ABS: Good, or Bad?

[shdwghst457_imp]

I agree with Guth (Post 12), Furious Blue (Post 22) and EmptySea (Post 27).

To answer the OP's question - ABS Good or Bad?

I believe everyone on this forum agrees that ABS is good. Some members believe they can outperform ABS under certain conditions. But even those members generally agree that ABS is a useful safety feature for many riders.

My next comment is aimed at readers who may be contemplating a CB purchase, and wondering if there is a difference in feel between the linked braking system of an ABS CB and a non-linked system. I own the former, and I can't tell the difference between it and my old non-ABS bike. The ABS-equipped CB is a pleasure to ride. Hope this proves useful.

You're right, I could've phrased the question better than good/bad.

I'm a new rider. My CB just hit 1000 miles the other day, after four months. It's predecessor, a 2012 Shadow, also a non-ABS bike, only had 1500 miles on it when I traded it in, so I know I have pretty much exactly 2500 miles of experience, which is nothing.

Before I took the MSF course in August, I couldn't even get the Shadow in gear. I got the Rebel around the block but the Shadow would just stall the moment I would try. The course really helped here, and in my group of 8 they split us up into two smaller groups; four people who ultimately failed the course, and my group of two lifetime riders, myself, and another new rider the instructor perceived to be an adept learner.

I locked up the Shadow's rear wheel many times at first, and ignored the course's instruction to keep holding it and leave the wheel locked up, opting instead to grab the clutch so the wheel would free spin instead of throwing me off the bike sideways like a good inverted pendulum should, and later asked my instructor-turned-friend about the decision. He said they don't teach that since most (and I think he was just talking about new) riders don't think that quickly in a panic, but that it's a good technique.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this thread, I'm personally happier learning how to really ride, just like I don't think a new driver should learn in a Lexus LS460 (the self-parker). I want to know that the skills I develop are mine, and not my bike's. The CB is tremendously more powerful than the Shadow, and similar in weight, but I've yet to lock up the brakes once on the CB. All that said, I do think ABS is inherently a good thing, and it's no doubt saved many lives and lessened the severity of many accidents. I just think people should learn to safely ride without, in case they end up on a bike that lacks it.