To Abs Or Not Abs

[RadioHowie]

Checked with my local dealer for an "in-house" FJR and of course, none to be had.

However, the Asst. Mgr. (owner's son) did say they had 2 '05s on order PDP'd under employee's names, so they could get a couple in stock without having "real" buyers.

Told him to let me know the second one is in stock so I couild pull the trigger. Didn't know about the PDP until it was too late for the latest go-round.

He did say both on order were non-ABS models, adding "we won't sell an ABS FJR" intimating that it was some sort of slur to have ABS on a bike.

Is he full of crap for this decision? Or is ABS an unnecessary complexity?

Just curious.

 

[MCML]

Aha! The "To aBs or not to aBs" thread arrives in the new world. Easy. IMHO, ABS. If it only saves your ass once, etc. etc. etc.

 

[Ignacio]

Wonder what whacky weed he's smoking. The ABS bikes are fine bikes. Yes, I have one and am glad I bought one. I felt it was worth the extra $1000. You'll probably get a bunch of different opinions and it's all going to come down to you and your choice. My opinion:

The Pros of ABS

Stops quicker and under more control in a panic stop

Adds a bit of confidence to me knowing that I theoretically can't lock up the brakes if I grab them.

The Cons of ABS

$1K extra

About 17 pounds extra weight

Some '05 owners report front brake feel squishier than non-ABS (either bleeding issue or additional lines)

Can't do stoppies (Is that a con?)

Some notes I've heard

Purists think they can stop quicker than ABS, but got ABS anyway and were pleasantly surprised during a panic stop. Converted.

The front ABS will kick in and is quicker, but less jerky than rear ABS. Very few have actually gotten the front to kick in....so we know this guy was riding at the limit (hmmmm, maybe they just won a recent rally?)

Resale of ABS may be better as more people want ABS than don't want ABS. (Anecdotal.....I could be pulling that one out of my arse)

 

[SkooterG]

Get the ABS or the whole world will blow up!!!! mg: :tease:

Greg

 

[RadioHowie]

Get the ABS or the whole world will blow up!!!! mg: :tease:
Greg

Well HELL!!! That's enough reason right there!!!

 

[Coyote]

[SIZE=14pt]ABS![/SIZE]

My right foor is heavy and out of control, so my ABS has paid for itself times over. Let the gods of motorcycle riding :agent: and fools who think they are gods :bleh: buy the non-ABS jobs.

 

[SilveradoSlick]

Well, I'm not a god of motorcycling, so that must make me a... :fool:

The dealer would also be a :fool: Find another dealer and get the ABS if you want it. Buy from the dealer if you don't, but remember he's already fed you one line of bull.

 

[BobbyBlue]

Hey Howie,

Its my opinion that some of this depends on your level of experience and comfort level on bikes. I been on 'em for 35 years and I opted for a non-abs model. Partly this was based on riding with a friend on a ABS BMW in the rain in Dallas on concrete and we were moving quickly to try to reach cover, I on my now retired Guzzi 850 LeMans. Anyway we had to stop fast at a light and he wound up in the middle of the intersection and was hit by a young redneck jumping the light. He was fine, the Beemer was trashed. This incident had some bearing on my non ABS FJR, but I've seen it save peoples butts more times than not. Besides, as an old dirt rider I like lockin up the back once in a while and backin it in to a corner. Just my 2 cents bro. Ride safe and within your own limits certainly.

Bobby

 

[twowheelnut]

ABS. I'm sorry I cheaped out. But I came off of linked brake Hondas and really didn't realize how easy the rear wheel would lock-up. Go with ABS. Especially if you have a wife and kids to feed...

 

[Woodstock]

ABS here. It's possible the dealer was just speaking about perceived demand, rather him making a statement on ABS in general.

ABS is light-years ahead of where it was 5-10 years ago. This whole thing reminds me of carb vs. EFI years ago.

 

[Espia4ci]

I saw a video a few years ago that I believe was made by BMW, but I'm not positive. Anyway, the video showed test of two motorcycles, identical in everyway except one had ABS and one did not. The bikes were equiped with outrigger devices (training wheels). They were using professional riders.

