Your next new bike must have ABS!

[YellowDog]

Well that's what my wife made a condition of me getting my new bike last year.

Well after todays journey home in the wet she may well have be right.

I have never been a big fan of ABS on bikes and always felt that I knew best and could do my own ABS to regain control from a lockup situation. I certainly didn't see the point of ABS for in the dry riding and generally choose not to ride in the wet (except for the work bike). I had thought about removing the ABS fuse however as I had not ever felt it cut in (except once when stopping on gravel) I didn't see the point.

Coming home this afternoon on SH1 it became quite wet, so I naturally held back a little and kept to a fairly constant speed. I was doing the same speed as the car in front of me however was aware that the gap was pretty large, so I thought I'd close in a little so as to stop someone filling my braking space.

Well a couple of minutes later some tit decided to fill the now smaller space just as the traffic was starting to slow. He pulled out in front of me, saw the brakelights on the car that had been in front of me and then slammed his brakes on to an almost dead stop. Nice one! I didn't expect that.

Anyhow, I stamp on the back brake and sweeze the front 'knee jerk reaction' tight. I instantly feel the ABS doing its job. Fantastic. I am stopping really quickly. I then wonder if the guy behend me can do the same? I dip my left shoulder pulling inside said tit then swing right into the now large space infront of him; only pausing to pip my horn so he is able to get a good view of the finger I am giving.

Back up to 110Kph and home for lunch :)

If you do ride in the wet a lot, do think about ABS for your next new bike. Today was the one and only time that it has saved me from a potentially serious misshap.

Safe riding!

[Hitcher]

I'm sure that there are bikes out there with really good ABS. I just haven't ridden one yet.

[p.dath]

Oh I wish I could afford a bike with ABS and integrated breaking. Will be quite a few years before the "new" bikes with these features drift down into my price range.

[Hitcher]

Oh I wish I could afford a bike with ABS and integrated breaking. Will be quite a few years before the "new" bikes with these features drift down into my price range.

Integrated breaking is a feature reserved for Cheap Shitters(TM) from China. One suspects you mean integrated braking, hopefully.

[YellowDog]

Oh I wish I could afford a bike with ABS and integrated breaking. Will be quite a few years before the "new" bikes with these features drift down into my price range.
I have seen some cheapy BMWs with ABS however there has been a lot of negative stuff written about the early efforts at ABS.

I was every impresed (and surprised) by today's experience.

[325rocket]

2009 cbr600rr seamless abs. well thats what every write up i have read says anyway.

[MD]

Yeah my experiences with the F800S ABS was mixed. Been plenty written on forums about that subject ..more of a soft suspension set-up compromised the ABS from doing it's job some of the time.

But in saying that, I was very impressed with it in the wet under full on braking! Hard to imagine many riders could do better in a panic situation.

As ABS gets better each upgrade, it's only a matter of time before most new bikes have it as standard - and we're the better for it.

[cambridgedan]

i think i will be getting either a Gixxer 600 or R6

[p.dath]

Integrated breaking is a feature reserved for Cheap Shitters(TM) from China. One suspects you mean integrated braking, hopefully.

Haha. Yes, you are correct!

[p.dath]

Yeah my experiences with the F800S ABS was mixed. Been plenty written on forums about that subject ..more of a soft suspension set-up compromised the ABS from doing it's job some of the time.

But in saying that, I was very impressed with it in the wet under full on braking! Hard to imagine many riders could do better in a panic situation.

As ABS gets better each upgrade, it's only a matter of time before most new bikes have it as standard - and we're the better for it.


Another interesting twist is that it means we'll have to re-learn emergency breaking. Basically if you have ABS, and something bad happens, you just want to apply full breaking immediately so the ABS system knows it is an emergency and can re-act appropriately.

[The Stranger]

Yeah my experiences with the F800S ABS was mixed. Been plenty written on forums about that subject ..more of a soft suspension set-up compromised the ABS from doing it's job some of the time.

