ABS is it that much of an improvement? What are your real life opinions?

[Guest]

I know ABS is a must have for new cars but find that it is a bit over rated.
Is the improvement in MCs that great? I can see where it would be a more significant safety feature on a bike.

Its been around on bikes for over 30 yrs at least it was on BMWs in the mid 80s.

[robertbarr]

When your bike's front tire is sliding, you're not steering anymore -- and soon enough, you're not vertical anymore. That's an obvious concern. A second concern is the reluctance to lay into the front brake to avoid the first possibility. So, either you're screwed by not using your full braking potential or you're screwed for overusing it a bit.

That's why ABS will be a major concern (for me) in any purchase decision anymore.

[JEEPRUSTY]

I have never come close to skidding the front tire on an MC but then I do not drive on dirty roads or in much wet weather.
A major MC mag had the writeup on the BMW system of the 80s. They displayed the benefits under varyong conditions by letting test riders use a bike fitted with outriggers to prevent injury.

Cant find the article anywhere but I do recall the stopping on sand was a phenomenal improvement.
It does nto seem to cost much more as an option anymore.

[LarryJ]

I wouldn't buy a new bike without it!

[trevor]

Yep JR my BMW is the 1st bike I ever had with it. I really like it. Funny though, after riding the beemer for a bit then getting on one of my old GS bikes I have been known to look up the back wheel. The anti-lock spoils you.

[LarryJ]

I wouldn't buy a new bike without it!

[jabcb]

I wouldn't buy a new bike without it!

+1 on that.


ABS will be required on bikes over 125cc in the EU from 2016 on.
The regulatory agencies are expecting this to result in an important improvement in bike safety.

http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-news--general-news/motorcycle-abs-compulsory-from-2016/21856.html

http://byermedia.com/news2/html/mc4.html

http://www.bosch-motorcycle.com/en/de/fahrsicherheit_fuer_zweiraeder/motorrad_abs/wirksamkeitsstudien/effektiveness_studies.html

Enhanced ABS systems are starting to become available that include gyros & lean angle sensors.
Claimed to work much better when cornering.
Initially only available on a few big $$$ bikes.

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/new-bikes/2013/september/sep2413-ktm-first-with-anti-lowside-abs/

[Rob S.]

Eventually, ABS will be inevitable. And traction control.

Probably DCTs or automatic transmissions also. Glad I won't live to see that one!

[eddie21]

Yes, I've been riding a bike with ABS since 2011. And as Trevor said, I get on my old bikes and manage to lock up the rear every now and then. In a panic stop it is very common for that to happen, the ABS takes care of that and therefore the bike is much more likely to remain upright. As LarryJ says, "I wouldn't buy a new bike without it". And if traction control is an option, I'd get that too.

[tkent02]

It's great on ice or really super slick surfaces. Otherwise not so much. Some are better than others, but I haven't seen any on motorcycles that were anywhere near as good as on cars. Not even in the same ballpark as those in airplanes. Those really work.

If I were buying a new bike I'd probably look for one without it. The bikes I have with ABS, I usually turn it off in traffic, dirt roads, most anywhere besides really slippery conditions.

With the ABS on, you never really know how much braking it will give you, and sometimes it's none at all.

[hillsy]

A friend of mine bought a new Rockster BMW with ABS back in 2006 and he gave it to me to ride for a bit. He said "take it up to 60mph and just slam on the front brake".

Sure enough, it just stopped without any dramas. Weird, but it sold me on ABS.

[RedBaron]

The only personal bike I've had it on was my Triumph. I'd probably classify myself as a hooligan transitioning to calmness for purpose of review. Under normal riding it's been unnoticeable (that means good to me), and I still back the bike in on some overenthusiastic days (engine braking is strong). I can't say for a fact that it's helped anything everyday, I don't feel I'm faster with it, but I do know that I haven't regretted having it after any spooky events. The state down here has been paving some back roads with this crappy pea gravel-like pavement stuff and I've found for my daily riding I'm a little more comfortable going home with the ABS. Not that any of my other bikes are scary or anything, just in case my mind is less sharp after work. One thing of note is that I can't say I've felt mine really "stutter". There have been times that I've known the only reason I'm actually decelerating upright is because of it (a lot of times just goofing off with it), but I didn't feel it in the lever. I can only think of one time I would've absolutely wrecked without it, and I'm glad it offered assistance. I was extremely anti-abs when it was introduced but I think I've grown to like it for 99% of my riding. That's on one particular bike (and a few rear brakes on new units) so I don't know if some are buzzy though. I wouldn't go through the trouble of retrofitting ABS to any bike. I probably wouldn't even care one way or another enough to sell me on a new bike, but If I'm looking at a bike and it happens to have it I'll consider it a minor plus.

[60ratrod]

My question is how hard would it be to retrofit abs onto an older gs? I know one component you would need is the abs computer

[JTGS850GL]

Seems you would need the abs computer, hydraulic pump, calipers, rotors, abs rings and sensors. A lot of fabrication on mounts and hydraulic lines. I would imagine it would be quite an undertaking to retrofit it to our GS's. Very risky if not done correctly as well.

[JEEPRUSTY]

Very complex as you would need to adjust or calibrate the computer to match all the various parameters of the bike.