Excerpt from: Motorcycle Lawyer
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| August 08, 2007 | | Is ABS A Safety Item Whose Time Has Come? | I know that there are riders who claim that they can stop better without ABS brakes, but I think that even most of these would admit that on the street they are rarely prepared to make that quality of stop in an emergency situation.
For the rest of us,there is no question that ABS brakes are a safer alternative. They allow evasive steering while stopping, and they work to stop better on gravel and low traction surfaces than we are likely to do on our own. In an emergency, this is a life saver.
So I was interested to find that NHTSA and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation have no studies to support the claim that ABS is safer on a street motorcycle. The same is true for linked brakes. As obvious as it seems, they simply have not done the support work.
Both the MSF and NHTSA agree that motorcyclists should continue to work on their braking skills. The big difference between a motorcycle and a car or truck is that a motorcyclist operates the front and rear brakes separately.
I remember when many claimed that the rear brake was useless, because in a panic stop, the rear wheel can lift. Without data collection, the value of ABS and linked brakes will continue to be debated. Further, if brakes are to be linked, which system is best?
As Harley announces their new ABS systems, and as we embark on a new major crash study, I expect some of these issues to be resolved.
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