Scooters and ABS

[PaulF]

Has anyone here been on a scooter with ABS and had to stop in a hurry?  Just wondering how a two wheel machine acts when the ABS is activated.   I had a car with ABS and really did not like it especially as I traveled off road a lot it activated all the time when braking on loose gravel or wet clay.  At least most of the adventure bikes now that has ABS are able to turn the system when traveling off road.
I have been more that happy with the brakes on the LIKE and in the few times when I had to apply full brakes I have never had a problem but I also realize when I upgrade most scooters now are using ABS and CBS.

Paul

[CROSSBOLT]

Good question! I think everyone would like to hear about this.

Karl

[AMAC1680]

I have ridden and purposefully caused the abs to kick in and....... it works as advertised.
That said not my cup of tea. I've never had a issue in many, many a miles and prefer to have control in my hands. Just me I still trust my skills.

I'll  bet it won't be long before someone comes here to say the abs has saved their butts a number of times.

To that I'll say adjust your riding style.

Pot stirred.

AMAC

BTW- it took less than a hour to turn my cbs to old school brakes.

[de dee]

2016 piaggio BV 350i sport  , ABS,  CBS , that's traction control,  this is what made my mind up to buy new scooter,  I am to old to grow new skin,  and not ready to give up riding,   I even been thinking of air bag jacket, been saving up for it ,.  bones are brittle at 84 years old, 

[gwdoiron]

Twice I've had inattentive drivers not look over their shoulders and pull over into my lane... where I was.  Both times the ABS kicked in.  It works and can prevent a skid.  Even if you think you're driving skills are great, you sometimes are placed in situations like this (its was a double-wide state route in my direction, and two left-turn lanes had just appeared and I moved left one lane into the first one, and the guy who almost hit me was originally in the rightmost lane behind me not even 10 seconds earlier and rapidly crossed two lanes to be in my personal space, no turn signals, etc... he just suddenly decided he was going to make a left and was in the wrong lane and moved over two lanes without even looking out the window).

The road conditions were good and I was going straight, so it probably wouldn't have been an uncontrolled skidding situation without the ABS, but if the roads were wet and the bike didn't have ABS, I'm sure it would have had a much worse outcome.

That being said, I've occasionally had nuisance tripping with the rear brake when braking over an obstacle such as a speed bump or cutdown pavement, where I wasn't initially expecting a loss of traction.

[Scooter Dan]

Have ABS on my SW but have not had any situations with panic stopping. Did have a panic stop when missing the stop sign on my Honda 919 Hornet non- ABS and locked up the rear wheel and got a little fish tail but let off the brakes and straightened back up with some counter steering.

[GLV55]

ABS I can see, but my concern is with the CBS. I like to drag the rear brake a little going through some curves/turns for a little added control, as well as in very slow maneuvers. I wouldn't want that front brake also being activated in those circumstances.

[PaulF]

ABS I can see, but my concern is with the CBS. I like to drag the rear brake a little going through some curves/turns for a little added control, as well as in very slow maneuvers. I wouldn't want that front brake also being activated in those circumstances.

That's exactly my concern as well.  Others believe it isn't a issue but maybe I am just getting stubborn in old age about certain beliefs.

[Stig / Major Tom]

maybe I am just getting stubborn in old age about certain beliefs.

Welcome to my world!
(what, you think young guys ride these things?! No young guys here - they'd get beat up in home room!)
Stig

[Stig / Major Tom]

AMAC passed me the stirring spoon.
Those we won't be hearing from are the folks who did not have ABS, and are no longer members of a 2-wheel forum.
AMAC, don't go cutting your ABS lines, too - we need your input here.

