ABS...Is it worth it?
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 2,630
Likes: 185
From: Mountain West, Big Sky Country
Abs
Have 2 road glides. A 04 no abs and a 12 CVO with abs.
04 gets ridden 2 x as much as 12. Never used ABS on 12, guess it might come in handy someday, but so far, never needed.
Have ridden 04 since new, over 160k in miles now. lots of stops, some quicker than others neveR needed ABS
04 gets ridden 2 x as much as 12. Never used ABS on 12, guess it might come in handy someday, but so far, never needed.
Have ridden 04 since new, over 160k in miles now. lots of stops, some quicker than others neveR needed ABS
Road Master
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 1,036
Likes: 45
From: Florida
The day you need it you will then realize how well worth it is. Was riding one day on one of my sports bikes without ABS on a damp road. Got cut off by a lady and when I braked hard in order to avoid hitting her, my rear tire broke loose. Slid sideways almost hitting her. She never saw me and just kept going like nothing even with a trucker that saw what happened honking his horn at her. If I would have had ABS on that bike, it would have not been as close. I tested it on my newest bike and it works very well. I highly recommend it.
Road Master
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 941
Likes: 9
From: Denver, CO
That's kind of how I figured it when I bought mine. There are several videos on you tube. Some that show two police officers 1 with abs, 1 without abs. The one without the ABS stopped quicker. The one with abs stopped better on sand, wet roads etc. ABS only works when bike is straight up not on a curve or anything. For many years we have used bikes with no ABS, seems like now some people assume you can't ride if you don't have ABS. 
Just my $.02
Just like Airfuel said most just panic and grab handful of breaks and slam the rear brakes.. Some are new riders and only know ABS... others have been riding 30+ years. When there were no ABS breaks.
Proper Braking Compared to Using ABS to Stop the Motorcycle - YouTube
Just my $.02
Just like Airfuel said most just panic and grab handful of breaks and slam the rear brakes.. Some are new riders and only know ABS... others have been riding 30+ years. When there were no ABS breaks.
Proper Braking Compared to Using ABS to Stop the Motorcycle - YouTube
I believe both of those bikes have ABS. The guy on top just mashed his brakes and engaged the ABS and thus took longer to stop than the guy that progressively applied the brakes and didn't allow ABS to kick in.
My bike has ABS and I can stop it almost all the time without using the ABS but I've engaged it a few times in a oh crap situation and was glad to have it.
ABS is absolutely worth having. But people need to realize it is a prevention system, not an improved braking system. I would much rather engage the ABS and need 23 more feet to stop and result in a fender bender type accident than to screw up, lock up my brake and either high-side it and eject or low-side it and hit the pavement at 30+mph. Without ABS there is zero room for error. With it, there's a little room to screw up.
Road Warrior
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 1,319
Likes: 1
From: Deep South Texas
I know that there are some "expert" motorcyclist that can out brake the ABS on the HD. But under real world emergency braking conditions, even the veterans have a lapse of judgement when they realize they are not going to stop in time. Once it becomes a fact that you are going to make contact, all the training in the world is thrown out and full brakes are applied resulting in "layin' her down". I would prefer to remain upright as long as possible. I very rarely engage the ABS but if the need were to arise, I hope it does what it is supposed to do.
For some reason, finding ABS on the Road Kings is a real task. My dealer had to work at it for several days before finding a dealer trade that had the ABS.
For some reason, finding ABS on the Road Kings is a real task. My dealer had to work at it for several days before finding a dealer trade that had the ABS.
Road Captain
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 597
Likes: 208
From: Southern Oregon
I was skeptical too, but wouldn't own a bike without it now. The only real drawback is the cost, but a newer bike without ABS will have much less resale value because just about everybody wants it. I sold my Dyna with ABS in less than a week and the guy who bought said it had "too much chrome" but the ABS was the clincher.
Road Master
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 1,219
Likes: 63
From: westland Michigan
I got a totally rebuild right shoulder from a down hill wet road oh **** gotta stop even while downshifting and riding the rear brake going down the hill moment. Front tire locked up started to wash out, let off saved it but now even more oh **** really gotta stop now and hit front brakes again and down we went. If I had abs I truely believe I would have kept it up. This was my old Suzuki marauder. Fixed me and then the bike. Got the scares and bike still
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