I am going to go against the grain here..To me all of this extra stuff is what causes the bike to break down and leave you stranded,and the ABS is a pain to work on from what I understand for the average Joe..
A lock or chain may not be real cool but it has worked for years.

 

The ABS is worth every penny as a safety feature and minimizes or eliminates rear wheel lockup in a panic stop situation. The security system is an added bonus and part of the package.

As a practical matter, having ABS is a benefit when selling or trading the bike as most potential buyers seem to want it.

 

ABS is worth every penny. Going from a Heritage (no ABS) to a Road King with ABS, I don't know how the hell I made it without them!

 

Get the ABS and security package.

On my Sporty one day I almost laid it down because of the rear wheel locking up and on the rice burner I use to have the rear wheel lock up put me in a coma for three days and several surgeries to repair the damage to my body. So what I'm trying to say is GET the ABS security package.


The security system comes installed and it has the automatic arming key FOB, no button to push to arm the system, but it does not have a siren, it only blinks the lights and locks out the ignition system. HD has a siren for around $60.00 or you can install the Radio Shack siren for around $6.00
Here is the thread on installing the Radio Shack piezo siren, about $5.00 bucks for the siren, the other buck is for the installation hardware: https://www.hdforums.com/forum/softa...-how-to-2.html
I posted some pictures on how to install it on a Heritage, ours is a 2012 model.

 

It sure would be nice to be able to have a choice to get ABS without the security. I had security on two previous metrics and both gave problems.

 

ok - I'm convinced - ABS/Security it is.

I checked with my insurance agent and they showed that the ABS/Security can pay for itself with the 'security system ' insurance deduction over the years.

Now I have to figure out how to pay for the shotgun shocks I want to install.

Thanks everyone for all your help

 

The HD siren was $90 last time I looked so I went with two Radio Shack sirens. They're
very small, pull less current than HD's, and are louder used together for $12 the pair.

 

Are you sure you wouldn't like to re-word that? The way you've stated this it sounds like you rely too much on your ABS and not enough on your own skill.

 

Just bought the wife a Deluxe - bike did not have ABS - debated holding out for it. Certainly a safety advantage. In the end we went ahead with the purchase. We'll add Security - and maybe ABS next time.

 

ABS is the only reason I would buy a new bike. I have gotten pretty good at panic stops on my '03 Ultra. But my first few, were scary, skid the rear, sideways. Most of them were practice/ yellow light, but some of them were avoidance of idiot cagers.