FEATURE
P84
T
he first time I tried
ABS on a motorcycle
was back in 2007
on a Honda CB1100. The
brakes were horrible, and
the ABS intrusion had all the
subtlety of a sledgehammer
on a glass table. I took the
bike to 65 mph, put faith in
the Almighty and slammed
on the front brake. It damn
near shook the front end off
the bike as the ABS pulsed
like mad and threw the brake
pads back. Needless to say
it didn't inspire confidence.
Fast forward to 2015
and it's a very different
story. ABS, traction control,
wheelie control, hell, even
slide control, can be found
on a bike you can put in your
garage. The rate of change
and expansion of motorcycle
electronic systems has never
been faster and it's now get-
ting difficult to find a machine
worth its salt without at least
an ABS on board, let alone
traction and wheelie control,
among other things.
ABS and traction con-
trol's implementation to our
motorcycles hasn't been as
smooth as many would have
liked. Riders are a notori-
ously fickle bunch, often
not willing to take up new
technologies for the fear of
it diluting their riding experi-
ence. I'll admit to being part
of this group at first, but
through the wonders of my
occupation I've been able to
witness and feel the progress
of these systems first hand.
Trust me, life is a bit different
to 2007.
BOSCH/DUCATI MULTISTRADA ELECTRONICS TEST
BREAKING
THE CYCLE
THE ABS
REVOLUTION HAS
WELL AND TRULY
ARRIVED, SO
CYCLE NEWS
HEADED TO
DETROIT WITH
DUCATI AND BOSCH
TO SEE JUST
HOW GOOD THESE
AMAZING NEW
SYSTEMS ARE.
STORY BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BOSCH, DUCATI
