My '17 does not have this. My '21 Rocket 3 has a version of this for performance tied in with the traction control and ABS. Saved my bacon one day in a relatively fast curve with some unseen loose gravel on it; it kept the rear tire from kicking out. Had I been on the RGS, I would've had a very bad day. Conversely, I have never had the ABS activate on my RGS in my nearly five years of ownership.

 

I have both ABS and "cornering ABS" a.k.a. RDRS but I ride like I have neither - it's for those "Oh crap" moments to deal with panic situations.

 

While the above is true... the key is "panic situation"......

If you panic, or due to road conditions, you to lock up a wheel, ABS will save your butt.... If you maintain threshold braking, ABS will not intervene, and is not needed...

Prior to ABS, we were taught that if you start to skid while heavy braking, pump the brakes.... ABS senses a skidding tire, and "pumps the brakes" for you... There is absolutely no doubt that ABS will stop you faster while skidding, than a human pumping his brakes... That's been proven time and again...

I still believe that a tire, on the threshold of skidding, but still maintaining full grip, will stop any vehicle faster than either a human, or the ABS module, "pumping" the brakes on a skidding tire.....

That is how I was trained... but it has been some years.. Things change, and I'm always willing to learn...

If someone can direct me to an actual scientific study that shows a skidding tire controlled by ABS will stop you faster than a tire that is not skidding, but on the verge of losing grip... I would really like to read it...

 

If you have ABS but no RDLS, it will save your *** when you are moving in a straight line (not leaning). The advantage of ABS in this situation is that you don't have to worry about locking up and dropping the bike if you use too much brake, which means that you can brake more aggressively than you otherwise would (because the performance envelope of our bikes is often much higher than we think it is.) But if you are in a corner, basic ABS will not save you (you can still go down because it basic ABS works by measuring the difference in speed the front wheel and the back wheel, so if both wheels start sliding, ABS won't do anything to modulate the brakes), so if you're mid-corner, it's hopes and prayers (and your skills).

ABS with RDLS allows you full ABS braking in corners because it measures wheel speed, yaw, roll, pitch and probably your heart rate to calculate the maximum braking force can be applied without you going down, even when you are dragging floorboards. It will save you from your own ham-fistedness, but not your poor judgement. Harley should be putting this on all of their bikes, not just the Touring models.

I have been told that if you are in a panic braking situation and trigger ABS, the best course of action is to apply as much force as you can to the brakes to keep the ABS at maximum. That is supposed to stop you faster than modulating the brakes to get out of ABS and then trying to threshold brake again. Never been unlucky enough to have to put that to the test.

 

The "linked" brakes are the feature I use the most. However, for muscle memory I still ALWAYS apply BOTH brakes whenever I stop, even though I could apply one one or the other and let the system do its thing in normal stopping (going straight). Obviously below 4-5 miles an hour, as in slow speed maneuvers, like parking, I never touch the front brake.......at 4-5 miles an hour the rear brake is fine and won't toss me over...lol

 

https://msf-usa.org/downloads/imsc20...ance-Paper.pdf

 

Anyone know brake technique versus stopping distance with LBS?
I am sport bike trained (rear brake is pretty much useless on dry pavement) and I find using the rear brake a bit awkward and slow in a panic stop type situation.
Am wondering if LBS lets you brake like you were on a sport bike and ignore the rear brake without losing stopping performance.

 

Probably, but then again I never rode a sport bike.

 

If you know sport bikes, then you know the FLH in your signature is built completely different. All the stunt HD riders had re-enforced and modified frames and braking components. The rake and trail differences on HD vs sport bikes is a huge difference that load the rear wheel on the Harley's much heavier than sport bikes. HD weighs 250+ more than the usual sport bikes. That's why on cruisers the rear wheel plays more of a roll in stopping, even in maximum ABS braking. I do not believe I've seen any ABS equipped bike lift the rear tire.

 

Thanks for that report...

That test seems to demonstrate that, in general, a spinning wheel controlled by ABS will stop quicker than threshold braking...

I would never have believed that without a scientific test. A spinning wheel braking better than a wheel maintained at the maximum level of adhesion without spinning, is just counter intuitive to me... I have been educated on that.... thank you..


I have some observations of the results....

On the 4 different bikes, only three had comparisons between with ABS & no ABS... One bike had no ABS, but used CBS. When comparing the braking with both wheels, there are 12 results showing the stopping differences between the ABS v non-ABS...

Of the 12 results, in five of them, the non-ABS stopping distance was better than the ABS... So there IS value to threshold braking..

In dry conditions, lightly loaded, ABS provided an overall 5% decrease in stopping distance lightly loaded, and 7% heavily loaded.... It's statistically significant, and 7% could be the difference in keeping the rubber side down... but it's hardly a rout

I appreciate the education, but this test has not changed my thinking about the value of ABS v no ABS...

I have never claimed that a well designed ABS is worthless, but I have cringed when I read people say they feel a bike without ABS is dangerous...

I still like that I have ABS on my cars and one of my motorcycles, but I have no intention of relying on ABS to do my braking for me... I will continue to practice/use threshold braking, and leave my ABS as an invisible back-up.

I still don't feel riding my two bikes without ABS is significantly more dangerous than the bike with ABS... I will continue to enjoy riding them, without fear...

IMHO...

I've always felt that WHEN you deploy your brakes is as important, if not more so, then how they are deployed (ABS v non-ABS).

I still believe the best way to avoid an accident is to be aware of your surroundings at all times, drive within your abilities, and drive defensively... I feel it can more than make up for needing the advantages of ABS v non-ABS in a panic stop....