abs off road .. whats your expieriance ?

[minkyhead]

well its relevent now as unless your buying a enduro bike it has to be fitted and its on duel sport bike already ..ktm 690 701s honda rally /crf250 and pretty much all big adv bikes

ive used mine a fair bit off road probaly somthing like 100 hours ata guess and tbo ive found it pretty good ..the rear is switchable but although im getting better i still forget somtimes to switch it off
even on some pretty steep and rocky slippy decents the abs has actually been ok on the rear ..i found myself on one decent with the rear abs left on it actually worked well ...big rugby ball type rocks pretty steep and it clicked alot ...i felt that somtimes it allowed the rear to roll over without locking and took away the tendancy for the rear to drag or trap a stone ..sure it clicked like feck but it actually worked pretty well it never felt like it was going to run or accelerate the decent .it wouldnt be as good if you wanted to pack the back wheel with loose stuff but its up to me /us to remember to switch the dam thing off ...
there has been a pretty split debate over the abs on the forums with some die hards saying the abs is usless /dangerous and cant possibly stop you as its too sensitive ect

ive really been impressed overall by the hondas system even on wet grass it clicks its way to a pretty acceptable stop and its really hard to grab a handful and trust it as it goes against all my instincts .. but it does work pretty dam well on some pretty slippy stuff ...
even holding the bike on the front down steep mussy grassy embankments was little bother pretty difficult to provoke the abs but it pulsed and held the bike easily enough ..

heated debates followed that the rally would be dangerous and only a non abs system would be viable and its only good for road riders ect
my expieriance was somwhat different and i posted that the bike was perfectly ok off road and would stop fine ..it got me thinking would it actually stop as well as the non abs bike ..as you do see some classic abs fails particulary on the earlier big gses ect on you tube

you see this kind of stuff


and than this kind of stuff


i decided to test me own abs and as ive got a fairly good sample ..crf 300 non abs and the rally

heres what happened

[captinktm]

Oh don't get me started. ABS riding off road? Here's the question. Why are you riding a bike? If the answer is work and I have to ride off road to get to it then I guess anything that makes that easier is going to be good. But if your answer is fun/hobby or to improve my skills then you are kidding your self. Riding a bike is about the control which you have now given over to a black box. Weather it works or not is irrelevant you are robbing your self of the satisfaction of riding the bike off road and controlling it your self. It's a bit like getting pulled up a hill by your mates and then declaring you made it, YOU did n't.
I have never ridden a bike off road with abs but I have also never felt I needed it. Due to many years of practice, my abs is hard wired into my brain and works just fine. As for the rear abs making a descent easier yes of course it will, keeping the wheels rolling is always better as the bike will track properly. On rough descents I often pull the clutch in and free wheel this is even better and the bike will ride over anything with in reason, because the chain is no longer affecting the rear suspension . Works really well try it

[DavidS]

Absolutely horrible.
The first lane ride I did and then occasionally since, I have forgotten to switch it off and it just feels all wrong and as though I have lost control.
Dropping down a lane over some exposed tree roots was particularly awful.

[minkyhead]

yes that s is one of the problems i forget too ...somtimes i switch it slide me slidy screen down ...all good ...stop for a gate or wee or a drink and forget to switch the thing back on ...some of my down hill testing has been done by forgetting too

[minkyhead]

Oh don't get me started. ABS riding off road? Here's the question. Why are you riding a bike? If the answer is work and I have to ride off road to get to it then I guess anything that makes that easier is going to be good. But if your answer is fun/hobby or to improve my skills then you are kidding your self. Riding a bike is about the control which you have now given over to a black box. Weather it works or not is irrelevant you are robbing your self of the satisfaction of riding the bike off road and controlling it your self. It's a bit like getting pulled up a hill by your mates and then declaring you made it, YOU did n't.
I have never ridden a bike off road with abs but I have also never felt I needed it. Due to many years of practice, my abs is hard wired into my brain and works just fine. As for the rear abs making a descent easier yes of course it will, keeping the wheels rolling is always better as the bike will track properly. On rough descents I often pull the clutch in and free wheel this is even better and the bike will ride over anything with in reason, because the chain is no longer affecting the rear suspension . Works really well try it

well captain like you until now ive never had a off road bike with abs and although its impossible for me to be at your level ..id put meself well above a total mug in this regard

im well used to being me own abs and like it or not every bike over 250cc that is homeglated for road use will have have it fitted ..the orange brand being no exception
now take it in context of a duel sport bike ..one that is ridden a lot on the road and off road ..the non abs argument becomes a little less blurred particulary at times of bad weather and poor visibility worn shiney tar ...id say that if you think you can out brake a abs bike in these circumstances you are simply just fooling yourself ..you cant ..

so there is a pro for a bike that travels on the roads ...i ride everwhere i go and tarmack is a part of travel life for me and on balence i think abs is a good thing particulary from higher speeds with p rated tyres on board..its the off road debate that is still up in the air a little from my perspective..i was wondering what other peoples expiriances were .. good or bad ....

overall ive found the little hondas brakes pretty good not too sensitive ..but its the only bike ive ridden with it fitted

[minkyhead]

oops double post removed

[Stewie]

Not a big fan of ABS on the 990, always turn it off-road, may be my riding style but I like to lock the back up now and again

[minkyhead]

Not a big fan of ABS on the 990, always turn it off-road, may be my riding style but I like to lock the back up now and again

bet you forget somtimes which is annoying .....can you switch the front off too ?? mine wont switch at all on the front

[Stewie]

Yep, been there done that , the 990 ABS is a bit dated so it's on or off, there's no better feeling coming up to a muddy bend, going for the slide in and hero throttle out only to hear the clicking of the ABS and thinking ' oh well I'll just go straight on '...

[captinktm]

Ok this is interesting, so I am riding down a slippery hill i have both front and rear breaks on to the point of nearly locking, constantly adjusting my grip and foot to keep the wheels turning. I can at any time lock the rear, or the front should I want to. What would abs be doing better? I am not being argumentative just interested in the advantages abs is supposed to give me?

As for riding on the road answer me this, how do you abs guys feel what your front tyre is doing? Presumably you just wack on the breaks and hope for the best, your not feeling for the grip?

How often do you get the abs working on the road?