This is why ABS haters are wrong

[planegray]

Spoken like someone who works on private aircraft.

I was thinking about our old air cooled dirt bikes... but yes... currently up to my eyeballs

 

[afm199]

I don't miss these at all:

For some of us working on our bikes and fixing things come naturally. We are the minority most riders just want to ride. They could care less how the bike works as long as it works.

I bet you still have a points file. I do.

 

[Kurosaki]

:thumb up Said like it should be said :thumb up

It puts it in the perspective, of a rider that has learned how to use the controls, So that is how they get used.

What chaps my ass, is the opinions of never learned, have no intention of learning, and counting on this technology to do the deed.

How about the opinions of those who have never even ridden an ABS bike yet speak so passionately against them?

 

[GAJ]

How about the opinions of those who have never even ridden an ABS bike yet speak so passionately against them?

Their opinion is worthless IMHO.

And the more they press that opinion the more they affirm their willful ignorance.

 

[aminalmutha]

What about people who have tried it and hated it?

R1150RS here. And Rockster. Hated 'em both for a variety of reasons, but the ABS didn't help. Yes, I tried it.

Not that the brakes are bad, in fact, they're very good, but have terrible feel and feedback. The servo assist and ABS are complicating shit for the sake of complicating it. Zero reason for those bikes to have assist or ABS.

 

[flying_hun]

FWIW, I'm an old school rider who recently picked up a new bike with loads of rider aids (ABS, TC, electronic suspension, etc.). Yes, the ABS can be switched off. My only complaint so far is that the TC seems to limit foolishness going over crests in the road.

I used to own a BMW that had ABS that let me roll through a red light approached on a bumpy downhill. I'm hoping the ABS on this bike proves to be more sophisticated.

That cautionary experience with ABS also needs to be understood in context. The absence of those controls has also made possible some "moments" - unintentionally locked wheels, spinning up the back when it was not desired, etc. The truth is that my crash in 2006 might have been avoided with ABS, and my crash in 2011 would almost certainly have been avoided with TC. Those are crutches I wouldn't have minded.

Will it change the way I ride? Probably not much, I'm an old dog. Might it save my bacon? I certainly hope so.

 

[tzrider]

I used to own a BMW that had ABS that let me roll through a red light approached on a bumpy downhill. I'm hoping the ABS on this bike proves to be more sophisticated.

Yes, newer ABS forces you to come to a complete stop at a red light.

 

[Underdog]

How much traction do those grates across the Bay Bridge have?

[youtube]kHGrGOWLB5g[/youtube]

This is why all the people who say "ABS is a crutch" are wrong. There is no conceivable way that any sane rider would be trying that normally...unless you knew that you had an electronic safety that would make it effectively impossible for you to crash while doing that sort of test. I was pulling the rear wheel off the ground on the brakes there, and you can hear the tire howl as it approaches the limits of traction on the grate.

I never actually even cycled the ABS doing this testing - there was enough traction available that it wasn't needed. But ABS allows me to prove that in an incredibly low risk fashion.

Also, this goes double for traction control. When you can spin up the rear in a very low risk environment, you much more rapidly get comfortable with the limits of rear wheel traction.

ABS and TC will allow you to exploit the limits of performance in a way that no rider with out it can. You can whine about scotts dampers and the riding experience, but at the end of the day, if you don't have it, not only are you going slower, you have less access to the performance of your bike, meaning situations that would be completely safe and reasonable for an ABS and TC equipped bike could be completely unsafe for a bike without it.

If you want stats:


Our new electronic overlords are here and they are good, get on board, start demanding it as standard on bikes, and let's save some lives.

ABS/TC are nice to have.
I prefer fresh tires and unlimited gas.

 

[louemc]

How about the opinions of those who have never even ridden an ABS bike yet speak so passionately against them?

There is no way you could understand (not personal, there is no shortage of others with your opinion(s) out there).

