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How Valuable can ABS be??

I think if you are a pro rider you may be able to match or even out perform the ABS. But for the vast majority of us riders that are not a pro rider ( I mean a real pro) ABS IMO is a great deal. I love them on my bike and know that even after 30+ yrs of riding, I can stop safer and quicker with them. Ride safe.
 
Check on the stopping distances between ABS and standard brakes. You may be surprised even though the ABS does it a bit more controlled.
 
A big part of my gettinga an '09 FLHRC instead of an FLSTC is due to ABS option for The King... Oh, and also because I like the bike better :bigsmiley11:

The Associated Press: Study: Antilocks trim fatal motorcycle crashes

I had a business school professor who once said: "if you torture a statistic long enough, you can get it to say whatever you want." So I always read "scientific" studies with skepticism, and know that data can be massaged in a way to further someone's agenda. People will always argue about the merits of various safety features (e.g. helmets). Fact of the matter is, there are always exceptions to the rule, and always that one time, where going against consensus would have resulted in a better outcome.

As for me, I choose to go with the overwhelming likelihood or probability of an event happening (to the extent these studies have convinced me that they are objective and true). RE:ABS, I feel there is a much higher probability of them helping ME than hurting (same reason I wear a FF helmet). In blackjack, you may hit a hard 18 and pull a 3. Good for you! But I'd like to see your success rate utilizing that strategy over time (however, you may be in the top .002% card counters in the world, in which case you would have an edge in this regard. And while others at the table may think you are crazy, or even dumb, you are in fact in control). Is this making any sense? I feel like I've gone on a tangent... ah well.

We're all adults, we can make our own decisions as to what makes sense for us, and respect others' who think differently.

respectfully,
Drew
 
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My view is that while it is true that on dry pavement, a non-ABS bike can stop shorter than one with ABS, that assumes that you brake perfectly on a non-ABS bike. The problem is that in situations where ABS is likely to come into play, it is an emergency/panic stop and it's highly unlikely that one will brake as well as you would in practice or in a more relaxed setting. ABS doesn't care if you're braking nearly perfectly or just frantically hitting the skids. Practicality wins over theory on this one IMHO.

BTW, on Sunday I saw baggers smoke tires while stopping on two separate occasions in the group I was riding with. And, they were both good riders.

I'll keep my ABS!
 
Let me see if I can explain this properly.

Under certain conditions like for example if the rear tire goes over a tar snake or something similar and momentarily lost traction and you were braking to avoid an accident or a stopped vehicle ahead of you, the front brake will also momentarily not give you full or reduced braking and you become a trunk ornament.

It's a one in many chances of this happening but how would you feel if you were in this situation and grabbed a handful of brake and there was nothing there?

I'll stay with the non ABS bikes myself.
 
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I'm with Glider on this one, drove my brother-in laws 09 friday ,didn't like the ABS under hard braking situation at all. He loves it got me to go out and create braking situations.(hammer on the brakes) I felt I could stop alot faster on my own
 
This is a personal choice. While non ABS can be a benefit, so can the ABS system. In a panic situation or a slippery, which we all hope not to be in, the ABS may save you if you grab too much brake, on the other hand as Glider described, the non ABS has it's benefits as well. For me I choose ABS as in a situation I hope never to be in, I will grab all of them and keep the rest of my mind concentrating on my next move rather than braking. The same principle is on cages, and the tests have proven they benefit in most cases. I can tell you that where I used to live, in snow and ice, ABS was not always the answer. SO, no wrong answers here, it's what is right for you. Ride safe brothers.
 
RichardS said:
I've had a whole lot of interesting conversations about the value of ABS in cars and trucks, and I can tell you from experience of not one but SEVERAL times when ABS almost caused me to hit something I could have easily missed if the vehicle were under MY command instead of a computer.
But if I have an accident in a cage, especially a little fender-bender, chances are excellent I'll be home just a little later than planned and not in quite such a happy mood.
There are no "little fender-benders" on the Ultra....if I start to lose it I'm probably GONNA lose it, and I've been riding 40 years and think I can handle my ride fairly well. But if the brakes aren't THERE when you call for them, no experience or physical strength is going to save you, and I'm just not willing to put my life in the "hands" of a system that over-rides my demands in a "hot" situation.
I'm with Glider on this one, for sure.
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I'm not quite following this discussion. I'm don't understand what you mean when you say "but if the brakes aren't there when you call for them" Are there situations when it is better to have a wheel locked up and sliding?

I haven't had my ABS active yet as I just got this bike. It seems to me the logic of ABS is similar to that of computer fly by wire in some military fighters and commercial Airbus airliners I fly. Computers limit the amount of bank and pitch you can apply to avoid overstressing the aircraft. This means you can use full control inputs to take the aircraft right to design limits without concern. The theory being that with conventional controls with no limiter you would limit your input below max or make the input more slowly to avoid overstressing the aircraft.

With ABS you can apply max brakes to the limit without concern as ABS will activate before the wheel locks up. The fact that it is a non linked system is a plus as well.

Until wheel lockup is sensed there is no difference between ABS and non ABS so when would it be more advantagous to have the wheel locked and sliding?
 
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Merlynn said:
Until wheel lockup is sensed there is no difference between ABS and non ABS so when would it be more advantagous to have the wheel locked and sliding?
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Wheel lockup and sliding is not an advantage. Knowing how to apply brakes IS.

Re read this that I posted above. It's self explanatory.


Under certain conditions like for example if the rear tire goes over a tar snake or something similar and momentarily lost traction and you were braking to avoid an accident or a stopped vehicle ahead of you, the front brake will also momentarily not give you full or reduced braking and you become a trunk ornament.

It's a one in many chances of this happening but how would you feel if you were in this situation and grabbed a handful of brake and there was nothing there?


This is a shortcoming of ABS that you don't hear about. Also Harleys should not be compared to the sophisticated systems in aircraft either. They are little more than the simplest of tractors in design.
 
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