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Published by grotbag 10-24-2008 | |||||||
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By
AndyR
on
10-24-2008, 11:03 AM
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| Re: ABS brakes help bikers to avoid fatal crashes About 10 years ago, (when I thought of getting back on a bike), I saw a BMW with ABS on it and it put me right off. The thing is, at the time I had a Rover 827 with ABS on it and during the winter I hit a hill with a junction at the bottom of it that was sheet ice, as soon as I hit the brakes the ABS kicked in but the car kept on rolling. It's a good job there was nothing coming and I could move straight on otherwise it would have caused an accident because it didn't stop the car. ABS on a bike? Bad idea in my opinion. I'll concede it's a great idea for a car offering fantastic grip in the dry and wet conditions, but in snow and ice it's useless. |
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By
FirestormMike
on
10-24-2008, 07:13 PM
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| Re: ABS brakes help bikers to avoid fatal crashes ABS is there to help you steer, obviously you can't if you lock the wheels. I've had it on most of my cars and think it's great once used to it. Ok it can be a pain in winter, but if you drive according to the conditions then it shouldn't be a problem. On a bike it should be a welcome addition. When I binned my KR1 (steamed up fiesta pulled out on me) I locked the front and down I went. I can only wonder how different it would have been on a bike with it fitted. |
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By
AndyR
on
10-24-2008, 09:10 PM
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| Re: ABS brakes help bikers to avoid fatal crashes Well GB, not wishing to brag here but I'm an "expert reviewer" for one of the bike owner review sites, (I've had expert ratings on both the Kawasaki GPZ and the Triumph Trident 900 Sprint), and in my view ABS on a bike isn't a good idea. For a car, hell yes! But then it works on 4 wheels where balance isn't required and dramatic /drastic wheel movements can be made to steer out of trouble. But on a bike you don't have that ability, traveling at speed and having to hit the brakes hard, a decent rider should be able to feel the grip from the tyres and back off the brakes while still applying them enough to significantly slow you down. Hitting the brakes hard on a bike and trying to "steer" out of trouble is asking for trouble. It's too easy to knock yourself off balance or go into a tank slapper causing the rider to lose total control and possibly do more damage than if they hit the object at a reducing speed. The line of balance on a bike is too fine to mess about with and for an ABS system to take control of the brakes as I believe the rider needs to feel how the brakes are performing in any given situation to enable him or her to handle that given situation. I also feel that ABS would encourage late braking in the more aggressive riders as well as give the false sense of security or "I will stop without locking up the wheels" I believe this sort of technology should be compulsory in all 4+ wheeled vehicles and bikes should be left as raw as possible to give the required feedback to the rider so they can better assess and judge the situation where emergency braking is required. |
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By
Manky Cat
on
10-24-2008, 09:21 PM
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| Re: ABS brakes help bikers to avoid fatal crashes I have to say that having ABS on my car hasn't made a difference to my driving as in "late braking" ect, so I couldn't see it making much difference on a bike, save that it would be a lot easier to steer out of harms way, i'd definately like them to be fitted as standerd. I think that perhaps we in the UK need to have a good review too. |
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By
motorrad1527
on
10-24-2008, 09:24 PM
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| Re: ABS brakes help bikers to avoid fatal crashes Quote:
Anyone who has ridden in the ice and snow will appreciate that if you lock up the wheels you lose control and on a bike on ice/snow the effect is damn near instant, ie "your off" lets not get carried away with creating another urban myth. Its true in some specific isolated cases ABS "might" be a disadvantage for a very switched on, very competant rider but in the vast majority of occasions its most certainly not. Its exactly the same argument that was used against wearing seatbelts- how many times did someone trot out the old "what if you are trapped underwater in a car and you cant get your belt off" scenario- i mean gimme a break! youd be dead anyway if you wernt wearing one!. (climbs off soapbox) anyway nuff said moto | |
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By
AndyR
on
10-24-2008, 09:49 PM
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| Re: ABS brakes help bikers to avoid fatal crashes Not wishing to argue here but to enter into debate and discussion, I was asked for my opinion on this by GB and I do stand by it. I would invite Manky for make some aggressive course changes on a motorcycle to see what happens, but I know what the result would be and so wouldn't make that request  With respect Moto, the seatbelt argument is a very weak analogy and it was always a weak argument put forward by those who opposed the seatbelt law. In the majority of a collisions where drivers and passengers have to be cut out of vehicles, it is not the seatbelt trapping the occupants in the vehicle but the vehicle itself after it has been crushed due to hitting another object. To further validate my opposition to ABS on motorcycles, I would put forward the suggestion that a lot of a Formula 1 drivers will have many many problems next year when new restrictions are brought into force removing the technology and the enhancements that technology brings to their ability to race such how powered vehicles. The removal of the technology will mean they will have to rely more on their skill as a driver rather than sit in a high speed "Play station" I also question the findings of the American insurance industry and would ask has the personality type of the rider been addressed? i.e. Has the question been asked what type of rider owns a bike with ABS in opposition to what type of rider owns what is basically a cruise missile with a human on the back. My point being, someone of my age who rides a "cruiser" type of bike is in all likelihood to be less prone to some sort of collision that say someone who is half my age and rides a sports bike capable of zero to one hundred miles per hour in less than 3 seconds. At the end of the day we all ride within our comfort zone and all too often we make mistakes, (thankfully the majority of those mistakes are very minor mistakes), when we attempt to ride outside of our comfort zone. It is my view that ABS on a bike would encourage the "I can stop" mentality in a lot of riders who are aggressive in their riding styles. ABS has nothing at all to do with steering control and balance which are of paramount importance when heavy braking is required in an emergency situation. Taking away full braking control from a rider is not a good idea in from my opinion. |
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Last edited by AndyR : 10-24-2008 at 09:54 PM.
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