Originally Posted by SlowRain

Dunno....but they probably are needed as it would be distracting trying to get all this to work while riding. (I can't find the cappuccino machine!) I am waiting for next year's model with the back up camera before I buy.

Originally Posted by cyclonecutting

I agree, with that many switches the driver would have a good chance of running into something eventually. Driving that would be the same as trying to text and drive a cage.

Originally Posted by SlowRain

Originally Posted by SlowRain

"Insurance institute researchers found that motorcycles with anti-lock brakes were 37 percent less likely to be involved in fatal crashes. Another study determined that motorcycles with anti-lock brakes had 22 percent fewer claims for crash damage per insured vehicle year than the same models without them. "

I would be curious how they did their calculations. Part of what I do for a living involves statistical analysis, and you can definitely shade numbers when you start playing with statistics.

Were the findings that anti-lock brakes were 37% less likely to be involved in fatal crashes because there aren't many bikes out there with anti-lock brakes? Were the 22% fewer claims per crash for the same model because (use an Ultra as an example) fewer people opt to buy an Ultra with ABS?

Did they look at this by bike category...i.e. touring bike classes, sport bikes, etc? Did they do paired comparisons or just take the numbers as a whole? When you have populations of disproportional sizes, you really have to show a rational sampling plan that accounts for different population sizes, i.e. you can't rely on an analysis done on "all bikes with ABS" vs. "all bikes without ABS." Did this include accidents where the biker was 50 feet from an intersection at 40 mph and had the oncoming car hook a left in front of him? Sorry...don't care what kind of brakes you have...you are history in that circumstance, unless you can pull off a swerve or other evasive action.

Generalized statements as quoted above unfortuately are often regarded as enough reason to jump on a bandwagon and start a crusade, and often times when you unravel the numbers and analyze them correctly, you see an entirely different story. Examples of "mathematical lies" include the use of averages without stating the variation around the average (we have an expression in six sigma "Averages lie, and liars average). Remember on average a man with his feet in the freezer and his head in the oven is comfortable, or as is used above, proportions, which require HUGE amounts of data to be statistically correct.

Don't get me wrong...I have ABS...and I like it...but the trick is using the brakes hard enough to hit just below the limit of when ABS engages, other wise you are extending your braking distances when ABS kicks in. There really isn't much that aggravates me more than the misuse of mathematics to present a case for change. Unfortunately there are some who think that ABS is going to make a huge difference in the accident rates for motorcyclists...and I don't think that is the case at all. If you want to reduce accidents, then put the money into rider education i.e. ERC or something of the like.

Originally Posted by bradlytle

Let's not kid ourselves...this is all about the insurance companies trying to save money. They don't give a sh** about our safety.