07-08-2013, 01:39 PM
LiveToRide, I was in the exact same boat as you and ended up with the non-ABS machine. After I bought my bike, I got an earful from the service guys and it turns out that not everyone at Honda is a fan of the Combined ABS system. The gist of discussion primarily had to do with how Honda decided to implement the "combined braking" portion of the system on each model of bike. For example, the Combined ABS on the big CBRs (I'm not sure about the CBR250) works much differently than the Combined ABS on say the touring bikes. Apparently the combined braking system is far less invasive in response to the riders inputs on the CBRs as compared to the touring bikes. The implementation of the ABS on the CBRs sounds pretty neat to me, but not so much on the touring bikes.
So, the question in my mind is just how did Honda implement the combined braking system on the CB1100? A better overall question might be: has anyone here engaged the ABS on their CB1100 in situations where they weren't simply testing it out on their own and if so, how did it engage and perform? What were the conditions and how did the ABS make a difference?
I still think that overall ABS makes a lot of sense. It is the way of the future. I'm just not sure that I will ever fully trust the technology (I've experienced ABS not working in a car, result = no brakes). I wish that Honda had provided an override switch that would allow the rider to turn the ABS system on or off as they choose as other manufacturers have. I'm guessing that at some point down the road, all new bikes will have ABS. If anyone can ultimately get it right, my money would be on Honda.
So, the question in my mind is just how did Honda implement the combined braking system on the CB1100? A better overall question might be: has anyone here engaged the ABS on their CB1100 in situations where they weren't simply testing it out on their own and if so, how did it engage and perform? What were the conditions and how did the ABS make a difference?
I still think that overall ABS makes a lot of sense. It is the way of the future. I'm just not sure that I will ever fully trust the technology (I've experienced ABS not working in a car, result = no brakes). I wish that Honda had provided an override switch that would allow the rider to turn the ABS system on or off as they choose as other manufacturers have. I'm guessing that at some point down the road, all new bikes will have ABS. If anyone can ultimately get it right, my money would be on Honda.