Should i pay extra for ABS model or not ?? (Motorbike question)

Is it not an issue of safety? No idea about motorbikes but given how easy they are to come off, anything that prevents you from skidding must be a plus. £300 -£500 could be spent on repairs from an accident caused by a locked brake, not to mention your own injuries. But as i said, no idea about bikes, so feel free to ignore
 
I don't like the idea of ABS equipped bikes. Granted, I've only ridden one and not had to brake heavily, but I'd take non-abs over abs given a choice.
 
I'm not sure. On a normal bike, I feel very much in contact with the front wheel via the bars, and braking feedback is very natural. I can feel when the tyre is going to let go under heavy braking and ease off accordingly. With ABS, I can only imagine a cross between bike braking and the ABS in my car, giving a more detached feel to braking.

That doesn't sit well with me for some reason.
 
was pondering the FZ1 myself to replace my fireblade. Thought about the ABS model, then tried to think of the last time i didn't purpously lock the wheels up on any bike.

If i remember correctly it was on an AR80 during my first bike test when i was 16, no ABS for me :) (plus you wont be able to stoppie!)
 
Without ABS, then yes. It sounds very hippy-esque, but on a bike I feel very much in tune with what the bike is doing, and wouldn't want to relinquish any of that control to electrickery.

In a car, you can slam your foot down as hard as you can and the car stops. On a bike, it's totally different and braking hard changes the balance of the bike dramatically. Even if the ABS kept the tyre from skidding, I'm not comfortable with the bike deciding how quickly this happens, and not me.

Maybe ABS on a bike is a totally different beast, but it's not something I could trust in at the moment.
 
emailiscrap said:
Without ABS, then yes. It sounds very hippy-esque, but on a bike I feel very much in tune with what the bike is doing, and wouldn't want to relinquish any of that control to electrickery.

In a car, you can slam your foot down as hard as you can and the car stops. On a bike, it's totally different and braking hard changes the balance of the bike dramatically. Even if the ABS kept the tyre from skidding, I'm not comfortable with the bike deciding how quickly this happens, and not me.

Maybe ABS on a bike is a totally different beast, but it's not something I could trust in at the moment.
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Ok, i've learnt something anyway.
 
kirbrot said:
was pondering the FZ1 myself to replace my fireblade. Thought about the ABS model, then tried to think of the last time i didn't purpously lock the wheels up on any bike.

If i remember correctly it was on an AR80 during my first bike test when i was 16, no ABS for me :) (plus you wont be able to stoppie!)
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Same here...I been riding about 24 years now,,and i can't remember of a single time that i have ever locked the front wheel up....(rear wheel yes)
 
I'm no riding god, and I've only ridden half a dozen different bikes, so other opinions are still very valid!
 
my mate has abs on his bmw 1200gs. He says that it can be an annoyance at times, triggering too early, especially down steep hills and on any sort of gravel, but just the once he thinks it saved him from a potential bad accident when a car pulled out on him at high speed and he just grabbed the break. He's an experienced rider but anyone can panic break at times and in those instances the abs is potentially a life saver.

For that alone, I'd probably pay the difference if I had the choice.
 
It depends on your riding style. I'm generally very smooth on all the controls and I've not had the ABS kick in on my K75, but if you have a habit of panic-braking or flying into bends too quickly and grabbing the front then ABS might just save your backside. I guess you'll be shelling out something like £8k for a new bike, so an extra £300 or so isn't going to make a huge difference so is probably worth it.
 
"andy" said:
try and test them

some people hate it and some love it.
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Not possible to have a test ride first....(My dealer has no stock left of these bikes,,It will be ordered after i payed)
Crowze said:
I guess you'll be shelling out something like £8k for a new bike, so an extra £300 or so isn't going to make a huge difference so is probably worth it.
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I think the ABS model will cost me close to £1000 more..

Yamaha are doing a special Promotion right now,of £350 cashback & 0% finance http://www.yamaha-motor.co.uk/products/information/promotion/double_yammy.jsp


But my dealer can't get this yamaha special Promotion offer on the ABS model as his supplyer will not be getting the ABS model in till the end of july......
 
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I decided against it when looking for a bike, mainly because people said it cut in too early, and it's easier/better to be able to control if yourself. Feel and all that, as mentioned above. I've not had the ABS cut on in my car, but have experienced it in a couple of cars and if the bike started juddering like that, and having to rely on the ABS to judge how much brake to put back on... well, we'll see what happens when I have to do an emergency stop!
 
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