I know I have just wrote the same .But the question is yes or no and for me its a No based on price of purchase cost of service and although mine was ok and I am pleased to report that ,others on here have had horrendous issues so in my book why chance it ? Simple but true.
Besides everything that has been mentioned imo it also spoils the look of the rear of the bike with that lumpy black box on the under tail and also the extra weight...
Back on track for the OPs benefit. Should you buy an ABS Blade? As an owner that has suffered drained batteries, the feathering effect at filtering speeds, and total brake failure at speed, the answer should be 'no fooking way' The reality is more complex, depends on your riding regime, how often, style and amount you do, and potentially your sense of humour. We all know, after all the BS is out of the way, that some bikes are suffering terrible issues, others suffer none. What we really have no idea is how those bikes are used or maintained to get an accurate picture. What we do know, is that the current system is flawed, poorly designed, and incredibly poorly packaged and very expensive to maintain. It then suffers from many issues when it requires servicing, even in the hands of Honda trained specialists, and coupled with that, the Japanese boffins who designed it, never gave one seconds thought to the in service issues, so as a corporation, Honda has spectacularly failed its buying public, then compounded its crime, by then failing to support its loyal customers, when aforementioned poorly designed system goes wrong. So there you have it Mr OP. Its your call to wade through the data and decide if you can live with a very clever, but poor implemented braking system or not.
If you haven't experienced any problems then not much to worry about. I've had mine for 4 years without any problems
I have had my ABS 11 plate blade from new and been great. Not a single issue and saved me from a off once. So worth it 100% in my eyes
I have never ridden with ABS so can't coment on quality etc but at the same time I have never been in the situation where I felt I wish I had either Maybe I'm just too slow
Sorry, meant don't ! I remember the days when brakes were shite and you had to learn what your gearbox could do
Difficult one, Honda sell a gizzillion ABSs with no problems. C-ABS however is flawed and a proportion of owners do have issues. I'm an ABS owner that has had problems in the past both on the road and track. I have however learnt to maintain the system and been able to identify the quirks of the system and know what to do in terms of corrective action. I commute in some pretty hairy traffic. Could be doing 30 and have a moron pull out in front of me or 70 on the M4 and have a random object obstruct ( eg a fecking ladder!) appear out of nowhere, sh!t happens, sometimes you need a little extra help. I have to add my brakes are awesome, and on demand can raise the rears on braking at speed in the damp! I have the confidence to stop in any weather any condition. If you only ride in the dry I wouldn't bother with ABS, but in more adverse conditions I would not not totally discount it. Sometimes 'Realmen' only want to have a little extra assurance to return home in one piece But I can tell you this it has saved my bacon more than tried to kill me.
Yeah you have you lying git!!!! There is photographic evidence an you even got a certificate to say how well you done on said abs equipped bike!
Hi Len, I'm a NON abs advocater my brake lever has a direct connection to my pads and it cost me a tenner to bleed them where as C-abs your lever is just a switch connected to some electronics and servos and if it throws a wobbler your fooked! And it cost a few £100 to bleed properly also the J'lo rear end ain't the prettiest and fouls huggers so on and so on! But the way tyres have evolved over the last 5yrs they make it seam less likely to need abs also I'm pretty sure abs is intrusive as well as most owners say the abs has saved them from an off (blinking dash light) where they're reactions has probably more to do with it and would have had the same result on a standard Blade with it's already excellent brakes and balance Anyway you could have a shiny new quickshifter instead of maintaining your abs system