Motor cycle ABS

[pipme]

An interesting series of tests .... 1992 .... So should be better today !!

Our testers consisted of a closed-circuit endurance racer, a long-distance endurance rider, a RR staffer, a touring rider with 70,000 miles of experience, a motorcycle mechanic with a 37,000 mile riding history, and a relative novice with less than one year and 4200 miles of riding under his belt. We gave our riders the following labels: Racer, Mileman, RRider, Tourer, Mech and Newguy.

So we have a good cross section of users !!

http://www.ibmwr.org/prodreview/abstests.html

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[shaggy]

Certainly the 'wet pavement' braking figures are impressive, and also the comment by the 'newguy' Chicago commuter. Sometimes experience is everything and he learned quickly because he had to. I've never had a bike or car with abs but wonder if you get used to it then you may have a problem going back to something without it? I've ridden a Moto Guzzi that had linked brakes and that was a strange experience. Abs is probably the way to go though, even if it's just more dependence on electronics and more to go wrong.

 

[pipme]

Have been a user (cars) for 6 yrs ... Often drive non-ABS no problem.
Risk compensation is the problem, where a false sense of security leads to higher road speeds.
I think most serious mo-bikers (current and ex) have an enhanced sense of the prevailing road surface conditions and ABS will complement rather than replace the honed skills !!
I find it interesting to attempt braking such that the ABS does not cut in, noticeable as a distant, grating, vibration through the pedal in my car. Keeps you aware ... the odd, wet, manhole cover nudges one back to the tenuous reality of 'grip' as the lightest braking causes ABS to cut in on the wheel locking on the wet metal !! Best aid since the disc brake itself IMHO.
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[AdamW]

Wow, amazing stuff! The way the wet braking figures were pretty even between the experienced racer and the total novice when using ABS, excellent.

Bikes have an added safety feature over cars: you are far more likely to die if you come off one. If there is one thing guaranteed to calm a reckless driver down, or make a careless driver pay attention, it is riding a bike for a while. Either that or he'll just end up killing himself.