As technologically advanced as today's sportbikes are, it's interesting to note that while even the most basic and bottom-rung econobox automobile comes standard with an anti-lock brake system, none of this seemingly basic safety technology has made its way to the supersport market. Of course, it could be said that ABS (anti-lock brake system) has barely made inroads into the motorcycle market in general, much less sportbikes. But with many sport-touring and standard motorcycles now being offered with ABS as an option, why hasn't it been even attempted with a supersport bike?These are the main components...
These are the main components of the Combined ABS: the two valve units on upper left and upper right measure the hydraulic pressure generated by the rider through the conventional brake master cylinders, and send data to the electronic control module in the center, which interprets the data and sends commands to the power units on lower left and lower right to apply pressure to each brake.
In order to make room for...
In order to make room for the C-ABS rear brake power unit located underneath the tailsection, Honda had to add a remote reservoir to the rear shock.
Both the standard and C-ABS...
Both the standard and C-ABS bike receive this lower fairing extension for '09 that completely covers up the engine. Its main purpose is to hide the C-ABS components that are mounted behind the engine.
We covered some of the primary aspects of Honda's new Combined ABS in a previous issue ("Honda Unveils Brake-By-Wire ABS for Sportbikes", Late Braking, September '08), but now that we've managed to get a CBR600RR C-ABS model for test (the C-ABS is also available as an option on the CBR1000RR), there are a ton of important details on the system that have come to light.The biggest difference between conventional ABS and Honda's Combined ABS is that the Honda system is a true "brake-by-wire" design, meaning the brakes are electronically controlled--and that includes normal operation, when the ABS isn't triggered. Conventional ABS uses hydraulic pressure generated by the brake master cylinders from the rider pulling on the front brake lever/pushing on the rear brake pedal and redistributes it via a pressure control valve and/or pump to vary the hydraulic force at the point of wheel lockup. This often causes a loss of feedback at the lever (with many ABS, the lever feel becomes mushy and soft) due to the hydraulic pressure being rerouted through the various components when the system is activated.