Triumphrat

b1rdman

I forgot to mention. $H1+ happens.

joey1970

I agree "somewhat" with Dazco! Tho being aware is safe riding practice.. it's not "always" possible to predict what happens on the road. Animals are fast.. and can dart out in front of you with almost no notice. Kids playing ball.. are not always aware.. and can dart into the street from behind a parked car.. and you'd never see them coming. There are sooooo many scenarios that can and will happen.. and ABS brakes can and will be useful at some point in a riders life.




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colombianstorm

I also agree "somewhat with Dazco. Being aware is really a must. On top of which, from now onwards I will always have bikes with ABS, if I can.

dazco

they're both important, but i think my point is that from what i see most riders are not nearly as aware and cautious as the need to be, and therefore if i could to give them ABS or the type of extreme awareness i described, i feel caution would win out. The reason being that ABS is like the cure for the disease while caution is preventative medicine. In other words, If you can ride 10 years and avoid all but one situation thru extreme caution, and the rider with little of that with ABS has 20 situations, ABS is unlikely to save him in more than maybe 1/2 of those. But even if i'm wrong and it saves him in 17 of them, he has 3 incidents in which he may be critically injured or worse.

I see cautiousness as being more valuable because i didn't always ride like i do now, and i learned the hard way how often things can and will happen w/o extreme caution. ABS or not, if i hadn't changed my ways i know id have had some very bad moments since. But instead not one. You guys are right tho....they can be situations where ABS is your only defense. It's good to have both. But if i could only have one I'd choose extreme caution. By the way, the biggest thing is ride extremely slow and cautious when in city traffic and save the fun stuff for the rural area and roads where there are no driveways, lights, likely animals, etc. there are some here and there throughout the city where i will cut loose a bit. But man, i'm like a scared rabbit in the city.

BMK9251

ABS for me for sure, when you need it you will be glad you have it. I guarantee it.

joey1970

Daz.. I completely agree that awareness is the #1 way to stay safe.. but having ABS is nice too. However, with that said, I read on another thread that you were hoping to get your 'bird to 140MPH. That certainly doesn't sound like a safe/cautious/aware thing to do. Just sayin'... lol

dazco

No, it's not. But it's much safer than riding normally in the city without being aware. MUCH safer. I only do that on freeway sections where it's straight and theres zero traffic like in the high desert. Last time i did that to 120 there wasn't a car visible front or rear on a straight freeway. The tires are rated for something like 170 MPH, the bike is 740 Lbs, i could ride like that all day on a road like that relatively safely let along for the few seconds i did. Plus i don't plan on making this a habit. I would like to experience 140 once in my life. I'm sure there are things you have done that are dangerous, but the point is if you don't do them daily it's not the same degree of danger. What do you think is safer? A lifetime on a bike in the city driving normally, or 2 or 3 times doing high speed for a few seconds at 100+ on a road as i described? It's not remotely close.

BigGuy82

I'll take this right to the extreme. I would not purchase a bike without ABS. I'm an excellent (but aggressive) defensive rider, I've installed a few "safety goodies" (Screamin' Banshee horn, aux light kit, tail light flasher, etc.) and I simply will never again purchase a motorcycle without ABS. This is a superb technology that saves lives (in cars and on bikes) and I'd gladly sacrifice buying the "latest model" in favor of increasing my chances of living.

There is an inherent risk associated with motorcycling that most of us understand and we knowingly accept that risk in favor of the rewards. Why not take every opportunity to lower risk when we can, while still fully enjoying our passion?

__________________
"The wire is life ... everything else is just waiting ..." - Karl Walenda

"My Triumph is living ... everything else is just boring ..." - BigGuy82

dougl

The T-Bird's stock ABS was a big selling point for me over comparable Harley's and Victory.