abs or not

[ebbo]

That might be more realistic...

And that's the reality of a panic stop, you won't have time to pre plan your braking strategy and you can't go back and have another go, one minute all is fine, next your on your arse, still, better on your arse than face plant a horse box eh

This post is on behalf of my mate who face planted a horse box illegally turning on to the other carriageway of the A19, he's still recovering after about 9 months now, see you soon mate

 

[Myke Rocks]

Ability has nothing to do with it.

Depends on whether you have faith in your own ability or not

When you encounter a "brown trouser" moment, ABS removes the need for caution. Just give it everything. Let the ABS protect you from your own rashness. If you have time to do something, then ABS is unneccessary, but the very nature of emergencies means the time required to modulate your thoughts and braking is not there.
Remember, ABS only has to work once in your lifetime to be worthwhile, and possibly extend the said lifetime.
Myke

 

[sven]

I know folk who've had some pretty nasty accidents due to losing the front end in an emergency stop who would almost definitely have stayed aboard with ABS.

I'm also convinced ABS on my K1200S (my first ABS equipped bike) saved my bacon twice and the much more refined system on my R1200GS once or twice (as did the TCS).

You wouldn't buy a car without ABS nowadays, WTF would you risk your neck on an inherently more unsafe motorcycle without it You may NEVER need it, but if you do unexpectedly hit gravel/ice/diesel when braking its nice to know its there. It only needs to save you once to pay for itself.

 

[The Grey One]

Since ABS has been a legal requirement in new cars for a while now and will be so on bikes before long it looks to me as some of you will end up like king Canute! Of course ABS introduces more complexity but so did hydraulic brakes in place of cable or rod operated brakes. Things move on and become more sophisticated and more reliable over the years. To judge all ABS systems by memories of early systems fails to take this into account.

There are the same old arguments trotted about expert riders being able to stop quicker without ABS. Just how many people fit in this category? Most of us are in fact fairly average riders, we might try our best but we will never reach that level of skill. I accept that this forum has an unusually high proportion of riding gods, people on here can ride 500 miles before breakfast, out corner sportsbikes whilst pulling a wheelie,Ride huge distances whilst remaining fully alert, oh and swear a lot (that last makes them real men you know) And don't forget that almost all the comparison tests are carried out in such a way that the "expert" rider knows he will have to try and beat the ABS bike. However much we might ride covering the brake or looking for a need to suddenly stop we are not in the same in that state of knowing have to brake hard at a certain point.

So for the moment we have the choice we can still choose to buy a bike without ABS, soon we won't- get used to it!

John

 

[Packer]

....if you do unexpectedly hit gravel/ice/diesel when braking its nice to know its there.

Precisely my point, if you hit ice or diesel with an ABS equipped bike you will effectively have no brakes. As there is virtually no friction for the tyres the electronics will ensure the brakes do not lock the wheels. You may be better off sliding along the road in your riding gear with a big contact patch than staying on board with virtually no speed reduction.

Some cars have (had?) a switch to disable the ABS in snow as the vehicle would stop faster with locked wheels than it would with ABS engaged.

 

[Engineer]

would you buy a bike with no abs , if you have allways had a bike with abs .
if it was cheaper than one without

Never had ABS until this year. Regardless of cost, I would choose not to have ABS - just not an option on the new GS unfortunately.

 

[Beemerman59]

Precisely my point, if you hit ice or diesel with an ABS equipped bike you will effectively have no brakes. As there is virtually no friction for the tyres the electronics will ensure the brakes do not lock the wheels. You may be better off sliding along the road in your riding gear with a big contact patch than staying on board with virtually now speed reduction.

Some cars have (had?) a switch to disable the ABS in snow as the vehicle would stop faster with locked wheels than it would with ABS engaged.

You can turn the ABS off on the bike as well to suit those circumstances/off road etc.

Are you saying that its preferable to fall off your bike, slide down the road, hit a tree/car/lampost etc., than it is to stay upright? Surely, if your're riding in those conditions i.e ice, you wouldn't be solely reliant on braking whether you have ABS or not and use other means of staying alive such as engine braking, clutch control, steering, anticipation and avoidance etc or simply not riding on ice in the first place.

As for the cars stopping on ice quicker with locked wheels than with ABS, that goes against the training and practical use I've had with cadence braking on a skid pan......

