ABS tips

I've never had any issues with the ABS on my BMW 1150GS, it just works when it's needed without any drama at all. I leave it turned on all the time (yes, even on gravel roads, wet roads, sand-covered roads, etc.) and never really notice it. This is my 3rd Beemer with ABS and I had the same experience with the other two as well. If used properly the ABS is not intrusive at all.

That being said, I've been riding for over 5 decades and learned to ride on bikes with shitty brakes, crappy brakes, good brakes without ABS, no brakes (flat-tracker, wooot!!!), and now brakes with ABS. The best advice I could give anyone new to ABS is to turn it off, learn to ride the bike without the ABS in all kinds of situations, then turn it on and let it be a safety margin like it was meant to be. If you are riding with full situational awareness, good skills, use engine braking, and can stop the bike within a safe distance without the ABS firing then it will be there when you need it in an emergency.

Enjoy your new toy!

Doug

"Some people like the computers to do all the work of riding a bike for them"

you have misunderstood something. The computer does nothing, unless you're about to lock a wheel. Also controlling the motorcycle, leaning, using throttle and gears, etc, the ABS computer has zero to do with any of those. It's just an emergency brake assist. And actually it does not brake for you, it cannot do that. All it can do, is release brake pressure from the hydraulic circuit momentarily.

there was one not so long ago.

I'd vote for an oil thread instead.

...Or HEY: what hydraulic fluid (other than what they recommend, of course) should I use on my ABS brake system??

Usually at an appropriate time, sometimes not.

yes, for people like you it would be good to have an off-switch, so these useless systems would not get in the way of your superior skills.

Well if you don't mind the annoying flashing lights, that may be easier than you think on a BMW and probably most other brands. But then if that BMW has the servos you sure don't want to disable that at the same time.:eek1

Don't know about any servos, mine has no lights flashing, just a steady red light if ABS is disabled. The problem is you can't do it on the fly instantly, like when you need to brake and the ABS isn't letting you.

I think on the later ones you can. (F800GS)

Has nothing to do with skills, sometimes on bumpy roads, paved or not, the ABS does not allow braking at all. Read what I wrote.

one thing to keep in mind is that 'ABS' is not one single thing. It is a common name for a system, that has many different generations and versions, and also the bike, that it is installed to, affects everything. So you can't generalize very much.

Is your rebound dampening adjustable???

Um. I'd really want to see what the DL650 owner's manual says about that, because I'm pretty sure it advises precisely NOT to do that.

Have not read the manual or ridden the bike, but anything except possibly the very latest ABS tech- and I mean, stuff not found on dealer floors- is not designed to deal with cornering forces at all.

Uh huh.

Did I say you have to scrape the peg, and while doing this, slam the front brake on..?

So let me summarize: I´m on my 3rd DL650 ABS now, you haven´t ridden the bike, but out of the two of us, you know better than I do, what you can do with this bike (and its ABS), and what you cannot?

when you are in an oh shit moment, you'll intellectually squeeze as hard as possible and you'll then know how the ABS truly works.

Precisely. Even those, who THINK they can do better than that, 99% of them will still fail to get it right in that split second. Pretty hard to practice for that either, because when you know you´ll practice braking, it´s never really an oh shit moment, those will always jump on you, when you least expect.

That is why ABS will be standard on all road-going bikes.

Depends on each person. I have never grabbed a fistful of brake in a panic. I've made plenty of OTHER mistakes while learning (freeze up and plow right off the trail/road, stand the bike up when I should lean more, etc). Even in the car, if I am in a panic stop, it is a conscious decision to push the brake down harder than my instincts tell me to. It's like "don't overdo it" is the instinct. Then again, for the most formative years of my dirt bike education, I didn't have brakes at all (literally - not installed in the bike). I know that has influenced my braking techniques, for better or worse. I did all of my braking with engine brake, sometimes holding in the kill switch since my KDX80 didn't have a lot of engine braking while running. I also had to wait at the top of the hills until everybody else was out of the way, because I needed a little runout room at the bottom.


Note - I am not claiming to be better than ABS, and I am not claiming that my reaction is better than anybody else's - but I am aware that it will put me in trouble when others are fine, and on the contrary I may be fine where others are in trouble.

They better perfect it first.

It is never "perfect", as it is a technical system, and built by humans.

But try back-to-back a K100 BMW from the late 80's, and a S1000RR (..or any modern ABS on a bike for that matter) and you'll understand, how much it has developed in 25 years.

I'm sure ABS on cars was fiercely opposed at first, too. Like seat belts back in the day - people had driven cars without seat belts for how long, how on Earth had they managed to survive??

I have owned a K75 and a K100 with ABS, and a F800GS, an R1100RT, ridden a 1200GSA. Ridden a few other ABS equipped motorcycles. The ABS has improved, but it is no where near as good as ABS in a car 20 years ago.
Again, sometimes it won't allow braking at all. This is unacceptable.

Some people still seem to think they can brake better without ABS. That is like saying letters are faster than email.