ABS and other electronic nannies
I’m a real man. I don’t need no stinking babysitter.
Traction control, ABS, wheelie control and ride modes make riding motorcycles safer. I’m not sure about the source of negativity towards them. Older implementations of linked braking and ABS had some growing pains but we are in a more mature time where everything just works (for the most part). Some dirt-marketed bikes don’t have switchable ABS which is an issue but, for street bikes, there really isn’t any downside. I guess if you’re Zack Courts you can’t back it in.
IMUs, throttle by wire and other electronics that allow these systems to exist make motorcycles more expensive. Ego is really the only other reason I can think of.
In the US, ABS is still optional. It is mandatory in other parts of the world. I thought long and hard about whether I wanted ABS before buying a leftover 2017 Kawasaki Z900. Research included lots of YouTube and reading reviews. An ABS-equipped unit had a higher asking price and there were no leftover ABS models so I went with non-ABS.
After all, the best riders can out-brake ABS. I’m the best rider. Aren’t we all?
The Z900 mostly sat in my garage from 2018 through 2021 when I sold it with a whopping 794 miles on the clock. The lack of ABS didn’t keep me from riding. It was the wrong bike for me at the time. I was trying to relive my younger days. It happens to the best of us. At no time during the 794 miles I rode that bike did I find myself in a situation where ABS would have kicked in.
I’m not sure what happened but something changed in 2022. I was shopping for a Goldwing and it ABS was a requirement. Models prior to 2018 had it as an option only. There were more than a few private sellers who claimed their bike had ABS but it didn’t have a tone ring (no ABS). They were either lying or misinformed. It only made sense for a flagship touring bike to have ABS.
The Goldwing is the heaviest bike I’ve ever owned. Maybe that has something to do with it. Maybe I bought it after turning 40. It could also have been that the bike was purchased with the intent to ride two-up with Mrs. Bald Rider and I am more considerate when others’ safety is involved. Either way, any bikes I own going forward outside of trail-oriented dual sports will have all the aids they offer.
Already owning an ‘old man’ bike and a bike that is too slow for the interstate, I don’t think I have any ego left.
