How important is it to have ABS on a bike? How much difference would it actually make?

The reason this question is in my head is because I am considering the current crop of VStrom 650s, in particular the 650X vs. the 650A or T. I know that the X is essentially a marketing gimmick, but at the same time it is cheaper than the A & T and gives a headstart with a couple of bolt-ons. But it doesn't have ABS (hence the cheaper price).

Since the X is pitched as more of an 'adventure' bike one might conclude that there is a reason for leaving off the ABS, but I really don't know and that could be more marketing spin!

In terms of my use of the bike it will most likely be constrained to Europe for the time being with the intention of going further afield in the future. It will be mostly for solo riding but with a fair amount of 2-up as well. I've not done much riding off tarmac (apart from a few back roads in Thailand on an inappropriate 400!) so don't know how much of that I may end up doing. This will be the first 'big' bike I will own after my trusty 125 that has kept me going for the last few years.

I tried searching for posts on 'ABS' but the search engine doesn't seem to like three letter search terms and I haven't found anything that covers this topic by browsing, so I'd appreciate any insights or links anyone can provide.

If it says "Rossi" or "Carmichael" on the back of your jacket then no, you dont need ABS, as you can brake better without it.

But for the rest of mankind, and when we are speaking of road riding, mostly on asphalt, I think its a plus in every way. You will only really NEED it, when/if you have a real bad situation, and that is rare, but after that situation, you will be so thankful that you had it.

In a situation like that, you wont have any time to think, be thankful if you even have time to react (no technical system will save you, if you dont!) so its simply better that you will not have to worry about keeping your wheels unlocked, while doing some evasive maneuver, for example.

And conditions on the road change constantly, there may be something on the road that reduces traction, your visibility may be blocked just at the wrong moment. Or you may just simply be tired after a long days riding, and just did not concentrate hard enough, and all of the sudden you got into trouble.

Most of us, even those who say they can brake better without ABS, usually panic in such situation, so not being able to lock your wheels is a big help.

They are totally two different things, to be able to brake properly, when you practice it, and doing it on the street, in an actual situation. The latter is much, much harder, because you are not likely to get a warning.

ABS alone will not save you, though. But if you can brake properly enough, and keep alert while riding, it can give you a little bit more safety-margin, something thats very valuable at that moment.

Do note that there are different ABS´s, some work better than others. The Suzuki DL´s system is ok, never had any problems with it, and now ridden 50 thousand kms with it. Even tried it while riding on an icy road once, and it worked remarkably well (wouldnt dream of stopping it that soon just by myself).

Completely agree with Pecha. If you aren't Valentino Rossi it can make a WORLD of difference in the panic situations - just grab your brakes to max and try to avoid the collision by maneuvering your bike (that is still maneuverable thanks to ABS).

Human nature will act on reflex, and in the panic situations, maybe only 0.01% of uber-experienced riders can focus on the precision controlled power of braking while maneuvering the bike with precision control. All this happends in a fraction of a second. You made a mistake = you're down.

But as said, ABS isn't your mighty-saviour force too, there are endless scenareos how to crash your bike, ABS just gives some additional safety portion for some of the scenarios for us "regular riders-travelers" (read: non-racing experienced riders and probably only few of the racers who can use their braking-controlling experience in real-life traffic that makes unexpected turns and creating other panic-braking situations), so it doesn't automatically make your bike 100% safe either.

Having ridden over 50Kkm with ABS bike myself I'd never buy a street-going bike w/o ABS again. Only specialized offroad bike or tar racing-only purpose bike I'd buy w/o ABS if I ride it outside traffic where only I can make mistakes. ABS has saved my skin and bike dozens of times in the traffic, especially handy in rainy days

You don't notice ABS system on your bike until you need it.

Sorry to have a go what I think is probably just a gentle comment to kick off an otherwise very useful post, but the first bit is rubbish and possibly dangerous if some Muppet rides with the ABS fuse pulled because he thinks he's Rossi.

Allow me to give you some background. I work for WABCO who manufacturer about 60% of the ABS and EBS systems on trucks worldwide. I am a sales engineer directly involved in the specification of these systems and a former test engineer. I've worked on all types of vehicle ABS from cars up to the biggest trucks. The only difference with bikes is the wheel lift function in the software, an idea I have used on some military applications.

The myth that anyone will beat the system is based on a test. To prove that the system doesn't just let the brakes off, that it uses it's control loop, you have to find a value for the surface and the decel possible with just the basic brakes. This is compared to the ABS. This searching, on a track I used every day, with a gauge showing the pressure infront of me, typically took ten or twenty stops to find, more if you didn't get it before the weather changed. If Mr. Rossis can find this exact pressure first time, on a piece of road he never saw before, in natural conditions, he is indeed the worlds best rider!

