common sense, practice and good tyres are almost as good. But ABS will raise the weight and the price of a new bike significantly. What's next. Fuck em!

[pitternator]

You dont ever need abs IF .....
 
under any circumstance you will never panic brake
in any circumstance you can brake at maximum intensity on a poor surface without skidding
you never ride at a speed at which you cannot stop safely within your field of vision
 
for all us other mortals, it is indeed a potential lifesaver. Ususally I find folk who aint ever ridden a bike with abs are the ones who slag it off.
 
I have abs on my GS and I aint ever needed it on the front brake, I find its easy to lock the back though.I dont tend to ever ride at my limits so I doubt I will encounter a panic lock up, but then again, theres always that car which pulls out on you , or the tractor blocking the road just past that blind bend you entered without checking yer speed.....but then again, when you hit such , the fact you aint got abs is of little comfort is it ??
 
maybe the anti abs lobby are same folk who dont think wearing a helmet is a good idea !...FFS abs only ever intrudes if your wheels lock up. At that point you have indeed lost it and got through your so called skills list...so why knock it ??

[Hedgetrimmer]

I've never used a bike with ABS, but if it's as good as you guys say, then I'd have nothing against it. It's true that early ABS (or what was said about it when it first appeared on bikes) put some of us off, but time and development move on and I'm willing to accept that modern systems probably work a lot better.
It is frustrating that such things do increase the cost of new bikes, but as with everything, you can't stand still when it comes to technology, and eventually prices come down when it becomes common enough.
However, as with the old helmet law argument when wearing these first became compulsory, making ABS a lawful requirement is again removing another choice - I'm never entirely convinced that this is a good thing. (and yes, I voted in recent FOC-U poll that I'd always wear a helmet)
Do bikes have selectable ABS these days, so you could manually switch it on or off as you wish? That might be a better idea.

[pitternator]

the big issue with locking up brakes on bikes is its usually in PANIC situations.Its feck all to do with normal riding.As such you actually are not in control of your bike, hence a passive system like abs is so valuable.
 
abs is a lifesaver I prefer to have. My old gen1 will just keep locking that wheel with my big mitt squeezing hard for all its worth.As such I probably ride slower knowing I dont have abs than on a bike when I know I do have it.
also in the wet when its far easier to lock up than  in normal situations, it really is worth its weight in gold...maybe its part of why I think my GS is the fastest bike I have ever ridden in the wet and bad conditions ??..abs, traction control etc , all go to giving peace of mind and confidance in your bike.And any racer will tell you , its all about confidance...

[Slaninar]

You dont ever need abs IF .....
 
you never ride at a speed at which you cannot stop safely within your field of vision

THIS.

maybe the anti abs lobby are same folk who dont think wearing a helmet is a good idea !...FFS abs only ever intrudes if your wheels lock up. At that point you have indeed lost it and got through your so called skills list...so why knock it ??

Because of:
a) I don't like people forcing me to do something. I wear helmet because I want to be safe, not because I have to. Which means I do ride without a helmet occasionally (take it slow, real slow).

b) Because it costs. I have nothing against the ABS, on the countrary - it is very good, but I don't want the extra weight and PRICE. Can't afford it.


In 15 years of riding and driving I have always managed to do it all without the ABS, ESP and all the other expensive gizmos - just use common sense, ride as well as you can see and brake.

[lew600fazer]

You only need ABS once ?? and in that instance as long as you stay upright the extra cost surely has to be worth it.
Lew

[Doddsie]

The weight of ABS is totally irrelevant, have a good shit and empty your pockets before you go out and you wont notice any difference. 

[seangee]

the big issue with locking up brakes on bikes is its usually in PANIC situations.Its feck all to do with normal riding.As such you actually are not in control of your bike, hence a passive system like abs is so valuable.
 
abs is a lifesaver I prefer to have.

Very true. Probably wouldn't bother on a track bike but for day to day riding I feel much more comfortable with it. As for the cost methinks some manufacturers are taking the pi$$. My new Sprint came standard with ABS and there is no non-ABS option. Can't tell how much extra the ABS cost but it is a very competitively priced bike - in fact bloody good vfm.

[allanmac]

My varadero has abs and linked brakes and bar doing it deliberately Iv never had the abs cut in while riding. Mind you since it weighs as much and stops as quickly as a super tanker in a panic braking situation it probably wouldn't make much difference  .


Cheers Allan

[Slaninar]

The weight of ABS is totally irrelevant, have a good shit and empty your pockets before you go out and you wont notice any difference. 

Sure, sure - ABS is nice, sweet, safer. Just don't like making it obligatory. Helmet, hi-vis jackets, ABS, full leathers... where do you draw a line? It is all safe, smart no doubt, but should it all be obligatory? You know you are safer riding in hi-vis clothing even during the sunny days? Make red obligatory for bikers? For motorcycle colour? Make all the helmets obligatory white, since that is the most visible colour for lids?

I have nothing against ABS as long as it is not obligatory.

[Hedgetrimmer]

Absolutely. You can have too many rules/regulations. Actually, most people take the sensible options when they can afford to, but especially in recent years when world economies are so shaky and everyone is hard up, I don't see that forcing extra expense down people's throats will help. And I don't want to be told what to do from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed, in everything I do. This is supposed to be a democracy we live in. Having said that, I'm probably convinced enough to take an ABS option - if I had the money...