CBR6rr w/ ABS

[Justin]

Any thoughts about the new CBR600rr's optional anti-lock brakes?    $10,500
i loved my ABS on the street.  The Sprint ST taught me that it was MUCH harder to lock up a tire than I previously thought (a fear that causes most riders use only 60% of braking power)

[Oneup]

I'm not too sure about the ABS.  Personally I don't like the idea of a computer changing my braking on me at the wrong time.  I'm waiting for the reviews. 

[yzinger]

agreed. I would rather find that "limit" on my own...

[reno240sx]

I heard that they recommend people turn it off for track riding. I wonder if different tire profiles would affect the system?

[Oneup]

The way it was explained to me is that the system is very similar to the goldwing.  The sensor is on the hub, so I don't think tire profile will effect it.  The abs system isn't like the one on cars, it activates before the tire locks up and releases some of the pressure on the discs.  The tire never actually gets to lock like it does on cars.  To me this doesn't sound like a good system simply because I want all of my braking going into the corner.  I wouldn't want to come into a corner too fast because the computer was afraid I was going to lock the front.

[Adiggity]

Never experienced riding with it but I think it would be a good thing for riding in limited traction situations like rainy or dirty roads. Other than that though on dry surfaces I want 100% of my braking power (speaking from mostly a track stand point) But I think it would apply to me for the street as well in case somebody pulled out in front of me. I have braked extremely hard on dry pavement and never had the front wheel lock up in dry conditions....for the rear though I think abs would be great!

[n10sive]

I have ABS on my beemer and it is very different to ride with. While doing monitor and ebbetts with it on, I really didn't think I felt much difference until I turned it off. Once off, I almost binned it in a corner when I found out how much that ABS/Traction control stuff really works!

I also just recently read where someone dropped their bike turning into a driveway due to ABS. Apparently while leaned over to turn in at low speed, the back wheel bounced making the abs kick in, thus disabling his brakes! He had to drop the bike to keep from hitting a parked car. I have heard that they are doing firmware upgrades (computer driven versions) on a lot of the systems to improve low speed situations like this too.

[z1rider]

abs takes a lil getting used to. had it on an r1150r (rockster) back home. it makes riding a bit more interesting, kinda have to remind myself not to feather the brakes and just keep the pressure on the levers regulated.
$.02

[1960apache]

ABS is the main reason I have stuck to BMW's. I can count dozens of times that it has saved my butt! On BMW's the brakes are actually power assisted and boosted, if that makes sense, and from my experience, the system applies way more power than I could do on my own, from a mechanical standpoint and fear standpoint. Here are a few good videos of the CBR1000 with ABS, for those who still think they can do better by regulating the brakes themselves versus ABS!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0RtkhsfY2g shows braking with and without ABS in the wet.
The next one is on the track, and how to deal with it, I think it is a step in the right direction. I like the repsol replica! I have CBR400RR in Thailand, pic attached.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlI_zTU7Gq8&feature=related

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[jlavallee]

Personally I am not against ABS on a road bike but I rather learn the bike and then find out what I can and can't do. My Harley isn't the ABS option and I knew from having the 07 rented that it was very easy to lock the front brembo's with so little weight on the front. Every now and again on a spot with pavement ripples she'll chirp but you have to remember what you're riding.

On a sportbike I've only locked the front a couple of times and most of those were when I was young, stupid and trying to do endo's back home in Canada on cold pavement but I thankfully never went down.

Unless you're in the rain or on gravel I can't see where it's much of a benefit but it could definately be a real pain in the dry.

As for power, if I can't brake 98% of the time with my 250lb on board using one finger then I will not ride the bike period. Once in a while on the track or on my DR when the brakes are hot I might use two but it's very rare. I haven't used more than two fingers in over 20 years and based on what I see, a lot of the front and rear tucks come from someone grabbing a handful or stomping on the pedal.