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The last bike I had with ABS was a Yamaha GTS1000.
One wet day, I was approaching a roundabout and whilst braking moderately, the ABS cut in.
The amount of time the system took to release and re-apply brake pressure, was enough to send me over the give way line,
It was very unnerving, especially as although I was braking firmly, it was nowhere near what I would consider enough to cause front wheel lock up.
I did since find out that early Yamaha abs systems were notorious for cutting in too early.
Gotta say that the system used in my R1200S seems to be much better.
I took advantage of wet roads the other day to give it a proper try out, and it was impressive.
At low speeds under very hard braking when the abs does cut in, the system is incredibly fast.
I duplicated the above scenario exactly, (on a quiet empty road of course), and it was impossible to obtain the same dangerous result.
Mind you, as BMW pioneered ABS on bikes, perhaps I shouldn’t have expected anything else.
My faith in ABS on bike is restored.
The system fitted to the 12S is frickin awesome.
Just wanted to say.

Never used mine in anger yet, but suppose I should do a few "tests" as you have. All the electrickery is improving dramatically , both in efficiency and sophistication although bikes seem to take the technology from cars as opposed to the other way around, economies of scale I suppose.
Anyway bikes are far safer now than at any time before.

eyore wrote:Never used mine in anger yet, but suppose I should do a few "tests" as you have. All the electrickery is improving dramatically , both in efficiency and sophistication although bikes seem to take the technology from cars as opposed to the other way around, economies of scale I suppose.
Anyway bikes are far safer now than at any time before.

I was told by a mechanic that it is a good idea to activate abs from time to time, as part of the reason expensive abs failures occur is because they never get used.
Inside the casing you basically have 2 plungers, much like pistons in an engine.
After a while they seize up in there, and that's that.
Operating the system from time to time helps prevent this (as I understand)

The only time my ABS has activated has been when I have tested it, apart from once in a gravel car park.

It takes quite a lot of bravery to deliberately try to lock up the brakes. Its just not natural. Modern systems on cars and bikes are incredibly sophisticated.

From what I read, the system used on some Honda sportsbikes is possibly the best, with some racers leaving the system in place on the track.

bikesnbones wrote:I was told by a mechanic that it is a good idea to activate abs from time to time, as part of the reason expensive abs failures occur is because they never get used.

Can testify to that, My bucket Freelander had the system seize due to exactly that, Easy fix, but was an MOT failure (dash warning lights on).

Had a shot of an ABS bike before, it does give you some comfort, but I can't see how it'll help if you're cranked over, and it bugged me clicking in too early unnecessarily on wet/damp roads
I'll take my chances without ABS by choice (bike only that is).

Bikerhoss wrote: Had a shot of an ABS bike before, it does give you some comfort, but I can't see how it'll help if you're cranked over, and it bugged me clicking in too early unnecessarily on wet/damp roads
I'll take my chances without ABS by choice (bike only that is).

Some time ago, in TWO magazine, they did an abs review.
Jamie Whitham could not match abs performance on the non abs bike in the wet.
They were using Triumph Sprints

My only gripe with the ABS on mine is when entering a roundabout with the decreasing yellow lines, the ABS can cut in between the lines which is a bit disconcerting.

bikesnbones wrote:Jamie Whitham could not match abs performance on the non abs bike in the wet.

Don't doubt that at all, But unless your track riding or need it in an emergency I'd rather just adjust myself for the weather and not have the hassle of potential component failure, or bleeding problems. Might be daft ignoring the safety potential, but each to their own eh

Bikerhoss wrote:

bikesnbones wrote:Jamie Whitham could not match abs performance on the non abs bike in the wet.

Don't doubt that at all, But unless your track riding or need it in an emergency I'd rather just adjust myself for the weather and not have the hassle of potential component failure, or bleeding problems. Might be daft ignoring the safety potential, but each to their own eh

I agree in a way, but I also see ABS in a similar way to decent protective clothing.
I mean we don't put on out armoured leathers, gloves and helmets because we lack faith in our own ability.
We wear it because we accept that no matter how competent we are, there is always the chance that due to circumstances unseen, it can all go horribly wrong in a split second.

I've never ridden a bike before with ABS .

However , after watching my mate have a terrifying near miss on a dirt road in South Africa on his big dual sport , he has switched it off .

I tested mine yesterday on a friends farm road ....

Hmmm ....

Not good in my opinion ....

I really don't like the back wheel letting off all the time ...

I'll watch out for a while , but to be honest , after so many years in the dirt , I'm not too confident with brakes that let themselves off all the time .

In fact its a bit terrifying for me .

I'm not a late or last minute brake expert , but I think I like my brakes on when I'm squeezing .

For road riding, I like the idea of ABS.

Sure a riding god may be able to beat the stopping distances in a an artificial test, ABS will still work as well at 6:30 AM setting off to work.

On dirt it makes no sense.

One of the nice things with having ABS as a back up is you can start to explore the unused levels of braking available in the wet. I can recall when I had my first ABS K100RS being really surprised how much more braking was available.

Off road use is never a good test of the system, which is why off roaders tend to have a switchable system.

My BCR doesn't have ABS and I'd be a little more cautious if riding on wet cobblestones, two up with luggage while trying to find a hotel in a strange town after a long day in the saddle, compared to the ABS equipped K

I've never been a fan of abs on a bike, I wouldn't have a car without it, but the early abs systems on bikes were crude, to say the least, however the newest generation seem to be on the money, I still wouldn't pay extra for it, but it would no longer be a deal breaker if an otherwise perfect bike had it fitted, assuming the perfect bike was 6 months old that is!

Steve