But in saying that, I was very impressed with it in the wet under full on braking! Hard to imagine many riders could do better in a panic situation.

As ABS gets better each upgrade, it's only a matter of time before most new bikes have it as standard - and we're the better for it.

I am aware that the F800s have come in for some criticism, however seeing the big beemers (not seen an F800 yet) perform at RRRS they are pretty bloody impressive. They consistanly out perform all others in the emergency braking.
Next would have to be the Hondas with linked brakes, though we don't see a lot of them.

[MD]

I am aware that the F800s have come in for some criticism, however seeing the big beemers (not seen an F800 yet) perform at RRRS they are pretty bloody impressive. They consistanly out perform all others in the emergency braking.
Next would have to be the Hondas with linked brakes, though we don't see a lot of them.

I read somewhere that BMW have sorted the F800 ABS for the latest naked version - the F800R. They carefully worded their description of the new and improved ABS to not acknowledge that the first version had drawn criticism

[jimbo]

I have managed to "confuse" my ABS (f800s) on a couple of occaisions.You do learn to "ride "around it ,I know for ceartain it has saved my butt twice now,once in the wet and once in the dry:Oops: .You do rely on it more than you realise after a while,as I discovered after moving from an R1100s to aprilia Rsv r:yes:.Suspension setting does have an effect on the 3rd generation Beemer set up IMHO

[The Stranger]

I have managed to "confuse" my ABS (f800s) on a couple of occaisions.You do learn to "ride "around it

Somehow I think that learning to ride around a safety feature is never going to sound "right"

[YellowDog]

Another interesting twist is that it means we'll have to re-learn emergency breaking. Basically if you have ABS, and something bad happens, you just want to apply full breaking immediately so the ABS system knows it is an emergency and can re-act appropriately.
Good point. I need to not take ABS for granted.

I am no longer cautious on using the back brake for fear of locking up. I haven't felt ABS kick in whilst braking hard, but may be it does and I just don't notice.

If I were to push hard on a non-ABS bike to the degree of needing heavy braking, I might get a nasty surprise :o

[HDTboy]

If I were to push hard on a non-ABS bike to the degree of needing heavy braking, I might get a nasty surprise :o

No, you'd just end up on your face. Nothing surprising about that.

[crazyhorse]

Sounds like you should buy a car mate!

[steve_t]

Hey YellowDog,
Do the bike wheels lock up for a split second as per car ABS?

[banditrider]

I have managed to "confuse" my ABS (f800s) on a couple of occaisions.

Have had bumpy roads + reasonably hard braking cause issues too. Pretty spooky having the brakes come off for a split second and then kicking back in. In saying that the ABS probably saved me an off in the wet, cold, dark night of the Connie's first GC and I'd rather have than not.

[jimbo]

QUOTE=The Stranger;1129264354]Somehow I think that learning to ride around a safety feature is never going to sound "right"[/QUOTE]

:):) Perhaps I could have worded that better aye Noel :yes:

[YellowDog]

Hey YellowDog,
Do the bike wheels lock up for a split second as per car ABS?
No lockups, you just notice a a small amount of vibration. I suppose it must momentarily lock and release but it is so fast that you almost don't notice it.

Apart from once once whilst braking on gravel, I haven't ever previously noticed it before.

[MaxCannon]

Having seen the videos with ABS and non ABS Fireblades I would be adding it to my list of wants for the next bike.
Huge difference in wet braking performance with all riders of all skill levels.

Looks like BMW are making big noises about the "Race ABS" on their S1000RR too.
Wil be interesting to see how it performs.

[Hiflyer]

what if you do a wheelie? Does that screw up the fron wheel sensor? (legit question)

[YellowDog]

Wheelies are not a problem at all. ABS makes no difference.

You can also do stoppies too. ABS only kicks in when the wheel starts to slip. Pretty handy in the wet.

There is also the option to remove the ABS fuse OR save a bit of cash by buying a non-ABS model :)