Compulsory ABS from 2016

[Mickea]

Possibly for all Euros, once some negotiating has been sorted out.
Anyway whats the views, good thing or bad?
IMHO I recon its one of the few idiotic rules that "they who must be obeyed" have come up with that "might" save a life or two?
Rgds Mick

[DaveM]

Hi Mick

I think it is a useful thing for road bikes, I am very happy to have ABS on my GT.

But I would not want it on my Daytona (unless I could turn it off) and I don't think such a thing should be compulsory in my book any way

cheers
Dave

[XL1200R]

I'm with Dave. I think ABS has gotten to a point where the cost is kind of minimal to add and having it on the GT was a plus for me (my first bike with it). I've had the rear ABS come on once when someone pulled out in front of me. On a bike like the GT I don't care that it always on, but I would want to be able to turn it down, or off, on something more sporting that might see some track time.

[champ87]

Originally Posted by XL1200R

I would want to be able to turn it down, or off, on something more sporting that might see some track time.

If you want ABS off for a track session then pull the ABS fuses. You won't notice any difference - until you lock a wheel.

[caddydaddy]

It's kind of like the helmet law, great idea to have it, but I don't think it should be the law.

[KitNYC]

Originally Posted by caddydaddy

It's kind of like the helmet law, great idea to have it, but I don't think it should be the law.

I have similar feelings. Pretty sure that if I ever buy another bike, it'll have ABS, but I don't like being forced into these things. I'm a believer in picking my battles, though, and this isn't one I'd bother fighting.

Cheers,
-Kit

[zelatore]

Originally Posted by KitNYC

I have similar feelings. Pretty sure that if I ever buy another bike, it'll have ABS, but I don't like being forced into these things. I'm a believer in picking my battles, though, and this isn't one I'd bother fighting.

Cheers,
-Kit

I have to agree 100%

[Kolodong]

On a road bike it should be standard, I would never buy another road bike without it, but they should turn their attention to something far more dangerous, like slow moving fat twats on big ugly twin cylinder motorcycles who don't know how to use their mirrors.

[DJBee]

I think there are a few problems with this although in general it probably is a good idea.

I have had only one bike with ABS, a BMW, and it never really worked properly, frequently failing to switch on properly when the ignition was started. There are also a lot of horrific stories of current BMW (bike) ABS systems making the brakes completely non-operational after going over a series of bumps, such as 'rumble strips'. I have no experience of other makes on bikes, although my car ABS comes in too soon in my opinion, losing braking force unnecessarily. Hard to argue against from a functional point of view I would say, so long as they work properly.

The second problem is the well known 'psychological dependancy' that we see demonstrated all the time by car, van and HGV drivers driving far too close to vehicles in front in wet and dry conditions. Their ABS brakes will of course safely stop their vehicle within a few meters without locking up the brakes or skidding......won't they? Even if they do crash, their reinforced cages, air-bags etc will save them anyway, so why worry? The result is the multiple vehicle horror crashes we get every year on UK motorways. French drivers are the worst at tail-gating in my experience although better than those in the UK at most other driving skills. Then there are the Italians.....!

The psychological dependency argument has been used against all sorts of safety features though, the crash helmet law and the seat belt law to name but two. Very, very few people these days would maintain that those arguments have any merit at all and I have known two people who were killed in cars solely because they were not wearing seat belts.

[nehpetsthegrey]

I think its generally not realised that ABS was developed as a safety aid for steering. It was designed so that a bike could brake as hard as possible and still steer at the same time. Its now seen as a braking aid for straight line stopping, which is not its primary purpose, although the design parameters may well have changed.