ABS saved my butt

[rhody]

:dribble:

I am not generally superstitious, but I took the time when I first got my almost new 05 FJR with ABS to test the linked braking system thoroughly on flat, dry roads with no traffic, practicing full on panic stopping from 50, 70, and above to get a feel for the time to stop and ABS behavior in general.

I never thought that a few weeks later it would pay off. Went out for a late Sunday evening ride with a buddy who has a Beemer, also with ABS. We were coming home on a road with moderate traffic, riding staggered doing about 35 - 40 mph, and allowing traffic in front of us more than enough room to maneuver in case one of the cagers decides to pull a bonehead move. I am in front, with my buddy behind me.

With no warning, and for no apparent reason, the car in front decides to make a sudden left turn, hard on the brakes while his car drifts to the right. I see him as the distance between his bumper and my front makes my ass pucker, instinctively, I grab as much front brake as I can, followed by the rear a few milliseconds later.

I know my friend is about 5 cars lengths behind me on my right, so I aim as close to the right rear of his car without hitting him to give my buddy room to get by in case he can't stop in time. I know if I hit the car I will probably get plowed again by my friend, who was reacting as I was. Luckily, I missed his rear by a foot or two to his right and my friend almost passed my in the little room I left him to maneuver to my right without going off the road. He told me later that his rear wheel was more than a foot off the ground, he was braking so hard. He thanked me for not taking the whole road, or it could have been ugly for both of us.

The moral of the story here is that had I not took the time to test full on ABS braking in safe conditions, I might be making this post from a hospital, or worse. Just because you aren't going fast, don't assume that bad **** can't happen in an instant because it can and does. ABS really pays off, but make sure you understand what is going to happen when you really use the brakes. I am so glad I did.

 

[FJR_pig]

I'll second these comments.

When I was riding full time for the state, up until 2003, we trained two days a month, every month. Each of those monthly sessions included about two hours of high speed braking at 60, 70 and 80 mph. We rode R1150s with ABS and I can't tell you the number of times it saved my bacon out on the road. Granted, doing what I was doing was a hair more aggressive than hopefully anyone here rides on a regular basis. The rear tire lifting a foot off the ground is not an exageration. Go out and practice it as Rhody recommends if you've got somewhere you can do it. If you've REALLY got a safe place to do it, practice emergency stops in a curve. That's something that might save your arse one day.

Okay, I'm off the soapbox.

 

[twowheelnut]

Cool! Glad this technology worked for you and that your are still here to write about it. As I've said many times, ABS works for the street, I don't care who the feck you are.

6 more posts 'til this gets moved. Well, okay. Maybe 8.

 

[ShinyPartsUp]

I've only had my '06 A for 600 miles, but I love these brakes! Knock on wood I haven't needed them full on. But even in traffic "quick stops" are smoother without a lot of pucker factor. Glad yours worked so well and everybody is safe. What did the cager do/say?

 

[Timbo2015]

Your story has inspired me to practice some maximum braking, and finally get the front ABS to kick in. I have done the rear, but that is no real accomplishment...no risk, really. By the way, the '05 does not have linked brakes.

6 to go.

 

[twowheelnut]

Correct, Timbo. And linked brakes rock, too!

5

 

[rhody]

I've only had my '06 A for 600 miles, but I love these brakes! Knock on wood I haven't needed them full on. But even in traffic "quick stops" are smoother without a lot of pucker factor. Glad yours worked so well and everybody is safe. What did the cager do/say?

Not much, he made his turn, we didn't follow to chew his ass out, my friend and I just gave each other a look and continued on. Oh yeah, another thing, don't ride with someone you don't trust or don't know what they would do in an emergency. Your riding buddy could be the cause of your demise. The guy I ride with has over 20 years experience and has ridden 1000 safe miles in one day. I am constantly picking up on little things he does, like waving at cars when approaching intersections. He really knows how to handle himself, and it shows when we ride.

 

[Fencer]

:dribble:

Went out for a late Sunday evening ride with a buddy who has a Beemer, also with ABS. He told me later that his rear wheel was more than a foot off the ground, he was braking so hard.

You can make an ABS machine nose dive and lift the rear?!?!

 

[Windjammer]

He told me later that his rear wheel was more than a foot off the ground, he was braking so hard.

I'm confused. How does a bike with ABS stand the bike on its nose without triggering the ABS system? I'm not ABS bashing here, just trying to understand. What also confuses me is your reference to practicing panic stops with ABS brakes. Can't ya just slam on as much as you want with no worries? Assuming bike is vertical and not already sideways or whatever.

2

Oops, I see someone beat me to it....

 

[Mike-H]

Correct, Timbo. And linked brakes rock, too!
5

Especially for those who lack the skills to ride well :****: ....one technological screw & your done ....

