ABS Brakes are kick a$$
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
RE: ABS Brakes are kick a$$
ORIGINAL: Twinrider
Not sure if I understand your point. Not having the ABS kick in means that you're doing a great job of driving/riding. Like a seat belt or health insurance , ABS will only make itself felt if it's a real emergency.
ORIGINAL: grbrown
I have had a BMW with ABS for several years now, done over 50k miles on it. The system tests OK according to the dealer, but I gave up trying to see how it works a long time ago. It is an expensive 'passenger' that occasionally adds to the service bill! I wouldn't bother again, given the choice.
I have had several cars with it fitted and the number of occasions the ABS has kicked in I can count on the fingers of one hand.
I hope the Harley version proves more worthwhile, but I won't be rushing out to buy one.
I have had a BMW with ABS for several years now, done over 50k miles on it. The system tests OK according to the dealer, but I gave up trying to see how it works a long time ago. It is an expensive 'passenger' that occasionally adds to the service bill! I wouldn't bother again, given the choice.
I have had several cars with it fitted and the number of occasions the ABS has kicked in I can count on the fingers of one hand.
I hope the Harley version proves more worthwhile, but I won't be rushing out to buy one.
Don't recall my last real emergency - perhaps I am just too soft!
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Road Captain
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 675
Likes: 0
From: Willis, Texas
RE: ABS Brakes are kick a$$
You gotta try them out. You need to know what to expect when you slam on the brakes or the surprise might get the best of you. It's like trying out your car in a wet parking lot to see how it starts and stops when wet. Don't be sceered! I don't think they will hurt you unless they are not working. In which case the light flashes on the dash I believe. T.
Cruiser
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 195
Likes: 1
From:
RE: ABS Brakes are kick a$$
I test-rode an R-series BMW with servo-assisted ABS brakes. The dealer told me that "most people don't like them at first, but at some point, then always come back to me with a story about how they saved someone's life. Then they like the ABS quite a bit."
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,368
Likes: 14
From: Yokohama
RE: ABS Brakes are kick a$$
ORIGINAL: grbrown
Thanks for the compliment! I didn't put over very well that I had deliberately tried to ride the bike hard enough to make the ABS work, even taking it on a long private road to slam everything on. Nothing! Might as well not be there. So I don't get any warm feeling knowing it is on the bike!
Thanks for the compliment! I didn't put over very well that I had deliberately tried to ride the bike hard enough to make the ABS work, even taking it on a long private road to slam everything on. Nothing! Might as well not be there. So I don't get any warm feeling knowing it is on the bike!
A well engineered ABS system should be hard to trigger. I've got it on my TDM900 and F650GS and have yet to get the front ABS to kick in even with hard braking. But one easy way to test it is just take the bike out on a wet road and hit the rear brake. The rear wheel is easy to lock so it should be real easy to get the ABS to kick in, and if in the extremely doubtful case that the ABS didn't work, a slight skid on the rear is easy to control. This is the same test I did on the '08 Road King I tried when a taxi pulled out in front of me. The ABS worked real well. Other than that occasion I wouldn't have even known it was on the bike. Btw, which BMW do you have?
Road Master
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,091
Likes: 2
From: Northeast Wisconsin
RE: ABS Brakes are kick a$$
ABS is one of the reasons I purchased an 08. ABS aside, I really like the feel of the Brembo brakes. My bike is getting it's 1k service and I have a 07 loaner over night from the dealer. I really noticed a difference in the brakes. I also think HD was wise to not link the front and rear in their system as some others do.
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Joe Kucinski
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
RE: ABS Brakes are kick a$$
ORIGINAL: Twinrider
Btw, which BMW do you have?
Btw, which BMW do you have?
My Glide now has 13 inch front discs and six-pot calipers. It stops much better than with its original brakes, but I still don't feel a need for ABS!
When the first ABS BMWs came out herein the UK one of our top journalistsrode one to a Government vehicle test site to try it out. Even on a flooded test track he was surprised to discover howhard he could safelybrake before the ABS kicked in - far more than his instincts told him. I still identify with that first report I ever read!
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