I was wondering if any of you guys have ever owned a bike with ABS brakes. The reason being is that I was riding my Harley Ultra Classic to get an out of state inspection the other day. It was windy and cloudy, but since I have so many vehicles, I was just wanting to get done with the beauracracy.
Before I got to the Ford place in Oregon Ohio, it started raining like cats and dogs, and little ice pellets were showering down. It hurt like hell, and my sunglasses were dripping which made it hard to see.
Apparently the rain was bringing up all of the oil in the pavement because when I got to the turn in to Ford, I started applying the brakes, and both brakes started activating and pulsing.
I could not see the oil, but it was like being on black ice. ( probably all of the oil leaking out of those Fords.......LOL) The brakes still adequately dropped my speed enough to make the turn in so I just let off the brakes and leand her in and made the turn.
Since then I have wondered what would have happened if I didn't have those Brembo ABS units on Kate, ( My Harley ). When I bought her, the Harley sales guy made a big deal about the new ABS Brembo's, and I was like yeah OK OK, so it has ABS breaks, I guess I was doubtful as to their actual usefullness.
I do have very quick reactions in these kind of situations, but this took me by total surprise. And if I would have dumped Kate, it would have cost a mint to repair her.
Let me tell you, those are some cool brakes. I think I would have probably made the turn even without the ABS, but in a more severe situation, I think they might have saved my ***!
I am now wondering why these kind of breaks are not offered on all sports bikes? I doubt if you would want them when taking the twisties, so I would think they should be rider switchable for sportbike application.
Jus wondering, but it does sound like a good idea as long as the rider can choose the mode for breaking.

 

i probably dont ride my bike as hard as most but why would you not want ABS in the twisties?

I could have used ABS several times like just after leaving work with the tires not heated up and some jerkoff pulling out in front of me, or like last week braking for a red light and hitting oil in the road and finaly stopping 10 ft after the white line. The main thing is not to panic let off the brake gain traction and reapply... ABS would make that easer though.

 

Right, just add abs and traction control on every bike. What a croc that I do not wish to pursue or use.

 

Well I stated that the ABS would not be suitable for twisties, and they should be rider selectable. WTF?? I think it would be safer for just common street riding. You cannot let off the brakes and reapply them as fast as the ABS system can pulse to regain traction. And for new riders, they would probably save their ***.
Of course an experienced competant rider can get through most situations without them and we have been doing it for many years. All I am saying is that a rider selectable system would be an advantage for a lot of people. And of course, They would be even more important on a fricken 900 pound beast like an Electra Glide.

 

I had ABS on my ER-6f because I was recovering from an accident and my braking control was a bit compromised.

They're fine on twisties. The only time they activate is if you've already screwed up your braking, in which case they might save you from a self-caused accident.

They come into their own in rain when oil and rubber is lifted and stirred into a slippery mess.

I think mine have actually activated twice in the two years and 14K miles I've had them - both times at slow speed in poor weather conditions. Worth having for the feeling of security. If you want to deactivate the system, just pull the fuse. Easy enough to fit a switch if you really wanted to, but think of it as test of skill to see how hard you can brake without activating the system.

Rob

 

ive rode a bike with them and they help for the panic stop alot.