 

[Dickf]

This is interesting. I am an '06 waitr, currently riding a '96 Honda CBR1000F. I used to ride a '95 CBR1000F until Dipstick spun across the center line, took out a pickup truck and then headed for me. I locked the front brake and went down in a flash. There are worse things than a low side crash. I slid to a stop before I got to the wreck, but my bike did not, totaling it. I checked out the scene later, with my '97. If I had had anti-skid (ABS) or if I had braked more carefully, I would have avoided the accident altogether. I have used anti-skid for years on aircraft, starting in 1996 (USAF). In those days we were taught that braking action reaches a maximum with increased effort and then decreases as the wheel starts to skid. Maximum braking was reported to occur at an 80% rolling skid (tire turning at 80% of ground speed). However, braking force decreases after this because the tire is sliding on molten rubber and rolling on bits of torn off rubber. This makes the situation unstable, with the operator tending to brake less than the optimum or locking up the wheel. In an aircraft this means a blown tire, with serious consequences. On a motorcycle, this means a low side crash if it is the front wheel. In a cage, it may mean only a loud noise, allowing the driver time to get off and then reapply the brakes. In my book, anti-skid (ABS) is vital for jet aircraft and motorcycles, and nice to have for cars. I think Yamaha did a smart think making it standard on '06 models. Now. If my AE would only get here...

 

[worldbound4now]

:dribble:
I am not generally superstitious, but I took the time when I first got my almost new 05 FJR with ABS to test the linked braking system thoroughly on

My question is.... do you really have an 05 or an 06? Linked (unified) brakes weren't available on the 2005. Glad to hear that you are ok. Practice does pay off.

 

[afterburn]

He told me later that his rear wheel was more than a foot off the ground, he was braking so hard.

I'm confused. How does a bike with ABS stand the bike on its nose without triggering the ABS system? I'm not ABS bashing here, just trying to understand. What also confuses me is your reference to practicing panic stops with ABS brakes. Can't ya just slam on as much as you want with no worries? Assuming bike is vertical and not already sideways or whatever.

2

Oops, I see someone beat me to it....

Quite simple. ABS kicks in when the wheel locks. A stoppie typically appears with the wheel turning. The ABS of the front and rear wheel are not linked, so if the rear locks it does not release the front brake. Good (imo) implementations of ABS allow the same amount of braking as a bike without ABS can do, that is without kicking in, on a good road surface. It should only do its job when the wheel really locks, like it does on more suspicious surfaces.

 

[odot]

Sounds complicated....looks like I picked the wrong time to stop smoking crack.

 

[starcruiser(aka downn2)]

I'll second these comments.
When I was riding full time for the state, up until 2003, we trained two days a month, every month. Each of those monthly sessions included about two hours of high speed braking at 60, 70 and 80 mph. We rode R1150s with ABS and I can't tell you the number of times it saved my bacon out on the road. Granted, doing what I was doing was a hair more aggressive than hopefully anyone here rides on a regular basis. The rear tire lifting a foot off the ground is not an exageration. Go out and practice it as Rhody recommends if you've got somewhere you can do it. If you've REALLY got a safe place to do it, practice emergency stops in a curve. That's something that might save your arse one day.

Okay, I'm off the soapbox.

.

Very interesting concept,,,,practice emergecy stops in a curve.......I've assume you're well versed in this...just what can one expect to happen as So I won't kill myself practicing it.....

 

[Dan23]

I don't see where ABS had anything to do with preventing this accident. Were you on some sort of slippery surface? If so, you did not mention it.

And anyway, how can you claim ABS saved you when there's no non-ABS example to compare to... IOW's if you want to believe ABS saved you, I guess that's your prerogative... personally, I think it was simple luck, preparedness and skills application.

 

[XLR8]

Very interesting concept,,,,practice emergecy stops in a curve.......I've assume you're well versed in this...just what can one expect to happen as So I won't kill myself practicing it.....

People do it all the time. If you take an experienced riders course you'll spend a good part of the day drilling how to emergency stop in a curve. There were a few guys in my ERC who layed their bikes down in class but I think everyone learned a lot. I took my FZ1 on purpose so I didn't have ABS.

One week later I rounded a corner at dusk and there was a deer in the middle of the road. Guess what I had to do? Hauled it down with no incidents.

-r

 

[Fencer]

[Very interesting concept,,,,practice emergecy stops in a curve.......I've assume you're well versed in this...just what can one expect to happen as So I won't kill myself practicing it.....

Simply put:

1. Enter the curve as normal

2. S.E.E. Danger

3. lean back out of steering lean (Straighten back up-right)

4. Brake hard.

***DON'T BRAKE WHILE LEANED OVER****

If it looks like you will over shoot the road

1 lean into the curve again (steer)

2 straighten up again

3 brake again

4 wash, rinse, repeat as nessessary

Practice in empty parking lot with a friend just incase you drop it

 

[qmotion]

[Very interesting concept,,,,practice emergecy stops in a curve.......I've assume you're well versed in this...just what can one expect to happen as So I won't kill myself practicing it.....

Simply put:

1. Enter the curve as normal

2. S.E.E. Danger

3. lean back out of steering lean (Straighten back up-right)

4. Brake hard.

***DON'T BRAKE WHILE LEANED OVER****

If it looks like you will over shoot the road

1 lean into the curve again (steer)

2 straighten up again

3 brake again

4 wash, rinse, repeat as nessessary

Practice in empty parking lot with a friend just incase you drop it

And don't forget to wash and rinse your underwear when you get home :clapping: