Braking and ABS... I believe!

[FJRBluesman]

I'm starting to be a believer in motorcycle ABS.

My old 1995 Beemer, K1100RS, had ABS. The brakes were so poor (IMO) they reminded me of my old Harley with the single rotor, it would stop you some day. The Beemer was like slowing down a freight train. I thought I was going to break the levers off before the wheels would lock up. I never had the ABS work in a "panic" situation on dry pavement, it just never kicked in. I did lock it up a couple times in the rain just to make sure my ABS even worked, it worked.

My Duc had the best brakes bar none! Never had an issue with stopping or locking up the rear wheel on the street.

Now the FeeJ for the rather large bike it is, I think has exceptional brakes. It comes to a stop quickly. I've locked up the rear a few times now, no biggie until today. I needed to really stop, and the rear end started fish tailing around etc and I had to do the manual ABS modulating myself. Got 'er stopped OK, the pucker factor was a 5 out of 10.

I'm not sure if the brakes are just that good on the rear of the FeeJ or if the weight distribution when on the skids and the front end diving really unloads the rear end making it very light and easier to lock up.

Anyway, I'll be looking for ABS next time.

 

[Bungie]

Humor me, what kind of tire do you have on the back?

 

[Checkswrecks]

I had a 2004 like your '05 and loved the bike so wasn't looking when a smoking good deal popped up on a local 2007. The owner had to sell immediately (read as in very cheap). From a purely gut subjective level, there was something about the '04 that I liked more than my 2007, but shedding the odometer miles for a small difference in cash and a couple of pucker moments from commuting in the rain without ABS on the '04 got me to change bikes. The ABS on the '07 is something that I actuate now & then just to make sure it works, or from boredom, but otherwise it's something that I just never even think about any more. Until like 3-4 nights ago when a girl in a Mustang shot out from a side-street, right in front of me.

Which I guess is the way it should be.

 

[Gary F]

One of the main reasons I bought the FJR was the abs brakes. I was sure that grabbing a handful of brake and not worrying about wheel lockup would be a tremendous feature to have on a two wheeled vehicle. Well I was not wrong! Heading souyh into Flagstaff at about 65MPH two indian dogs ran in front of me. I indeed grabbed a handful of brake and immediately slowed and did not hit these animals. The stop was quick and predictable and I was able to continue with only an elevated heart rate. I know they were indian dogs because they were all ribs and nuts. Just my two cents worth and Canadian cents at that.

Gary

 

[rushes]

I've owned cars and trucks with ABS and became a big fan.

On my bike, an even bigger fan. :thumbsup:

I don't think I'll buy another bike without it.

 

[Fred W]

I'm not sure if the brakes are just that good on the rear of the FeeJ or if the weight distribution when on the skids and the front end diving really unloads the rear end making it very light and easier to lock up.

It's the latter. The vast majority of braking takes place on the front end. If you are braking hardyou will actually lift so much weight off the rear wheel to make the brake unusable without locking the wheel. ABS comes in handy in that instance to help you keep from swapping ends.

 

[palerider]

I'm not sure if the brakes are just that good on the rear of the FeeJ or if the weight distribution when on the skids and the front end diving really unloads the rear end making it very light and easier to lock up.

It's the latter. The vast majority of braking takes place on the front end. If you are braking hardyou will actually lift so much weight off the rear wheel to make the brake unusable without locking the wheel. ABS comes in handy in that instance to help you keep from swapping ends.

Roach wagons are everywhere, but we have a lot of them here in Southern Cal. Once on my 06 when I was exceeding the speed limit on an LA street a roach wagon turned left in front of me. I grabbed a lot of brake and swerved left to go behind him. I narrowly cleared his rear and saw immediatly behind him an old Chrysler trying to sneak across in his wake. Then I really grabbed some brake. The ABS kicked in, and I was able to slow enough to allow the car to slide past. Fortunately he didn't panic and hit his brakes or I'd have been his passenger.