If you had developed a touch, and You counted on what you sense and feel to be consistent...So what you are doing is a known thing,
and Not modified through a computer map, working on sensor input...You would know...And not have to ask.

 

[Enchanter]

There is no way you could understand (not personal, there is no shortage of others with your opinion(s) out there).

If you had developed a touch, and You counted on what you sense and feel to be consistent...So what you are doing is a known thing,
and Not modified through a computer map, working on sensor input...You would know...And not have to ask.

You're making assumptions. You don't know what you don't know. Those that do know, know what you don't know, and know you know that you don't.

 

[Kurosaki]

There is no way you could understand (not personal, there is no shortage of others with your opinion(s) out there).

If you had developed a touch, and You counted on what you sense and feel to be consistent...So what you are doing is a known thing,
and Not modified through a computer map, working on sensor input...You would know...And not have to ask.

First off, you don't even know what my opinion is.

 

[louemc]

You're making assumptions. You don't know what you don't know. Those that do know, know what you don't know, and know you know that you don't.

Or you're making an assumption, but you think it's a fact, because you came up with it.

 

[tzrider]

There is no way you could understand (not personal, there is no shortage of others with your opinion(s) out there).

This can aptly apply to you and your opinions on ABS as well.

If you believe that you cannot "develop a touch, and count on what you sense and feel to be consistent" with an ABS bike, you reveal how little you know.

I don't own an ABS bike myself and am not inclined to seek one out. I'm as confident in my skills as you are in yours, even though I realize there may be a circumstance in which ABS could save the day. For me, motorcycles represent more simplicity and I find that appealing. I draw the line in an arbitrary place, as my bikes don't have magnetos, they're not 2-strokes, etc. Still, they limit the things that can malfunction or that require upkeep.

When I ride ABS bikes, they don't particularly bother me and they don't change my approach to riding. Once in a very great while they have interfered with something I was trying to do, but it wasn't the end of the world. Some day I may not have a choice if I want a new bike and that'll be OK.

 

[Z3n]

Or you're making an assumption, but you think it's a fact, because you came up with it.

Louemc is the Fox News of BARF.

 

[louemc]

Louemc is the Fox News of BARF.

In your opinion..And for some bazar reason, You think (maybe) everyone else shares it.

Some do..Some don't.

I like the ones that don't.

 

[bikeama]

I bet you still have a points file. I do.

Yes I have several. I bet you used cellophane from a cig pack to find the release point.

 

[redtail]

The servo assist and ABS are complicating shit for the sake of complicating it.

The BMW servo assist was not very good, they discontinued it. At least I know they discontinued it starting with the 2007 K1200s. I rode a 2006 and brake feel was "compromised".

ABS these days is almost undetectable most of the time.

 

[Underdog]

You're making assumptions. You don't know what you don't know. Those that do know, know what you don't know, and know you know that you don't.

Those who know, know what only what they think they know, you know?

 

[Sharky]

I realize not everything can be planned for, but nobody should ever ride a bike into the boonies that they're not already 100% sure will make it back. That includes having spare parts for known issues after fitting new parts (and testing them) to the same known issues before leaving.

Dude Lou can machine any bike part out of redwood logs and rocks with his bare hands (all the while chapping his own hides).

 

[Z3n]

In your opinion..And for some bazar reason, You think (maybe) everyone else shares it.

Some do..Some don't.

I like the ones that don't.

Well, to be honest, I haven't shopped it around much...

The thing here that you clearly don't understand is a modern ABS system actually has no place where the "computer" does anything until it's already locked up - it uses a block of pistons that can move forward or back according to the needed pressure or drop in pressure to prevent lockup. So essentially, it's adding some small amount of volume to the braking system which is a net gain when it comes to handling heat and brake fluid contamination.

So you can blather about "the facts" all day, but you're completely wrong. And thusly, just like Fox News. All about "the facts", but no actual facts to back them up.