There is no way I would ride on ice regardless of the type of brakes.
ABS can't overcome physics or common sense.

 

I wouldn't mind having ABS on my bike, but to be honest it's not a problem for me. I like to have the control myself. If I feel the bike sliding I just let off the brake and reapply. It would be good on the front for sure, especially at stop signs where someone spilled diesel fuel and it is raining, or pulling off the road onto a gravel shoulder. It should probably be mandatory from the manufacturers in this day and age. Harley would do well to add it to its beginner bikes like the new 500.

 

Thank you both! I've been thinking about starting a thread about this for a while now. Most Harleys are form over function, over-priced, and under-teched. This doesn't mean that I don't still love them. It just means that I'm a realist.

ABS has no downside on most bikes. Even if the ABS unit malfunctions, you are left with normal brakes (on most bikes). It sounds like a win-win for me.

My Harley is the only bike that I own without ABS, and that's the main reason that I won't ride it in the rain. That's right perfect-rider, ABS-haters: I might make a mistake and crash. I tour on my 2000 BMW R1100RT (with ABS!)

 

Bullshit!
No Harley has had a factory installed drum brake since 1979 when the Sportster finally got a rear disc brake.

 

I had been away from bikes for quite a few years before I bought my first Harley. It didn't take me long to figure out most Harley riders, at least the ones here, they resist change. The MoCo probably realizes this and will take 10-20 years to fully implement changes. Come to think of it, the reason I like Harleys is for the classic bare bones styling.

A guy that works for me criticised me for ordering my Electra Glide with ABS. I told him I want it more for the "panic" stop since I was taking on such a big bike after a long break from not riding. I told him if I lock up a wheel I may go down, I want to minimize this risk. His response, "What the hell do you need a front brake for, it'll just get you into trouble!!!?"

I once heard an interview by Ford's former CEO Alan Mulally who was an engineer for Boeing Jets. They took the elevator trim control off the yoke of one of the big airships since the technology built into the aircraft's computer was proven with many levels of redundancy. The pilots revolted claiming "how can we fly these big airplanes if we can't trim it for level flight?" After countlessly trying to explain the pilots no longer need the control, they added the button back to the yoke. It wasn't connected to anything. But the computer was just as good as or better then the best pilot at trimming out the aircraft. The old pilots didn't know any difference, they were just pressing a dummy button and the computer was still controlling the airplane.

 

You got any of that from my post?

Or is that what you hoped I was saying?

 

The Honda single cam was introduced as a 1969 model and it had a FRONT disc brake. Didn't ever get a rear disc (except on the F model) until they went to the new engine in 1979 I believe. By that time even the Harley XL's had both front and REAR (which is what I said) discs. Harley had FRONT and REAR disc's on 1973 FL's.

 

All BMW bikes have ABS now. They were the first to introduce it on the (then) new "K" bikes in 1984.

 

whats the problem? abs is available on most every bike hd sells, even sporties. i think the street might be the only one where it isn't an option. you just have a choice if you want to buy it or not.

 

I wasn't responding to your post - just to the thread itself, seeing as we've recently done the whole "Should ABS be mandatory" thread....