I'll never buy a vehicle without ABS again. I know the die-hards who hate anything new will say that "a trained rider can stop quicker without ABS" but in the real world there are so many unpredictables on the roads--oil slicks, mufflers, exhaust plumes--that I choose to believe I'm more likely to avoid an accident with ABS.

 

[Rolavine]

I've never locked the brakes on the FJR even when practicing panic stops. I just can't seem to put that much force on either wheel. However, I just ran into my first situation where ABS would have helped me. I was on a hiway next to a dump truck when the light turned red in front of us. I started to brake hard when the truck locked many of its wheels with instant stench, clouds of molton rubber smoke, and a horrible shuddering sets of squeals. The whole thing was so unnerving my normal bodily feedbacks to my Dunlop Roadsmarts was cut off. I stopped about ten feet into the intersection and quickly pushed back in front of the light on foot power. Luckily the wacko truck had created such a disturbance that the people who might have hit me stayed still in a sort of state of shock.

So, ABS would have really helped here maybe, maybe I would have been too distracted to put more force on the brakes?

Just goes to show you what crazy, unexpected stuff can happen.

The truck was empty so it was going faster and had less weight on it's rear wheels.

I used to be a truck driver and did what he did more than once.

I think I've driven just about every kind of vehicle on the road from pedal bikes to tractors, hauling ag gear, to that crazy CBR1000F that seemed to only have two speeds - off and death.

 

[FJRBluesman]

Humor me, what kind of tire do you have on the back?

Bungie - U have a very good point. I have a B021 and it's very near the end of its life, very close to the wear marks, and it has a center flat spot from too much slab riding.

The only reason I really never cared for ABS was the experience from my Beemer. I never used it and never knew what it was really like so to speak. Each bike is different on braking and yes, ~85% of braking is on the front brakes, so that would get the rear end felling light.

I will now be looking on my next bike purchase to make sure it has ABS. 10 years in ABS technology later really helps.

 

[spalkin]

The FJR's front brake doesn't bite-in hard enough for me to lock it up. The rear brake is a different story. It's very hard to come to a panic stop without locking it up.

Just coming to a normal stop you can notice how much the rear brake helps bring it down. If I could only get ABS on one wheel it would definitely be the rear. Then I could just stomp on it a hard as I wanted.

I don't really mind if I kick the back end out in a hard stop, it's the damn flat spot from it.

 

[Fred W]

Humor me, what kind of tire do you have on the back?

Bungie - U have a very good point. I have a B021 and it's very near the end of its life, very close to the wear marks, and it has a center flat spot from too much slab riding.

I do not think that was where Brodie was leading with the question. I believe that he was hoping you would say that you had a Roadsmart on the back, as the harder center compound on those tires does allow the rear wheel to lose it's traction a tad sooner than a softer one.

The only reason I really never cared for ABS was the experience from my Beemer. I never used it and never knew what it was really like so to speak. Each bike is different on braking and yes, ~85% of braking is on the front brakes, so that would get the rear end felling light.
I will now be looking on my next bike purchase to make sure it has ABS. 10 years in ABS technology later really helps.

I agree. In a panic stop situation, where you are likely to follow your training and start hitting on "all-four" (ie clutch in, hand brake in, foot brake down and shifting down), not having to pay attention to if the rear tire is breaking loose, getting to pay full attention to the front braking, is the big advantage. Of course, anything that reduces the traction at the front end (water, oil, sand, etc) and having ABS on the front will come in handy too. Locking the rear is a little scary. Locking the front, you don't have time to be scared before you are on your ass.

 

[Fred W]

The FJR's front brake doesn't bite-in hard enough for me to lock it up.

It certainly will if there's something on the road that reduces the ideal traction. Which is the main point of having ABS. Anyone can come to a fast stop when running in a straight line on clean, dry roads. You don't need ABS for that.

The rear brake is a different story. It's very hard to come to a panic stop without locking it up.

Try not pressing the rear brake pedal... Bet you won't lock the rear up then, and if you use a lot of front brake you will stop just as fast.

