RE: [ST] ABS

["Emile Nossin" <Emile@xxxxxxxxxx>]

>From: simonb@xxxxxxxxxxx
>To be honest I can see a need for it on big tourers
>and the like. Sports bikes not yet. Too much breaking
>is done while leant over.

Why is that? The presence of ABS does not interfere at
all with braking in corners (you'd probably loose traction
before the wheels really start skidding), so there's no
negative side to it (besides relying on miracle abilities
that would not be there). I would have loved ABS on my
T-max when racing over the Assen circuit, approaching a
120 degree corner at full speed. Now I had to take it more
conservatively, since the smallest skid can throw me on
the asphalt. On the ST and GS I knew I had a pretty
consistent amount of braking applicable, without the
risk of locking up. But even if you don't use it to
improve braking performance, it doesn't hurt to have it.

>But for someone with little experience then it would
>help. Expecially in the winter. 

That sounds like an overestimation of your own abilities
and limitations. You and I can be experienced, but we are
both humans. We make errors, and as you can see in the
test, experience is no subsitute for ABS when trying to
brake on a contaminated surface.

If one thing is lethal in motorcycling as well as flying,
it's a macho attitude. As pilots we are continuously trained
that we can both make mistakes (and we do, all the time).
The captain can be more experienced in terms of hours or
aircraft types, but he relies on me to check him and tell
him what he's doing wrong, never assuming he knows better.
And so do I... in fact routine because of long experience
can lull someone into a false sense of security. Most
motorcyclist think they are experience because they've
been riding for 20 years or whatever. But most of the
times they just learned a bit for one year (perhaps
even wrongly) and continued to repeat that for 19 other
years (and getting sloppier and more careless along the
way probably).

Experienced or not, we make mistakes just like all the
other people around us. Not experienced might actually
make you more vigilant and conservative in decision
taking. ABS is just a safety net in case you, someone
else or your riding environment surprises you. And I
think it MAYBE could make a racer faster on laps and
racing safer. Similar opinions in a couple of magazines,
but it's logical why the racing rules wouldn't allow it,
since someone (like with traction control) could let
the technology win for them....

Emile
www.piloot.com

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