ABS only works to stop the wheel from locking up in a hard braking "event" so when you do normal stops = normal braking so stopping distance depends on numerous factors not from ABS. Go 35 MPH and try to lock up the wheels and compare to a non-ABS locking up brakes at same speed with similar bikes: who stops quicker then?

 

http://www.abs-education.org/faqs/faqindex.htm

 

abs, neat. gps, neat also, i guess. what's next though, a constant velocity transmission, and airbags. thanks anyway. i'm very happy that i have none of the above.

 

Beary

Great to see someone is actually testing & evaluating their ABS instead of blindly insisting it is better.

I am not sure that ABS is stopping you faster than if you lock up tho, in my tests I locked the front and the rear at different times and still pulled up faster than the ABS. The front Brembos on these bikes allow a huge amount of control, as the front locked a slight easing of the lever was enough to get the wheel rotating again. This obviously happens real fast and takes some practice...

Anyhow, your advice on testing the abs system is wise counsel indeed, I would advise everyone to get a feel for the ABS system, your comment about the "releasing" of the abs rang very true for me. I hate that feeling where the brakes have dissapeared, it is a very long couple of seconds while the ABS gets its act together.

I would encourage everyone to put some pressure on the dealers and HD as well, there is no excuse for the way HD ABS behaves. I have shared the results of my tests with my dealer and HD Australia, they were concerned that the results were so bad and are asking for a solution for HD USA. HD USA must know that there is a problem. The solution is in the calibration, so it should be retro-fittable once they get the programming right.

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touri...r-to-stop.html

 

I don't have abs on my road king nor would I buy a bike or a car with it. But I was at a red light one day and I heard a harley running up thru the gears coming up beside me, then I hear him let off the gas and lock the brakes. He came sliding past me with the wheels locked up. A woman in a car had pulled out in front of him and he slid into her. Now I know that if he had abs he would not have hit her and he would be alright, but he took a trip to the hospital in the meat wagon, just saying.

 

Thanks for making this effort, I hope HD comes up with a fix.

 

Didn't we just waste 19 pages arguing about this last week or so? People on here who love ABS will still love it and people who don't won't?