Here in Victoria, we've had continually lower road fatalities every year for as long as I can remember. In the early 1970's we had a death toll of 1061, whereas the death toll for 2013 was 241, which is amazing considering that the population has at least doubled since the 1970's, and there are many more cars per head of population than there ever was before.
The cops and the public officials like to pat themselves on the back about this, claiming that the speed camera's that they hide everywhere reduce the road toll, but the truth is, improved roads and vastly improved vehicle technology (ABS, Airbags, better brakes and handling etc) are the real hero's, the old cars like Mick's EH or Dave's HQ were lovely cars, but 1960's and 1970's automotive technology was crap at best, and hadn't changed much from Henry Ford's Model T.
I've had ABS on 2 BMW's now, and to be honest, I don't know if it works or not. Both BMW's are fitted with Brembo brakes which are both powerful and provide lots of feedback to the rider. Both systems were BMW's "ABS 1" and as has been said before, it can be problematic. The K1100LT that I had caused me all sorts of headaches when I rode it to Sydney (500 miles) with no front brakes because when applied, my front brakes would lock up (not causing it to skid) and not release until I waited for a few minutes, which was scary on a wet Sunday afternoon on unfamiliar roads.
I rang three BMW repair agencies before I found one who'd take a look at it, he told me that my ABS module was faulty, charged me 300 bucks, and didn't actually repair anything. I rode the 500 miles home again with no front brakes, which might have been a problem if I had to stop quickly because I wound it up over the ton a few times to break (no pun intended) the boredom on the way home.
When I got home I ordered new stainless brake lines and when I fitted them I immediately discovered the problem, the rubber lines were breaking down internally and little bits of black rubber were balling up and blocking the lines. When I applied pressure to the brake lever the hydraulic pressure would force the brake pistons in, but as there was no equivalent pressure to force the pistons apart, the brakes would stay on. I replaced the lines, flushed the calipers and MC, and all was right with the world. I was surprised that a BMW dealer couldn't tell the difference between rotten brake lines and a faulty ABS module.
I've no doubt that ABS works, and saves lives, but I'll go against the tide and say that it's an over-complicated PITA for old farts like me who buy old bikes, often with dodgy electronics and other things that dealers no longer stock.
As much as ABS is great, (I'm sure) I'm more than happy not to have it, because on most bikes designed to have it (BMW's for instance) it's wired into just about every other sensor and module on the bike and hard to bypass. Someone above laughed off the 2000 buck module replacement on a BMW, and that's fair enough on a near new bike I suppose (but I still don't agree) but I only paid 2200 bucks for my 1989 ABS equipped K100RS SE ABS last year, so I'd be pissed if I had to shell out 2000 bucks to repair one small (and in my opinion, unnecessary) function of that bike. Cheers, Terry.
