Motorcycle Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS)
ABS was first developed in 1929 for aircraft and entered into general use on automobiles in the 70’s. In 1981 BMW introduced ABS on a motorcycle. Early in the 21st century, ABS is now becoming more routinely available on motorcycles, either as standard equipment or as an option.
But what the heck is ABS? To begin with, an Anti-Lock Braking System incorporates computerized sensors to determine when a wheel is on the verge of locking-up. It then gives instant instructions to the brakes to release and re-apply braking pressure (pumping) a whole bunch of times per second, while you are steadily engaging the brakes.
What results is slowing and/or stopping without skidding. (A skidding tire has less traction than one that is not skidding).
And they are very easy to use. In an emergency situation on an ABS bike, just apply the brakes hard! Do not manually pump your brakes. Agressive braking will initiate the ABS system automatically and the rider can concentrate on the immediate threat — and not the brakes.
That’s the good news.
On the other hand, many experienced riders can bring their non-ABS bike to a stop faster than an ABS equipped bike, by way of well-practiced, efficient, front and rear braking — particularly on clean, dry pavement. The question is can you do that under the stress of a life-threatening, panic-braking scenario? And even more to the point, how refined are your emergency braking skills on wet or dirty roads?
If you have attended a motorcycle event in which BMW was one of the participating vendors, you may have seen their demonstration and/or video where they compare the braking performance of ABS and non-ABS equipped bikes on flooded pavement. The demo-motorcycles are equipped with outriggers, to prevent the bikes from completely going down. The bikes are each ridden into several inches of water whereby they apply emergency braking. The non-ABS motorcycle loses control, falls over onto the outriggers and spins out. However, the bike with ABS makes a controlled, straight-line stop.
Is ABS or non-ABS best for you?
Posted: March 25th, 2007 under Riding.
Comments: 3
Comments
Comment from eric
Time: January 30, 2008, 2:04 am
Years there was no such thing as abs and now everyone is screaming about how every bike should have em, well i drive an old bike and never used them, not saying they are not better, just dive properly and you will not need them, more gimmicks more problems
Comment from ZZRBiker
Time: November 9, 2007, 10:41 am
“…many experienced riders can bring their non-ABS bike to a stop faster than an ABS equipped bike…”
Not necessarily true. I teach a hundred MSF courses to 1,000 students every year. Many riders use their own motorcycle for the course. I have observed differences in how well the ABS systems work from bike to bike. BMW has the ABS system down to an art. It is not possible to stop faster because of traction limitations. Other ABS-equipped motorcycles, such as the Yamaha FJR1300ABS or Honda VFR, Gold Wing or ST1300 stop well, but in a measureably longer distance than the BMWs. But any kind of ABS is better than none in an emergency, when our brains tell our hands to grab the front brake lever, causing the front tire to lock up and the bike to low-side.
Pingback from ABS: Antilock Brake System : Motorcycle-Glossary.com
Time: May 6, 2007, 10:35 am
[...] A component added to the braking system that detects wheel lock up. The system then modulates the brakes at that point with the idea of stopping you faster than you could yourself. Read More Anti-Lock Braking System [...]
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