:guns:

The test involved evasive manuevers in a variety of conditions to include water, etc. It was pretty amazing how much better the ABS bike performed in all conditions. Not only did the ABS bike stop quicker, but in many of the extreme manuevers, consistent with panic manuevers, the nonABS bike would have went down. After watching that video I was a believer.

:jester:

I have the ABS version, and I am glad I do. Not to mention when laymen people are checking out your bike and you tell them it has ABS, they are WOWed. :stunned: :coolio:

 

[FJRocket]

ABS will stop the bike much better than I can in an emergency. I know, I proved it to myself last week. Get the ABS! You will not regret it.

 

[SpeedFreak]

Well here's my 2 cents:

I ordered my 2005 FJR w/o ABS, well I guess patience in not one of my virtues.

I ended up calling around to dealers looking for cancelled PDP bikes and found one. It was an ABS model. I took it, and on the 1st ride home from the dealer I had a granny pull out in front of me in an area I was unfamiliar with. I must have over reacted on the brakes and the ABS kicked in. It allowed me to recover from that first instinct of panic of hitting the granny and I was able to stop with a little bit of time to spare.

I was glad to have the ABS and will most likely never order a bike w/o it as well. course I'm hoping the FJR will last me about 10 years!

 

[TejasFJR]

Conventional wisdom has it that chicks dig the abs. :thumbup:

 

[SkooterG]

Ahhhhh.....gotta love the ABS threads. For those that know me, my tongue in cheek response above was expected.

Everbody will (and has) tell you that you NEED abs. Well, I am here to say that there are approximately half the fjrs out there without abs and doing just fine.

Still, before my recent crash I was leaning towards abs for my next bike. Since the high-side, which abs would have prevented, I am leaning much stronger towards abs the next time around. Still, that was my first crash ever, and the root cause was operator error. Dumbshit rider should have been looking at the road and not the scenery.

Still, every option has advantages and disadvantages, make up your own mind on what YOU want. Don't let everyone tell you that YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED ABS or the world will blow up!

Click on the link for a most excellent article on ABS. Dated and long, but still valid with excellent info. If I would have read this before I ordered my 04 non-abs, I probably would have instead ordered the abs.

Clicky here, clicky here!

Good luck with the decision. Hope I made it clear as mud.

Greg

 

[radman]

ABS is for pussies that don't know how to ride or stop a motorsickle. All it does is make the bike more complicated. Same goes for stupid disc brakes, electric start, electronic ignition, overhead cams, aluminum frames, shaft drive, fuel injection, tachometers, fuel gauges, windshields, aluminum formed wheels, radial tires. This is all the motorcycle you need, and I don't wanna hear any whinin' either! Now start kickin' boy....

 

[Coyote]

@radman

Geeez. You are so right. Where can this pussy get one of those bikes in the pic?? :dribble:

I feel silly every time a push a button to start my bike. Hmmm .. maybe Yamaha should offer a non-electric start option.

 

[onecooltngeek]

Radman..

that bike is way to newfangled!! looks like you gotta mess w/ a head and tailights and a horn... us real riders, well, we stick a candle on the front and read fender.. if its was good nuff fer pappy, its good nuff fer me...

seriously .. im pro abs..

seems to have higher resale appeal, people are wowed by the ABS lettering, prevents me from even wanting to try to learn stoppies...

oh, and about PDP dealer bought bikes...

You aren't buying a NEW bike. You are buying a bike that Yamaha already thinks has been sold. The warranty started ticking the day the dealer got the bike. Our yammie dealer here was tryign to sell me one he has that he ordered in an employee's name. THe warranty was already was halfway expired, and I commented on that, and he said he would cut a deal on the extended warranty for me

In Yammies eyes, you aren't buying a new bike. You are buying a used bike. You have to transfer the warranty, you don't qualify for new bike financing, and all that ( according to this dealer) ...

something to think about .. =)

 

[radman]

You aren't buying a NEW bike. You are buying a bike that Yamaha already thinks has been sold. The warranty started ticking the day the dealer got the bike

Wrong. I bought Frank off the floor last year, just got the YES from D&H, showing warranty periods beginning and end for oe and ext warranty. OE warranty began the day I bought it and registration was initiated.