exgman
Active member
Looks like it might become a reality: https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/ntsb-motorcycle-abs-requirement-nhtsa/
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Federal Mandate for ABS on Motorcycles?
- Thread starter exgman
- Start date
pglaves
#13338
Yes, ABS became required in the European Union for all motorcycles with engine displacement over 125cc in 2016. The US might catch up by 2020 or so. NHTSA actually acting on a NTSB recommendation is not all that common, but in this case it might happen given that ABS is standard now in Europe.
ABS is a good thing-bad thing.
My first experience with motorcycle ABS was when I slammed into a brand new Kawasaki with ABS in the 1990's.
i was driving a Camaro and the rider was about 2 seconds in front of me.
A car stopped on the interstate in front of us and he braked hard, stopping on a dime and gave 9-1/2 cents change.
He literally had 8 feet of skid mark, I had about 50.
A 600 lbs motorcycle will stop quickly while a 4000lbs Chevy wont. I applaud the use of ABS but I also warn that until people get use to them, their distance will suddenly become a huge factor. Luckily the guy didn't get hurt but I totaled his bike.
Later I wound up with a $500 a month insurance premium that lasted 6 months. And a ticket for "improper lookout" because APD couldn't hit me on anything else. My distance was actually good, but the bike stopped too short.
My first experience with motorcycle ABS was when I slammed into a brand new Kawasaki with ABS in the 1990's.
i was driving a Camaro and the rider was about 2 seconds in front of me.
A car stopped on the interstate in front of us and he braked hard, stopping on a dime and gave 9-1/2 cents change.
He literally had 8 feet of skid mark, I had about 50.
A 600 lbs motorcycle will stop quickly while a 4000lbs Chevy wont. I applaud the use of ABS but I also warn that until people get use to them, their distance will suddenly become a huge factor. Luckily the guy didn't get hurt but I totaled his bike.
Later I wound up with a $500 a month insurance premium that lasted 6 months. And a ticket for "improper lookout" because APD couldn't hit me on anything else. My distance was actually good, but the bike stopped too short.
akbeemer
SURVIVOR
Is that like being too rich, too good looking or too intelligent?
Almost everytime a car rear ends another vehicle the presumption is going to be that had the trailing vehicle been further away the accident could have been avoided.
lee
Debbie's Servant
AKsuited
New member
Car stop shorter than a bike?
<iframe width="940" height="529" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xckqNulY10o" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
lee
Debbie's Servant
Good one Harry
Looked like the car was a standard shift.......Kinda a lost skill around here I'm afraid.
OM
time2ride
New member
Good one Harry
Looked like the car was a standard shift.......Kinda a lost skill around here I'm afraid.
OM
You had something wrong with your car, bad tires bad brakes etc or the nut behind the wheel.. Even the 79 camero I owned with brakes in good repair could stop about equivalent to a motorcycle probably than most.
Admit it, by the time you realized the motorcycle was stopping, you were braking appropriate to stop where you anticipated the motorcycle would actually stop. Then when the motorcycle stopped short, SURPRISE, you had not slowed enough, panicked and locked the brakes, thus increasing your stopping distance.
Learn from this. Increase your following distance. Brake hard initially and then let off, do not try to finish hard. WATCH YOUR 6.
On the bike
I try to stop where I can lane split if someone comes up behind me. ONE time I had someone going way to fast and I split between cars. The offending truck stopped in a cloud of smoke right were I was sitting. I have prepared to split other times but the vehicle did stop.
I turned around and stared at him. He did give me an embarrassed wave.
Rod
Rod
This will make the "I am so skilled I can always outstop ABS" crowd have head explosions.
They will go to great lengths to defeat it.
Rod
In reality i am pro ABS.
My concern and it is proven in this thread that the problem are the drivers of cars-trucks who drive to close.