I used my Burgman's ABS when a stupid left-turner did his trick, without blinker, while I had 3 cars in my sights on a damp street - waiting left, waiting right and coming at me fast! Yes I was covering the brakes and rolling slightly off of the throttle. Scrubbed off the speed, dead straight - but my wallet ended up in my front pocket.
First day of college, my son had to stop suddenly from speed, in the rain,  for a back-up on an off ramp. His old Scion had ABS and traction control. The lady behind, didn't - she bought him some new tail lights, a bumper and a tail gate.
I agree with de dee - buy the good stuff if you can. In the conditions in which most of us ride - it has proven its worth.
My little front-only-ABS Piaggio ran street demos in Vietnam ---
https://youtu.be/--Au60WjbVA?t=4

I wasn't going to buy a new scooter without some kind of ABS. It's everywhere now.
Stig

[Stig / Major Tom]

Have ABS on my SW but have not had any situations with panic stopping. Did have a panic stop when missing the stop sign on my Honda 919 Hornet non- ABS and locked up the rear wheel and got a little fish tail but let off the brakes and straightened back up with some counter steering.

Good on you Dan,
As you know, too often getting off the brakes of a rear tire sliding sideways will launch you over the bars into a lovely high-side off. You avoided that.
Those are the shoulder and collar bone breakers for GP riders. Ugly things to see. Most every time it is the back tire snapping back that does it.
Stig

[AMAC1680]

AMAC passed me the stirring spoon.
Those we won't be hearing from are the folks who did not have ABS, and are no longer members of a 2-wheel forum.
AMAC, don't go cutting your ABS lines, too - we need your input here.

Oh come on man hyperbole!!

Let it be said I'm far safer on my non abs scooter all ATTATT than I am in one of my 50 year old VW dune buggies. Just inches between the toes and whoever you ram. Or rams you.

AMAC

[Scooter Dan]

Good on you Dan,
As you know, too often getting off the brakes of a rear tire sliding sideways will launch you over the bars into a lovely high-side off. You avoided that.
Those are the shoulder and collar bone breakers for GP riders. Ugly things to see. Most every time it is the back tire snapping back that does it.
Stig

I got lucky on that one Tom. If it hadn't been for the pu sitting at this rural stop sign I would have just kept going through it but wasn't sure what he was going to do? Didn't matter anyway because I couldn't get it stopped in time and rolled right thru it. Good thing he was watching out for me or I might have t-boned a Ford truck. Guys on the sport bike forum I was a member of told me to forget I had a back brake and use the front mainly as it provides the greatest stopping power. Now you know why your Liberty only has ABS up front. They said use the back only for trail braking going into a turn. Sure am glad I got rid of perhaps the most fun bike I've ever owned. Like I said, I've not had to use ABS yet on my SW. Scooters keep me out of trouble.

[PaulF]

I got lucky on that one Tom. If it hadn't been for the pu sitting at this rural stop sign I would have just kept going through it but wasn't sure what he was going to do? Didn't matter anyway because I couldn't get it stopped in time and rolled right thru it. Good thing he was watching out for me or I might have t-boned a Ford truck. Guys on the sport bike forum I was a member of told me to forget I had a back brake and use the front mainly as it provides the greatest stopping power. Now you know why your Liberty only has ABS up front. They said use the back only for trail braking going into a turn. Sure am glad I got rid of perhaps the most fun bike I've ever owned. Like I said, I've not had to use ABS yet on my SW. Scooters keep me out of trouble.

I recently read an article in local bike magazine about braking with different styles of bikes and it mentioned they same thing you just said about sport bikes which surprised me when I read that they hardly used the rear brake.  But with  cruisers and other bikes where there was more weight on the rear there was a lot more rear brake used.  I will see if I can find the article because it was a very good informative read.  Most times when I am stopping in a straight line I tend to use about 50/50 but I probably should practice more on the front.   I like the idea that the Liberty only has front ABS, sounds very sensible.

[ole two wheels]

There is a maneuver for bikes, as has been touched on by Dan and Tom, called a controlled skid. I have practiced it and used it on several occasions.  In a situation where you need to make make a sharp turn to one side or the other to avoid rear ending someone or something.. You lean in whichever direction and lock the rear wheel and as the rear end starts to come around. release the rear brake and you just made an immediate 45 degree turn without the distance lost in simply scurving. Can't be done with ABS.ABS is the difference between sliding straigth or being all over the place and maybe going down. Here's my  two cents, can I have my change please...