Arguments against ABS on the grounds of 3 kg weight are valid, as is the thought that off road it is less effective depending on how useful a locked wheel with debris built up ahead of it might be. Reliability with ABS is not a factor, a failed sensor or modulator only gives an annoying red light, you still have 100% braking available. A powered system like BMW have used is a bad idea IMHO, but from the power side not the ABS. Feel of ABS is just a very simple technique. Squeeze/push like ****, look and steer in the direction you want to go and ignore the noises etc.

Hope this is useful,

Andy

Your right about BMW ABS. We have seen a GS with ABS trouble that had ....NO BRAKES!

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Nope, look again at the video, Charlie is riding it around the garage yard saying it has no brakes.

Personally In Europe and most places I would like to have abs, especially a linked system, as it would alleviate the problem I have with having the brake pedal on the wrong side I am happy to accept if it does break get tow truck home. But I disagree with the inference that all things modern are infallible. Generally speaking the more complicated things are the less easy they are to repair.. Eventually it gets impossible. I am sure E & C had a good ( official BMW) mechanic in one of the vans together with more spares than most of us can afford. But still they had to abandon the bike. So what chance mere mortals? The less afluent have to really think what could be the repair cost of this or that feature as high repair costs can easily prematurely end a bikes working life.

One thing that does worry me a bit is, how much I have already gotten used to the fact my own bike has ABS.

Right now, its on its way back home from Australia by boat, and Im riding a friends spare-bike, which has normal brakes. If something happens, will I just slam on both brakes and go down, hopefully Im not that stupid, but I really dont know, and thats a bit of a chilly feeling. Hope I dont have to find out, either!

This will be less of a problem in a few years as more and more bikes will have it in the future. And the pros of ABS still far outweigh the cons for me.

ABS's raison d'etre is to compensate for bad habits...braking and otherwise.
Fom a certain perspective, it can foster those bad habits.
Nevertheless, its nice assurance for most folk when on tarmac.

From a RTW point of view, its not a good idea off-tarmac and adds additional weight/complexity to your bike choice.

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edde
93 BMW K75s
www.motoedde.com

Naah, I don't know. All airheads have ABS and it's a pretty lightweight and simple system :-)

ABS adds only 2 or 3 kg to the weight of a bike. You're not going to notice the weight, but you will be thankful for the ABS when you have to stop quickly on a wet, slippery, downhill mountain road.
You can always switch it off or pull the fuse for offroad riding.

" From a RTW point of view, its not a good idea off-tarmac and adds additional weight/complexity to your bike choice"

Gotta disagree there (but I only rode my DL from Europe to Australia, thats about half way round, so maybe my opinion is not valid at all)...

ABS has been around for quite a while, and in fact Suzuki, for example, uses exactly the same hydraulic unit that they use in some of their cars, cars just have two units for two circuits, whereas bikes have one. It is tested technology thats been used for ages. And it worked without any problems on our trip.

For light offroading I think Suzuki´s system is ok.. and keep in mind, "ABS" is not one specific thing, there are numerous differences between systems and they have evolved, too. Can´t compare the first generation ABS-systems with modern ones, most of them were quite terrible by todays standards. Maybe thats where some people actually have picked their hate towards ABS?

So if one bike´s ABS is not good offroading, that does not necessarily mean they all are. I agree, though, that for serious offroad its better to go without it.

I still think ABS was a plus 99% of the time during our trip, and the few kilos extra it brought, did not matter when you travel 2-up and with one hell of a load on the bike anyway.

Apparently not so with BMW's. that is why the long way round team had to abandon one of their GS's and continue with a Russian two stroke for a while when the ABS failed. I beleive they had to airlift it back to Germany to get it fixed as the support team mechanics couldn't fix it. Don't suppose it cost Ewan and Charlie much, but it might be a little expensive for some of us.

It depends on the type of fault. If you have problems with the sensors or ABS-ring you still have (non-ABS)-brakes.
I'm pretty sure that if they have bypassed the system (hoses from brake-cylinder to caliper) they could have continued.

It's NOT a fault of the ABS or the bike, it just shows the stupidity of the owners - any detail should be taken off the bike on welding in third world with questionable electric welding equipment and questionable grounding, on ANY bike IMHO at least. Another issue is the heat from welding that burns out the isolation of cables and grounding them against the frame as a result. I was rather amazed they didn't burned out the rest of the electrics with that stupid frame repair on-bike welding: EFI brain (Motronic), lights, coils, fuses, and the engine still worked - lucky for them - they probably weren't smart enough to diagnose a broken fuse and replace it if necessary :P

Rain is a great reason for ABS. Especially in fast city traffic. To me, this is where ABS makes sense.

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!