As per my experience, keep in mind a couple of things. ABS at that time was relatively new so as -er the previous post, the anticipation aspect is where the problem lies. Keep in mind I had only about 4 -5 years driving experience at that point and the car responded to specific conditions.
the last poster is correct. The distance was anticipatory.
i was long lectured on this by fellow classmates who also rode bike and told me much the same. 2 seconds in reality isn't much time/distance and as per another post of mine where I was on the front end of the issue, I regularly am pointing backwards at drivers who's grills nearly fill my rear view mirror on the bike.
My heartburn comes into the fact that when the US Federal Government (and I very specific on this point) comes up with a rule no matter how good or bad, typically screws up the implementation.
Working in local gov. has shown me this level of political incompetence on a regular basis.
The driving public needs education and there needs to be enforcement of the laws for such distance issues to be somewhat mitigated.
ABS is a wonderful thing especially on wet roads. Been there done that. Like roundabouts, if the public is unaware of what they are, how they work and the rules behind them, accidents occur.
This was true when they started with roundabouts in NM and it took more than two years for them to become somewhat accepted.
Just throwing something out without the education to me is problematic.
Just IMO
My concern and it is proven in this thread that the problem are the drivers of cars-trucks who drive to close.
As per my experience, keep in mind a couple of things. ABS at that time was relatively new so as -er the previous post, the anticipation aspect is where the problem lies. Keep in mind I had only about 4 -5 years driving experience at that point and the car responded to specific conditions.
the last poster is correct. The distance was anticipatory.
i was long lectured on this by fellow classmates who also rode bike and told me much the same. 2 seconds in reality isn't much time/distance and as per another post of mine where I was on the front end of the issue, I regularly am pointing backwards at drivers who's grills nearly fill my rear view mirror on the bike.
My heartburn comes into the fact that when the US Federal Government (and I very specific on this point) comes up with a rule no matter how good or bad, typically screws up the implementation.
Working in local gov. has shown me this level of political incompetence on a regular basis.
The driving public needs education and there needs to be enforcement of the laws for such distance issues to be somewhat mitigated.
ABS is a wonderful thing especially on wet roads. Been there done that. Like roundabouts, if the public is unaware of what they are, how they work and the rules behind them, accidents occur.
This was true when they started with roundabouts in NM and it took more than two years for them to become somewhat accepted.
Just throwing something out without the education to me is problematic.
Just IMO
Not sure this thread, and video, proves anything significant. A professional rider on a hot bike can usually (always?) out-slalom a "civilian" driver in a production car. And if the bike is hot enough--Hayabusa, Blackbird, S1000RR, whatever--it will outrun, at top end, most production cars. And the stop test comparison between a m/c and a car is NEVER a level playing field. Four fairly large contact patches will always stop shorter than two smaller contact patches.
pglaves
#13338
But the local powers that be have caused the budget cuts that eliminated driver's education from many/most public schools. Leaving driver training to weird Uncle Steve or road rage Ronnie.
Wkoppa
Member
Head Explody
I always felt that if I am getting into my ABS I have not been doing my job of having a safe following distance and braking in advance of having a problem.
That said, had a recent trip down to Arkansas for some uncommonly twisty roads and returned thru the Upper Peninsula. I had one incident during the trip where an Air-Hauler (big empty pickup) jumped on the brakes at the last minute for a right hand turn (no signal) and I did get the ABS working, more by my state of Surprise Surprise Surprise than needing to hit both brakes that hard. I was riding in a straight line and would not have fallen if both brakes would have locked up momentarily but I am sure happy to have that capability on board.
Wayne Koppa
Grayling, MI
71,449 Life
I always felt that if I am getting into my ABS I have not been doing my job of having a safe following distance and braking in advance of having a problem.
That said, had a recent trip down to Arkansas for some uncommonly twisty roads and returned thru the Upper Peninsula. I had one incident during the trip where an Air-Hauler (big empty pickup) jumped on the brakes at the last minute for a right hand turn (no signal) and I did get the ABS working, more by my state of Surprise Surprise Surprise than needing to hit both brakes that hard. I was riding in a straight line and would not have fallen if both brakes would have locked up momentarily but I am sure happy to have that capability on board.
Wayne Koppa
Grayling, MI
71,449 Life
