ABS - do you agree with it?

[AckAckFlack]

Was pondering the idea of ABS on a bike - new to riding I haven't much experience but I know that the instructor that took me for the DAS and Enhanced Riders Scheme was against ABS.
The theory being that you shouldn't get yourself into a position to need it.....

Now I can see two sides to this argument what's the feeling out there FOR or AGAINST..... best thing since slice bread or just another rider aid to take the fun out of riding.

Over to you

[africajim]

I have ABS on the Varadero and have found it useful. Its a system that definately saved me in the car on one occasion and can't see why anyone would be against it? Anything that makes riding a bike safer cannot be bad.
Linked brakes are the same in my eyes, some folk complain about how they should decide front to rear braking but I've always found linked brakes a benefit. Both my Varaderos and my VFR had linked brakes and were excellent.
"Shouldn't get yourself in that position"? Do you really think that he, or anyone else riding a bike can afford to be so smug? The next time a car pulls out on you remember to blame yourself for putting yourself in "that position"! We don't always put ourselves in situations but life can dictate them to us.
I'm all in favour of anything that makes life safer so put me down as for ABS.

[pdsquire]

Your instructor, I regret to say, was a moron.

You should not get yourself into a postion that you need a helmet on a motorbike; nor seatbelts or a passenger safety cell in a car; nor knee pads while roller-blading; nor a face mask when fencing; nor eye-protectors when using a chain-saw; nor a strap in your baby's push-chair. Have I made the point yet?!

My Pan is far too heavy and fast for me to feel entirely safe without ABS. A big Vara would be the same. When cars had two wheel braking, some folk complained that new-fangled four wheel brakes would cause accidents. Luckily they were ignored. On this similar issue, your instructor should be ignored too.

[japes1275]

Bet he was a member of some 'advanced driving/riding' jobbie. The thing with abs is that you should forget you have it and ride/drive as you would normally. People that rely on it to get them out of trouble are the ones that should watch out.

I do hillclimbs in an old car and when I brake hard for a corner I know it will probably lock up, releasing the brakes and applying them again (cadence braking I think its called) is second nature in those situations. When a car pulls out on you on the road it's a totally different matter. You just stamp on the pedal as hard as you can and hope for the best. It's just a natural instinct and it would take some doing to release the brakes as you are heading for the side of a truck!

The only time it can be a bit dodgy is in snow(in a car) or off road at slow speed but for the rest of the time I'd rather have it than not.

[Boris]

I wouldn't be without it now. I'm sure in perfect conditions you could probably stop quicker but perfect conditions generally don't exist and certainly don't have a car or van pulling out in front of you.

Have a look at the quote below from a few years back it tells of the first (and last so far) time I used the ABS in anger. I know things would have turned out differently had I had conventional brakes. As I said I wouldn't be without it now.

I must admit I was really sceptical about the merits of ABS on a bike but any doubts I had were put to rest when, not long after getting the bike, I was out with my 13 year old son and a van pulled out to do a 3 point turn and stopped blocking both sides of the road leaving me nowhere to go.
Now after years of sports bike riding I reckoned I was pretty good on the brakes and I braked as hard as I dared but I could tell we weren't going to stop in time and this was going to be a sore one for both of us. Then in a flash I remembered the ABS and just grabbed handfuls (and footfuls) of brake and bugger me did the bike not stand on its nose and stop in a distance I didnt think possible for such a heavy bike 2 up. We stoped with less than 1 foot to the side of the van and breathed a sigh of relief.

It was then at that point that my son learned for the first time, via the intercom, exactly how many swear words his dad knew.

[Boris]

Your instructor, I regret to say, was a moron.

Agreed. He sounds a complete tit.

[Warthog]

In the case of that instructor, the arguement for not ever needing ABS was, I suspect, one of those points of view held by people who wish to seem infallible and oh-so-much-the-better-rider-than-you.

It is also BS.

Having ABS does not suddenly make you think you can brake anyhow, anywhere. Learn to ride defensively, hone your road sense, but when it comes down to it and you do need to make an emergency stop (and you WILL need to make an emergency stop at some point, no matter how careful you are), ABS may the difference between a scare and a fall.

Nothing wrong with ABS: a decent safety feature on a vehicle that will have you off if you lock up the wheels....

[jarl]

I like ABS.

But I also like locking and spinning up the rear off road.

So, something I could turn on and off with a simple switch, rather like traction control, would be ideal. On for the roads, off for when I'm on dirt.

The problem is with different tyre temperatures and road conditions you're never going to be braking at 100%. ABS allows you to get really quite close to that number. I know I don't know how hard I can break on the front without it locking, that's because I very rarely use it, even rarer in anger. I'd really appreciate ABS in that case so I can grab major fistfuls of brake in a panic situation and stay relatively upright.

[Snaphappy]

Ahh brakes, every one has there own likes dislikes to brakes, how much front how much back?
most of it depends on what your riding.
Jarl above uses the back most of the time I rarely touch it, linked braking on the Vara the front is enough (even in anger) on an advanced riding skills course the dero would stop in the same distance as the other bikes with just using the front, the only ones that stopped shorted where the ABS fitted bikes.
You only have to look at the road bikes being turned out now, most of them have ABS, its not law but it makes sense to keep their customers alive to buy another bike.

As for the instructor, winch & anchor

[Dee Duble Yuh]

... I know I don't know how hard I can break on the front without it locking, that's because I very rarely use it, even rarer in anger...

I'm not sure if I understand what you're saying here. If you rarely use the front brake then you are missing out on a whole load of braking power. On a dry road you will almost certainly never be able to lock up the front wheel; the bike will pull a stoppie before the tyre looses grip.

In fact I can't even imagine bringing a middling to large bike to a halt without using the front brake. It would either require the distance of a super-tanker, or guarantee a rear wheel lock-up that risks causing a high-side.

As an experiment I once tested the ABS by braking really hard on a damp (deserted) road; the bike came to a halt completely without drama in far less distance that I would have thought possible. If it had been an emergency situation I would probably have applied far less braking effort for fear of locking up and thus taken further to stop. That's the beauty of ABS: it works on all road surfaces, wet, damp, gravely, icy...

I believe on BMW's GS range you can turn ABS off for off-road use. Unfortunately you can't do that on the Vara.