 

[Packer]

....I would choose not to have ABS - just not an option on the new GS unfortunately.

Another result of some unelected, risk averse, faceless, jobsworth civil servant covering his own back and trying to look useful? Probably in the EU as well trousering a small fortune.

 

[Engineer]

Another result of some unelected, risk averse, faceless, jobsworth civil servant covering his own back and trying to look useful? Probably in the EU as well trousering a small fortune.

Probably mates with the boss at Bosch too.

 

[Tackleberry.]

I new here and i have been reading as many posts about ABS and sensors as I taught I'd a problem on my GS that I only own 24hrs or so...as I've the brake warning light coming on as I start up the bike it's go when I drive off so I'm assuming all is good.
But I've been driving up the road hitting the 45 mph ish mark and then nailing the back brake, I'm seeing the abs kick in and it's great I'm starting to use the front but haven't nailed them...
So far I'm enjoying the taught of having a life saving ABS system on my new toy(07gs) tis a bit of a learning curve with the new height weight and balance of the Gs notting like me old blade that I've yet to miss..

 

[Greg Masters]

As for the cars stopping on ice quicker with locked wheels than with ABS, that goes against the training and practical use I've had with cadence braking on a skid pan......

ABS is superior on ice. However, in soft snow, a locked wheel allows the snow to pile up in front of the wheel and does give superior braking.

 

[ianboydsnr]

Well I have never considered it the be all and end all in buying a motorcycle, so it would depend on other things like condition and milage, on a new or nearly new one I probably would buy the Abs one, purely as it would be expected come sale time, but I specifically sought out a non Abs GS last one I bought as I didn't like the servo!

 

[cookie]

As for the cars stopping on ice quicker with locked wheels than with ABS, that goes against the training and practical use I've had with cadence braking on a skid pan......

i think that's only true on snow, where it builds up in wedges in front of the tyres.

edit: greg's already said that

I new here and i have been reading as many posts about ABS and sensors as I taught I'd a problem on my GS that I only own 24hrs or so...as I've the brake warning light coming on as I start up the bike it's go when I drive off so I'm assuming all is good.

that's normal

 

[Tackleberry.]

that's normal

Thx for that cookie, ill sleep better tonight.

 

[Beemerman59]

i think that's only true on snow, where it builds up in wedges in front of the tyres.

There's (relatively speaking) a fair amount of grip on snow, on ice there's none.

 

[jwpzx9r]

ABS? never in a million years would I have bought the bike had I known the problems and costs involved in replacing faultyservos ,pumps you name it. I reckon the the prices quoted to people for faulty systems , many of which are only just out of warranty, are scandlous. I will however say its not just BMW who have problems others have too aswell as cars and the prices are similar.

 

[johnboy]

I recently went on an advanced breaking course on a 2011 GS. Anything which allows you to hit the front break as hard as possible at 85 mph and stop under complete control on a wet road and in a considerably shorter distance than an R1 and blade is a must. Any average rider will, based on a my experience on a day long breaking course, never outbraek a bike fitted with ABS and certainly not a GS fitted with ABS.

 

[Bendy toy]

The original question was should I buy a non ABS bike. Of course, it's a personal choice. However I personally would not (1) because I think it's a great driver and safety aid and (2) because there are so many GSs about with it, those without are worth much less money.

Get a bike without ABS and expect a big price difference but find it harder to sell when the time comes.

 

[Tackleberry.]

The original question was should I buy a non ABS bike. Of course, it's a personal choice. However I personally would not (1) because I think it's a great driver and safety aid and (2) because there are so many GSs about with it, those without are worth much less money.

Get a bike without ABS and expect a big price difference but find it harder to sell when the time comes.

Will the ABS warning be on screen if you disable it as the thread suggests, I'd hate to get stung with a non ABS working ABS bike..

 

[cookie]

The original question was should I buy a non ABS bike. Of course, it's a personal choice. However I personally would not (1) because I think it's a great driver and safety aid and (2) because there are so many GSs about with it, those without are worth much less money.

Get a bike without ABS and expect a big price difference but find it harder to sell when the time comes.

but as this thread has demonstrated, there are a small number of people looking for a second hand non ABS bike. they only have a small number of bikes to choose from, so i'd say it probably evens itself out

there's a big price difference when new. last time i looked, it was £1000.