In October 2006 (yes it’s nostalgia time) I was coming up to a mini-roundabout in the wet at slowish speed (15mph I guess).
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a Transit steaming up to enter the roundabout from my left, didn’t look like he was going to stop … had he seen me?..panic…grabbed front brake…front washed out…I did my superman act and landed on the roundabout…bike slewed over breaking brake pedal, mudguard, indicator etc etc
Transit had seen me and did stop…so I braked for nowt blush
Yesterday I was doing about 20 along a long residential round and out of the corner of my eye (again) I saw a car zoom up to give way sign on a road on my right - again panic , was he not gonna stop??? … panic-grabbed font brake but luckily it was dry and the front tyre stuttered but kept grip - if it was wet I would have been on my arse…
So Question: Would ABS have saved me in both situations because even though these instances were ten years apart I who knows when it would happen again and if an ABS bike is the answer… I want one!
ABS isn’t a miracle worker but in can help in some situations, if you lost the front end because it locked up then there’s a distinct possibility it would have.
with ABS: if you locked the front the ABS would release the brake and you might have ended up in the middle of the roundabout.Might be better to learn how to brake
That’s not really how ABS works - a tyre with traction (which is the aim of ABS) will always stop faster than one without, and certainly faster than a bike trying to use its front fairing and indicator stalks as a brake. It’s vanishingly unlikely that anybody could ‘learn how to brake’ and be more effective than ABS, even given a situation where they’re not surprised into braking.
No, the bulk of the point of ABS is that it makes panic braking safer - you grab a fistfull of brake and the computer deals with keeping the wheel rolling and slowing you down. It makes it much harder or impossible to do anything but safely slow down under heavy braking.
I need a psychiatrist to reduce my panic-factor really…or maybe my “riding-along-thinking-what-that-woman-from-Benidorm-looks-like-in-the-nuddy-OH-SHIT BRAKE!!!” tendancies since my animal reactions can sometimes override my experience and fantastic braking talents!
EE…of course when I was a lad just starting owt my BSA A65 Spitfire had a (sort of) ABS system…drum brakes (twin leading shoe vented natch!) - stretchy Bowden brake cables and skinny Avon “Cling-On” tyres that would slide if you ran over a gob that someone had spat into the road.
All that meant that locking your front wheel straight away was a dream!
Having ABS will always be preferable to losing control of your motorcycle. If you lose traction and have no ABS to correct it, you would probably slide a longer distance than the ABS will stop you in. Plus with ABS you will still be able to steer the bike whilst it’s stopping.
Shoot Mr Gibson! Impressive video! Er...does that mean my next bike has to be a KTM??? Pleeease don't tell me my next bke has to be a BMW though. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Triang - Ross
Nope. Not limited to KTM, but they were the first to put the "3D" ABS on a production bike. Others are now implementing it.
ABS isn't a miracle worker but in can help in some situations, if you lost the front end because it locked up then there's a distinct possibility it would have.
fatshoutybloke
However, if you washed-out without locking the wheel, ABS is not able to stop a wheel slide. My advice is approach roundabouts slower.
The last video does say that “the average rider” will stop quicker with a bike fitted with ABS. True enough! … and I reckon I probably fall into this category. However, I do know riders that can stop quicker without it. When you can do big rolling stoppies, then you’ve got the skill to not need it, especially when you can do them in the wet. Not everyone buys a S1000RR with no rider aids (no ABS, no traction control), and I know of only one person that did this, but his riding skills are “out of this world”! For most of us mere mortals though, ABS will assist when things get knotty (locking the front end, and not having the skills to correct it).
How many of You ride with the skill and speed to find ABS a nuisance?
Outside a track I mean.
I find that in UK ABS is a must have considering the amount of times roads are wet and the overall bad quality of roads. Im
a bit annoyed that it doesnt work on mine