Anti lock brakes

[Stichill_imp]

Personally I'd be hard-pressed to buy a bike without ABS.

Granted on a clean, smooth, dry closed-course racetrack with a professional rider, a non-ABS bike may out-stop the same bike with ABS.

But...I'm a street rider. Unlike a racer, I don't ride for 20 minutes of intense concentration around the same hazard-free circuit over and over. I ride for hours, with varying degrees of concentration, over every and all manner of road surfaces and conditions...with highly unpredictable traction conditions. I do not think that a professional rider could stop a non-ABS bike faster (and more safely) than an ABS bike under real-world conditions like unexpected patches of oil / fuel / anti-freeze / roadkill / construction debris / sand / salt / gravel / mud / tobacco / hay / water / ice / paint etc. that I see - and sometimes unavoidably roll over - on every ride I take.

That being said, I'm not a fan of the nanny state or the nanny corporation. I like to make my own decisions and take responsibility for them. If I don't want a speed limiter or an anti-lock braking system on my motorcycle, I shouldn't be forced to have them. Everyone has their own reasons for deciding which options and technology are best suited for their purposes.

So in conclusion, I'd say "ABS Yes"...but make it optional.

[Nortoon_imp]

I never had ABS on any of my motorcycles the first 23 years that I rode. Although the Japanese bikes had decent brakes, I had to rely on downshifting to get my BSAs to stop quickly.

Fast forward 25 years. I bought a 2013 CB500XA not knowing that it did have ABS. I think they are standard here in Canada. I never noticed until one day on a 4-lane highway I was rolling along in the right hand lane at 100 KPH (62 MPH). A dizzy broad in the left lane behind me realized that she is about to miss her exit. She speeds up and heads right at me. Fortunately I saw her coming out of the corner of my eye, grabbed a fistful of front brake and came to a very sudden stop. She passes right in front of me and gives me a wave for letting her pass. Like I had a choice, it was stop or die!

This past summer I was 15 KPH over the 80 KPH speed limit on a rural two lane road. A black bear ran out of the bush and across the road in front of me. Another fistful of front brake, and another life saving sudden stop.

The white car in the oncoming lane turned out to be an Ontario Provincial Police cruiser with hidden lights. I started back up and the cruiser pulled an immediate U turn. As I pulled over and stopped on the shoulder, I thought this is going to be expensive.

I immediately removed my helmet hoping the officer would realize I was a senior citizen and no some young yahoo. I was approached by a very good looking female officer. She just wanted to check that I was alright. After a brief friendly chat we were both on our separate ways.

Do I like ABS? You bet I do!

[ClassicVW_imp]

I believe that someone told me that all new Triumphs come with ABS as standard equipment. Is that correct?

I believe that is now true for the 2017 MY. I imagine it was easy for them to do since they revamped almost every line the past couple of years. Many if not all also have traction control.

[Capo]

I believe that someone told me that all new Triumphs come with ABS as standard equipment. Is that correct?

I believe that is now true for the 2017 MY. I imagine it was easy for them to do since they revamped almost every line the past couple of years. Many if not all also have traction control.

I believe that is now true for the 2017 MY. I imagine it was easy for them to do since they revamped almost every line the past couple of years. Many if not all also have traction control.
Pretty sure ABS is now a requirement on all bikes in EU as of 2017.

[Django]

Normally, if the front wheel blocks on your grabbing the front brake then you're going down very quickly.

Thus, with ABS you can still try to brake as good as you can, just before blocking of the front wheel. That's what you would try to do for max brake, if you had no ABS.
However, if there was a slippery patch on the road and you overbrake, ABS would save your butt by not letting you block up the front wheel.

That's imho the main benefit. It's different to car ABS, where the benefit of ABS is the ability of still stearing the rotating wheels while brake full force.

[Stichill_imp]

Normally, if the front wheel blocks on your grabbing the front brake then you're going down very quickly.

Thus, with ABS you can still try to brake as good as you can, just before blocking of the front wheel. That's what you would try to do for max brake, if you had no ABS.
However, if there was a slippery patch on the road and you overbrake, ABS would save your butt by not letting you block up the front wheel.

That's imho the main benefit. It's different to car ABS, where the benefit of ABS is the ability of still stearing the rotating wheels while brake full force.

Perfect! Thanks, Django. It takes a non-native English speaker to craft the most efficient statement about motorcycle ABS.

[Django]

Thanks, big compliment.

[Cormanus]

Normally, if the front wheel blocks on your grabbing the front brake then you're going down very quickly.

Thus, with ABS you can still try to brake as good as you can, just before blocking of the front wheel. That's what you would try to do for max brake, if you had no ABS.
However, if there was a slippery patch on the road and you overbrake, ABS would save your butt by not letting you block up the front wheel.

That's imho the main benefit. It's different to car ABS, where the benefit of ABS is the ability of still stearing the rotating wheels while brake full force.

Interesting. My first experience of ABS in a car was stamping on the brake on a wet road and the brakes not locking and the car stopping much more quickly than had I slid on down the road.

Flynrider, I'm almost certain all motorcycles above 125cc sold in Europe from 1 January 2017 must be fitted with ABS. I'd have thought that might make them inevitable on all new bikes everywhere. It'll be interesting to see.

[curlyjoe_imp]

I've read Jan 1st 2016 for [url=http://www.bosch-motorcycle.com/en/de/fahrsicherheit_fuer_zweiraeder/motorrad_abs/gesetzgebung/legislation.html#]ABS in EU.

Since Euro4 emissions requirements exceed US CARB and EPA requirements, we may see motorcycles designed for sale in the EU exported to the US without any modifications. Honda's africa twin might be such an example.

[flynrider]

Normally, if the front wheel blocks on your grabbing the front brake then you're going down very quickly.

Thus, with ABS you can still try to brake as good as you can, just before blocking of the front wheel. That's what you would try to do for max brake, if you had no ABS.
However, if there was a slippery patch on the road and you overbrake, ABS would save your butt by not letting you block up the front wheel.

That's imho the main benefit. It's different to car ABS, where the benefit of ABS is the ability of still stearing the rotating wheels while brake full force.

Interesting. My first experience of ABS in a car was stamping on the brake on a wet road and the brakes not locking and the car stopping much more quickly than had I slid on down the road.

Flynrider, I'm almost certain all motorcycles above 125cc sold in Europe from 1 January 2017 must be fitted with ABS. I'd have thought that might make them inevitable on all new bikes everywhere. It'll be interesting to see.

I'm sure it'll be standard equipment everywhere in the future. I'm not against ABS at all. As a desert dweller, I rarely ride on wet pavement and I honestly can't remember the last time I locked a wheel while braking. Given the choice, I'd rather spend the $1K elsewhere.

I actually recommend ABS to new riders, though. Applying maximum brake without locking up the wheels is a skill that takes awhile to develop. In my newbie days, I could've used it more than once.