Just coming to a normal stop you can notice how much the rear brake helps bring it down. If I could only get ABS on one wheel it would definitely be the rear. Then I could just stomp on it a hard as I wanted.

ABS isn't there for normal stops. But why would you want to stomp your rear brake in any stop? Or maybe you're just saying what I saidf in the prior post about not having to worry?

I don't really mind if I kick the back end out in a hard stop, it's the damn flat spot from it.

Huh? :blink: No it's not. You don't wear a flat spot on your rear tire from braking. The reason you have a flat spot on your rear wheel is because you ride in (more or less) straight line and turn that thing on the right handlebar transmitting a multitude of torque through that rear tire to the ground. Guys that never touch their rear brake pedals still wear flat in the back.

 

[GPRIDER]

I'm starting to be a believer in motorcycle ABS.
My old 1995 Beemer, K1100RS, had ABS. The brakes were so poor (IMO) they reminded me of my old Harley with the single rotor, it would stop you some day. The Beemer was like slowing down a freight train. I thought I was going to break the levers off before the wheels would lock up. I never had the ABS work in a "panic" situation on dry pavement, it just never kicked in. I did lock it up a couple times in the rain just to make sure my ABS even worked, it worked.

My Duc had the best brakes bar none! Never had an issue with stopping or locking up the rear wheel on the street.

Now the FeeJ for the rather large bike it is, I think has exceptional brakes. It comes to a stop quickly. I've locked up the rear a few times now, no biggie until today. I needed to really stop, and the rear end started fish tailing around etc and I had to do the manual ABS modulating myself. Got 'er stopped OK, the pucker factor was a 5 out of 10.

I'm not sure if the brakes are just that good on the rear of the FeeJ or if the weight distribution when on the skids and the front end diving really unloads the rear end making it very light and easier to lock up.

Anyway, I'll be looking for ABS next time.

When you really need to stop and you hit the brakes hard almost all the weight is in the front tire. My old non abs 04 got me into trouble numerous times when I got on the brakes hard and the rear locked up. You didn't have to press very hard on the rear brake pedal to get the rear to lock up. I haven't had a panic stop on the new 08 yet, but I'm guessing it's night and day difference. I have hit them hard for just a second and they felt like they were doing what they were supposed to.

GP

 

[luvtoride]

Well, I've had a couple of incidents where I really could've used ABS. I will be looking for it in my next bike for sure.

 

[Bustanut joker]

The FJR's front brake doesn't bite-in hard enough for me to lock it up.

Well, bound to be one in every crowd..

I myself have successfully pulled off Numerous "stoppies" aboard this fat ol' scoot. Yeah, rear tire in the air and sack slappin the tank..

I suggest ya have a competent wrench look at them brakes bub.

:jester:

 

[v65]

I myself have successfully pulled off Numerous "stoppies" aboard this fat ol' scoot. Yeah, rear tire in the air and sack slappin the tank.. :jester:

Not to mention you need a thighmaster to keep the tender bits from slamming into the tank.

 

[Knifemaker]

I've owned cars and trucks with ABS and became a big fan.On my bike, an even bigger fan. :thumbsup:

I don't think I'll buy another bike without it.

Gunny that. I KNOW I would not buy another bike without ABS. Just makes to damn much sence not to. (ever try stopping a bike on wet grass?)

And it seems I am not alone in my thinking that ABS bikes may be inheirently safer:

https://www.kgbt4.com/news/story.aspx?id=210657

KM

 

[Old Michael]

ABS is very handy when going down steep hills in gravel. (Amazing how they work.)

After riding with ABS for so many miles, I'd really miss it on a bike not so equipped.

Re-adjusting might be a bit dodgy.

 

[Bustanut joker]

ABS is very handy when going down steep hills in gravel. (Amazing how they work.)After riding with ABS for so many miles, I'd really miss it on a bike not so equipped.

Yeah, a real bitch finding mounts for "Training Wheels" on those non ABS Bikes ain't it pantywaist.

:jester: