Hi all I was wondering whether the Abs on a new blade is a worthy upgrade when ordering as the money could be used on little other extras like exhaust, PC5 etc. i have read various magazines saying how good it is but with the 10kg extra weight and possible problems in the future should i go for the manual tried amd tested brakes , as I tend to keep my bikes for a good few years and don't want future problems Track day use and general road riding when temperature is above 20 degrees and blue sky all around. Grey haired maturing rider. thanks in advance. Not wanting to start a war... Repsol or hrc white? (yes I know repsol is out of date now looking at new gp bike)
Oh oh big debate coming lol, I went none abs mate and happy with my decision, it's a personal thing isn't it but I've heard of a few probs on the abs and like you say extra weight, more to go wrong , only ride in good weather. It's a no brainier for me
I went with the Abs option but if I had the choice again I would go standard ,reasons being more cost ,no great benefit, some parts are harder to find or fit ( can't be sure but bleeding brake lines may be an issue ) although there should be a bit of extra poppy when you part exchange or sell on later.
Morning Paul, firstly HRC! as for ABS? there are plently of threads on here about it. I went with it for the new Blade as the control unit is supposed to be new and doesn't have the issues some of the old ones have? Time will tell. servicing is more expensive with a fluid change at 24 months- it would be worth asking your dealer how much as they seem to vary. As for the extra weight of the thing - I can't see an extra few kg's making much difference when I'm close to 17st and the next guy on a Blade could be 12st wet through! Nice being able to choose though! enjoy
The back end looks ugly on the abs ones, plus hungers and services cost more,on a safety point gotta be better if your stopping in an emergency....... If it works ? My mates rr11 has failed twice, lever coming to the bar and no stopping !! To be fair to Honda they have replaced the brake ECU for a supposed upgraded one, so time will tell but a failure like that would make me loose all confidence in the bike. So non abs for me and any colour is good it's a Honda and its a blade
Chaps thanks for replies so far.... I am more than happy to bleed brakes etc and change pads would the new abs stop me from doing any DIY as I no doubt will fit a brembo master cylinder and bleed brakes if necessary on track days. I have to say in 30+years of riding I only needed abs once. That was when I was 17 riding an yamaha RD 200, like the riding god I thought I was and going too fast in the wet with max braking around a corner on a drain cover, crashed surprisingly .
non ABS and hrc for me. hated riding my dads abs beamer(cant do stoppies lol) but seriously a few times it came on when braking on rumble strips on the road.
Many experienced riders can bring their non-ABS bike to a stop faster than an ABS equipped bike, by way of well-practiced, efficient, front and rear braking — particularly on clean, dry pavement. The question is can you do that under the stress of a life-threatening, panic-braking scenario? And even more to the point, how refined are your emergency braking skills on wet or dirty roads?
My reasoning exactly BD On my last Blade I was far better at pulling Stopies than I was at Wheelies as I felt far more comfortable at detecting a locking wheel than an overbalance at the rear. Point being if under no pressure, I could squirm the front tyre all day long without it folding under. The money shot is replicating that in a panic sittuation on a greasy/wet/rumble strip/white line/hard cornering situation out of the blue! Silicone valley, IMHO, is far more reliable in that situation than my good self, which is why my Blade is coming with ABS, for me it's the best way of ensuring £11K don't go sliding down the road when 'Gerry Atric' in his Micra kangaroos out in front of me from Sainsbury's car-park!
Yeah I would agree with that, I too have good feeling of the front wheel, know when to ease of the brake, but like you say it's the panic situation on wet, greasy, out of the blue roads that ABS would really make a big difference on? I have never ridden an ABS bike yet, but am sure if I have the choice, my next bike will have it
Non abs and hrc I only went non as my dad owns a breakers yard and the one thing we sell the most of or get asked about is abs controllers sensors I know cars get used a lot more but I didn't want the hassle of future problems old skool for me
I think you have to look at it purely from a safety point of view. Yes it costs more, weighs more and may need more attention at service times, but its designed to potentially save your life (and your bike). Ive never had ABS on a bike, but for that one time someone pulls out when youre carrying some speed (happens a lot in this game) and you really need a handfull of brake, ABS could well save a big headache. Re the first point, neither, its white Castol Honda :-D
well what made my mind up was the beamer abs fails on me and the fact I have had to panic break a loads of times over the years in the dry and wet and havent dropped a bike yet,yes I did have some front wheel skids but was able to let the brake off and re-apply it again. like the other posters my front braking skills came from years of stoppies and getting the odd 70mph front wheel skid when doing them.
I initially went for the ABS option on my 2012 purely for that panic situation, although since having done nearly 10k miles living with it I've never had the issues some mention and found it has more uses than I initially though; for instance the linked brakes are brilliant if, like me, you tend to use the rear a lot or cover it when filtering (needed it once so far thanks to a BMW driver!) It's unbeatable at stopping the bike in wet or slippery conditions in a way I could never match so I'm all for it and would recommend it to anyone. I will add that I preferred the feel of the non-ABS bike I test rode initially and I found the brakes on that really bit well. The ABS does lead to a more progressive and slightly spongy feel but they never fail to work. Dry stopping I reckon non-ABS would stop in a slightly shorter distance, but I've not attempted to prove it; just my gut feeling as the system allows zero wheel slip. Oh, and go for HRC...
Alls good As long as when you squeeze that lever it doesn't come right back to the bars guys eh! Sorry ,but just reading of that happening the once would lay the seed of doubt in my mind if I had an abs bike. And that'd spoil it for me, I would always be wondering if I need this is it gunna be there for me.
I've got a '59 HRC ABS and mainly use it for commuting in heavy traffic. Yes the lever comes back but this is a 'feature'. It only does this whilst feathering the brakes during filtering but just to add I have never lost total braking. It's a little concerning at first but if you adjust the levers appropriately you will not lose braking. I use a little more rear whilst filtering so don't really notice. It give you the confidence (if you need to) to slam on the anchors at any speed even when the road surface are wet. You can do all the ride planning in the world, but if a numpty does something stupid, and the road surface is sketchy ABS will increase the odds of you geting away with it, for me it's worth it.
one question....can you stoppie on the abs bike or does it set the rear end down again like the beamers?
