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 . . .