WHY DOES ABS MATTER ?

[LumpyCam]

ABS and ASC will each have pros and cons depending on your riding. I too wish the R1200R had a ABS kill switch like the ASC kill switch. For me, each has proven useful but someone in a different environment and use may have different requirements.

I might be a few years younger than others on the board so my memories of 'early bikes' are late 80s (me digging them up cheap from the classifieds). While i respect the 'I didn't need it for the last 30 years so why now?' I think it could be erroneous to assume that the 110hp 500lb we trash around on today pose the same risk potential as the bikes of yesteryear. I certainly didn't need traction control on many of those old bikes!!

Two observations:

ABS - Riding around a corner once I hit a spot of light sand AND the road turned to sharp washboard. I was midway through the turn. The ABS kicked in and helped me stay up - I felt extremely lucky to have it onboard at that moment!

ASC - Traveling to another city once it was late in the evening and raining hard. Heavy traffic. I went to pass a car and hit the throttle as always. The rear end kicked out violently as there must have been something that gave a slick to the street beyond just the rain. Just as the bike twisted into a very precarious angle and I was ready to highside when the ASC kicked in and pulled the bike straight. Again, this would never have happened on a bike with less torque.

Each is at its best when you're at your worst. Yes, if you are 100% 'on' and ready for anything you can probably manually achieve whaever ABS/ASC would be able to do. However, if you ride 10-20k mi per year there WILL be moments when your guard is down. That's just being human. Thankfully the bike can just be a bike and get you out of it.

[deilenberger]

Probably a silly idea , but when going off-road (and wanting no ABS) , would it be possible to "fool" the ABS computer (to disable its opeation) by either removing the ABS ring on the front wheel (or the opposite and tape it up) ?
And if this kind of thing could work (but too much hassle) how about taping over the sensor?

Removing the ring would certainly do it, but isn't trivial (not a side of the road, I'm heading off-road sort of thing. Wheel has to come off..) Taping the sensor won't work unless it is a mumetal tape (which stops magnetic flux..) The sensor is a simple inductive coil that sees the teeth in the sensor going around. Regular tape won't stop that.

Again - it shouldn't be hard to find where the GS switch hooks to the ABS computer and add a switch to the R12R for those determined to defeat ABS. All we need is a WDS (Wiring Diagram System) disk for the bikes. Anyone have one?

[Tarmac]

[quote="deilenbergerAgain - it shouldn't be hard to find where the GS switch hooks to the ABS computer and add a switch to the R12R for those determined to defeat ABS. All we need is a WDS (Wiring Diagram System) disk for the bikes. Anyone have one?[/quote]

hmm.. what about turning off the linked system?

[deilenberger]

hmm.. what about turning off the linked system?

No idea. Is there a particular reason to turn off the linking? I can't imagine the need to do it (except for doing burnouts) since you can use the rear brake independently, but I'm open to being educated..

[Tarmac]

As I pointed out earlier in this thread, during my last track day I got the rear wheel chirping and a bit squirrely while hard on the brakes and downshifting. It also makes trail braking a lot harder, as applying the rear brake while the bike is on it's side can cause the bike to stand up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_braking

Just to clarify, I only want to disable the linked brakes on the track, I kinda like it on the street. I haven't felt the ABS kick in yet, but it gives me confidence to grab big handfuls of brake

[r12gecko]

hmm.. what about turning off the linked system?

No idea. Is there a particular reason to turn off the linking? I can't imagine the need to do it (except for doing burnouts) since you can use the rear brake independently, but I'm open to being educated..

I seem to recall hearing you can defeat the ABS at start-up, while the panel light is on, by putting the bike on the centre stand and letting the rear wheel spin a while at idle in 1st while the front stays planted. Eventually an error is generated & ABS will not restart until the ignition is recycled. Anyone try this?

[Kieran R1200R]

hmm.. what about turning off the linked system?

No idea. Is there a particular reason to turn off the linking? I can't imagine the need to do it (except for doing burnouts) since you can use the rear brake independently, but I'm open to being educated..

