07-09-2013, 11:44 PM
Quote:The best ABS system is upstairs in our head. Being alert to idiots and the unawake and unaware populating our roads, riding within ones level of competence and practicing our braking skills.
There are road hazards that you encounter over which you have no control. Oil on the road just after a brief shower, sand on the street left over from winter, wet leaves, cross walk paint with water on top, and panic stopping are all factors that will cause the front or rear wheel to lock up. Your brain cannot possibly account for all of these conditions all of the time. Most of the time, maybe, there is always one that can get you. And if you think you can pulse the application of brakes as fast as ABS can, that is just not humanly possible.
ABS just gives us another tool to use to stay vertical. As a returning rider after 45 years absence, I felt I needed all the help I could get. I went down on my Yamaha on Murray Hill in Cleveland in 1968 because my front wheel locked up on an oil slick road. Not fun and to be avoided.
All bikes sold in the US will be required to have ABS in 2016. So like it or not it is coming.
Quote:Collision insurance claims for motorcycles with ABS are filed 20 percent less frequently
Quote:Institute researchers compared the fatal crash experience of antilock-equipped motorcycles against their nonantilock counterparts during 2003-08. The main finding is that motorcycles with antilocks versus without are 37 percent less likely to be in fatal crashes per 10,000 registered vehicle years.
These statements from the insurance institute just go on and on how ABS is saving the lives of riders. We would be foolish to ignore this.
Honestly my mind is made up on this particular issue.
There are road hazards that you encounter over which you have no control. Oil on the road just after a brief shower, sand on the street left over from winter, wet leaves, cross walk paint with water on top, and panic stopping are all factors that will cause the front or rear wheel to lock up. Your brain cannot possibly account for all of these conditions all of the time. Most of the time, maybe, there is always one that can get you. And if you think you can pulse the application of brakes as fast as ABS can, that is just not humanly possible.
ABS just gives us another tool to use to stay vertical. As a returning rider after 45 years absence, I felt I needed all the help I could get. I went down on my Yamaha on Murray Hill in Cleveland in 1968 because my front wheel locked up on an oil slick road. Not fun and to be avoided.
All bikes sold in the US will be required to have ABS in 2016. So like it or not it is coming.
Quote:Collision insurance claims for motorcycles with ABS are filed 20 percent less frequently
Quote:Institute researchers compared the fatal crash experience of antilock-equipped motorcycles against their nonantilock counterparts during 2003-08. The main finding is that motorcycles with antilocks versus without are 37 percent less likely to be in fatal crashes per 10,000 registered vehicle years.
These statements from the insurance institute just go on and on how ABS is saving the lives of riders. We would be foolish to ignore this.
Honestly my mind is made up on this particular issue.