‘ABS IS A JUDDERING NIGHTMARE’
Journo, racer, survivor of nasty numerous track incidents – Fagan at 44Teeth knows a thing or three about frustrating ABS puppetry
ABS is the Devil’s spawn. Well, it’s the spawn of suit-wearing prats in Brussels but devilish nonetheless. However, I can’t deny anti-lock braking systems have saved my skin more than once, with a commute into Bath aboard a CBR600RR, kitted with early C-ABS which saw me glide safely over lashings of errant diesel in total disbelief I was still upright springing particularly to mind.
And having attended Honda’s C-ABS launch in beautiful Slough, my back doors were blown clean of the hinges by witnessing Steve Plater’s demo: riding at 30mph and grabbing a knuckle full of lever on an array of slippery surfaces (oil, water, gravel, etc), and consequently mustering the courage to have a go myself. It was the modern-day equivalent of Jesus turning water into wine, but marginally less hedonistic.
I’d love to unearth some stats which highlight just how many front-end crashes have been saved by ABS. So why the hate? ABS may have become compulsory for safety reasons, but I’ve become sick of riding sportsbikes that can’t cope in their natural habit, an environment they were designed to supposedly thrive in – tracks. There’s no better laxative than slamming on the anchors at 180mph and feeling the lever pulse in protest before running into a corner with excess speed because the computer says ‘No’. Years of development and millions of pounds spent on focused, top-shelf superbikes, only to be raspberry-rippled by agricultural ABS. Safety enhancing? No, it’s downright dangerous.
How can an ally on the road be such an enemy on track? You could say it isn’t the manufacturers’ fault, yet certain brands (in collaboration with the same ABS software companies) succeed in supplying versatile executions. Ducati, Triumph and BMW (to an extent) all offer systems that work seamlessly, while others like the Honda Fireblade, Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Yamaha R1 are all virtually unrideable when you really need anchors on track. Legislation needs to be tweaked and relaxed to allow riders to choose the right intervention for their environment. Switchable ABS needs to be just that: switchable. And manufacturers really have no excuse for why their bikes perform like they’ve been infected with an ABS debilitating virus.