I seem to recall hearing you can defeat the ABS at start-up, while the panel light is on, by putting the bike on the centre stand and letting the rear wheel spin a while at idle in 1st while the front stays planted. Eventually an error is generated & ABS will not restart until the ignition is recycled. Anyone try this?

Why would you want to do this!
I had ABS on my R1200S and it was switchable for track use.
The ABS I have on my 2009 R1200R is of a later breed because it does not come on where the 12S did.
Even up to date I have not had it come on, neither has this ASC, I am wondering what the hell it does, but I have not turned it off to find out!
With the lincked brake if you just apply the back brake it does not bring on the front so there for sepperate.
I personally do not use back brake regaurdles of having linked brakes simply because my boot does not have the feeling control of my hand and one does not know that you have applied to much other than noticing the rear has locked up.
Having the linked brakes is a fantastic invention better than ABS, but put both together and you have the best of both worlds.
I had ABS on my cars since the 90ies and would not purchase a car without it. In all that time I have only had it come on a couple on time on a downhill towing a trailer. It is good to know it is there when needed. Same goes for my bikes.
When I use to ride stupid not so long ago with other riders I was able to leave braking to the very last and gain ground on the latest Jap stuff because of linked brakes.
I don't care who you are no one is as clever as the computer that determines how much back brake is needed.
ABS can be scarry when it desides to activate because you run out of braking as it goes through it's routine, so one has to compansate for that.
But there's only guess work if you don't have ABS in the same situation for what the out come may have been.
If the ABS comes on on a down hill gravel road then it is needed, and it probably stopped the front wheel from locking and bringing you down!

[r12gecko]

Read about the folks braking downhill on gravel and you'll hear why you might want to defeat ABS. Or if your ABS does weird things like my F800 ABS did on bumps in the road, it might be more of a risk than a benefit (as I said in an earlier post, debate has RAGED about the F800 ABS). But in general, I agree - it's there for a reason - on the road, leave it on.

[AllanCook]

ABS matters to me because it saved my sorry butt a month ago when a drowsy chica up and yanked a left in front of me. I grabbed that brake lever for all it was worth and damned if I didn't stop two inches before hitting her. Worth every penny. I can't imagine ever having another motorcycle without it.

[hjsbmw]

I rarely had a problem with the front blocking on non-ABS bikes, but always found it quite easy to block the rear in an emergency braking situation. Prompted by this post I went out and did some braking experiments on gravel and asphalt.

It appears to me that the linked front/rear on the Roadster prevents extreme application of the rear and contributes largely to safe braking. I never felt I needed the ABS, and this may be the reason.

On gravel the ABS comes on immediately, and the bike does come to a stop without much skidding. Without ABS there would be a danger of falling or just sliding along. So I'd say ABS shortens the stopping path in this situation.

ABS and linked brakes seem like good safety features to have. However, counter examples exist for ABS, as evidenced by some of the examples above, and making the ABS switchable would alleviate this situation.

[Kieran R1200R]

Read about the folks braking downhill on gravel and you'll hear why you might want to defeat ABS. Or if your ABS does weird things like my F800 ABS did on bumps in the road, it might be more of a risk than a benefit (as I said in an earlier post, debate has RAGED about the F800 ABS). But in general, I agree - it's there for a reason - on the road, leave it on.

Yeh I'm not to familiar about the F800 and what year it come out but I did have a 2004 R1100S with ABS and duell brakiing and it did come on over bumps on the road.
My 2008 R1200S with ABS did the same thing, BUT this 2009 R1200R I have with ABS ridden over the same roads at speed does not come on in the same circumstances.
I haven't had it come on at all but have too say I have not done any emergancy draking either..
Sometimes common sence should prevale. There is noway I would ride my bike down a gravel driveway, but just lets say I had to well I would be on the back brake not the front.
I been told before, not on this Forum, that it is a International forum, meaning that it goes out to the whole world.
Iv'e been riding bikes from 14 years of age and got my bike lience at 18, 50 now so what's that? 32 years of riding. I forget that some people have just come into motorcycling and others not so long.
One just expects that all have been riding as long as I have or even longer, so sorry to anybody for sounding you should know what to do. But it is like a lot of things in life. Think before you act!