GET RID OF THIS CRAP. This is why we have to pay so much for things in USA. Too many idiots that are sue happy. SMFH

 

Harley was found not liable, now they need to sue the guy and the lawyer that brought the frivolous suit to start with

 

This was discussed last week at a coffee shop I frequent.

Thanks for the update.
Should have never been in court anyhow.

WP

 

Interesting thread.


I am a novice and do not have ABS on any of my bikes. I have wondered if I should, but I would like it to be my choice. And I expect to live with the consequences of my choice.

 

I've been riding for 50 years and done over a half million miles, only 50k with ABS. I never made it work, so it achieved nothing useful - or had an opportunity to prove itself. None of my current bikes have ABS and I don't foresee myself buying a new bike any time soon, so i'll be riding on as before!

 

I only made ABS work once. That was driving a truck pulling a boat, the trailer brakes failed and caused the ABS to activate on the truck.


I crashed a 1974 Honda 550 Four when I was 19 in 1979. ABS might have helped or might not have. I was young dumb and untrained.


Restarted my riding about a year and a half ago. Locked it up a few times but managed to keep the bike upright. My braking has improved since then. I have taken some training classes and I practice.


But I have logged only about 10K miles since my restart, maybe 20K miles lifetime. I have never had a really close call. A few minor ones.


I read some statistics suggesting some evidence that ABS helps. But it was also speculated that it might have nothing to do with ABS and be evidence of careful riders buying bikes with ABS.


Anyway, I am not planning to buy any more bikes anytime soon. So I have what I have and it will be what it will be.

 

BMW introduced ABS to bikes a long time ago now and a UK journalist rode a test bike, with out-riggers so it couldn't crash right over, at an industry test facility. He was staggered just what effort he had to go to, to actually lose control - way beyond what his riding experience told him. Ever since then I have been sceptical just what use most normal riders will be able to make of it.

 

Interesting.

I've never managed to stack on a street bike, but I've had a few close shaves over the years. Mostly me being a dumbass.

What they all have in common was that as the would-be-collision neared, I got to a place where I just said "**** it" and made some ridiculous input to the controls. And every time I discovered that I wasn't as near to the edge of the bike's performance envelope as I thought.

Most recent one was last year when I was daydreaming as I crested a hill and didn't notice the line of stopped cars as soon as I should have. Once I realized what was up, I braked like a mad man, and then, figuring I had nothing left to lose, cranked the bike over to the left far harder than I thought it could handle. Much to my surprise, other than a healthy grind on the left floor board, it performed beautifully and I found myself stopped next to the driver of the car I just about rear-ended.

Day to day, I endeavor to ride so far inside the envelope that these things never happen. Leaving some margin of error and all.

 

0maha, you're describing pretty well what that journo wrote. He was riding on a skid pan, so levels of grip were nothing like as good as a normal road, but still he could achieve remarkable things, just as you experienced.