In a recent press release, BMW announced that all of its 2012 motorcycle models will be equipped with ABS as standard equipment. It’s not surprising that BMW is the first manufacturer to make such a claim; the company was the first to offer ABS on a motorcycle (the K100RS in 1988) and has long made the safety feature available as standard or optional on many of its models. Whether by choice or by law, it won’t be long before every street motorcycle will be so equipped. About a year ago, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reported that motorcycles with ABS are 37 percent less likely to be involved in a fatal crash than those without, according to a study. A separate study by the affiliated Highway Loss Data Institute showed that “Bike models with antilocks have 22 percent fewer claims for damage per insured vehicle year than the same models without antilocks.” This led the IIHS to petition the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to consider mandating the use of ABS on all motorcycles.
Compared with the automotive industry, ABS has been a long time coming for motorcycles because it necessarily has to be more complex, resulting in a system that has more effect on a motorcycle’s price, weight and performance than it does on a car. In a car, you have one pedal operating four brakes with power assist acting on four nice big contact patches. Even relatively crude ABS provides a safety net for the average driver mashing the pedal in a panic stop, and under everyday use is mostly transparent as the typical car braking setup offers little feel or feedback. Consider how much more elaborate a motorcycle’s ABS needs to be, taking into account separate front and rear brake controls (with riders using more of one or the other depending on the type of bike and the rider’s skill and experience), two tiny contact patches and a relatively inexpensive manual hydraulic braking system. And, for performance sportbikes, it doesn’t take much in the way of meddling to upset a braking system’s feel and feedback—which is a major portion of its performance.
Adding 25 or 30 pounds of extra electronics, pumps and hoses makes little difference to a 2500-pound car, but on a sportbike—or a 350-pound entry-level bike—it can have a serious impact. Likewise, ABS adds up to $1000 to a motorcycle’s list price when offered as an option. On the Honda CBR250R, for example, ABS adds $500 to its $4000 price tag; for an entry-level rider, that difference can definitely make or break a sale.
There is no doubt that, even on a sportbike, ABS adds safety. While an expert rider in controlled conditions may be able to stop in a shorter distance after some practice, that doesn’t represent a real-life panic situation at all. In our test of Honda’s CBR600RR C-ABS model (May ‘09), we stated: “It took us a couple of tries before we were able to better the C-ABS’ rate of deceleration, and note again that this was with an expert rider at the controls who is comfortable with the massive weight transfer that occurs on a standard bike and can use it to his advantage. Meanwhile, the more level chassis attitude and stable feel of the C-ABS bike will surely help the majority of riders stop more quickly and comfortably. And in the wet? Forget it. Even a pro-level rider wouldn’t be able to reach the first-time stopping distances or deceleration rates of the C-ABS bike, because it is able to react to the changing grip levels of the wet brakes and tires far quicker than any human.”
The BMW S 1000 RR, Kawasaki ZX-10R and Honda C-ABS models have shown that overall performance in most conditions doesn’t have to be compromised with ABS. That said, an experienced rider on the track will certainly notice the difference, and can lap quicker with the system disabled. As long as you can turn the system off should you want to take your sportbike to the track, or your adventure-touring bike down a gravel road, ABS on most bikes is quite transparent and doesn’t affect performance. And that brings me, in a rather circuitous manner, to the crux of the matter: If the government steps in and mandates ABS for motorcycles, it will most likely be active full time and you will be unable to turn it off. And if the manufacturers take it upon themselves to offer ABS on more models as standard or optional equipment, it’s less likely the government will intrude. It’s a situation somewhat similar to a decade ago, when the top speed wars were soon to spiral out of control and the manufacturers put their own cap on things to avoid government interference.
It’s looking like we will dodge that bullet, as more manufacturers are offering ABS on more models, either as an option or standard. Price is the major stumbling block now, especially for entry-level or naked bikes. But as the systems become more prevalent, that will hopefully become less of an issue, impacting list prices less as time goes on. SR