VOL. 52 ISSUE 24 JUNE 16, 2015 P93
into that oncoming car. Brake
force at the front wheel leads to
steering torque (brake hard while
leaned to the right, you'll start to
go left, and vice versa). The ace
in the Cornering ABS's hand is
its ability to keep you on the right
line to track you through the turn
and head-on in the other lane.
This algorithm the ABS system
uses takes info from many dif-
ferent parameters to ensure
you get the best performance,
but actually making the system
operate requires you, like TC,
to forget what you know and put
faith in the system. So I did.
Cranked over with 39-degrees
lean, 30mph, soaking wet track,
full brake. And I mean full brake.
I've never, ever done that on
any motorcycle. To say I was
expecting to crash would be the
understatement of the year. Not
only did I not crash, I didn't run
wide. Did it again. And again. And
again. Same result, despite vary-
ing changes in water level and
surfaces. I simply couldn't believe
I didn't crash. On any other
machine without this system, I'm
positive I would have ended on
my head. The system wasn't even
fooled by me trying different body
positions and loading the front
harder and jamming the brake
with the grace of an elephant.
The action wasn't anywhere
as smooth as the equivalent
traction control exercises as the
brake system sent some decent
pulses through the steering,
however, the fact it kept me on
line while cranked over and left
it to me to right the action of the
bike myself, rather than have the
bike standup on its own, was
remarkable.CN
Full wet track,
bike leant over at
40-degrees and
full brake. Rennie
thought he was
going down but the
Multistrada had
other ideas.
TRYING TO
LOWSIDE
I've lost count of the amount
of times I've crashed a bike by
lowsiding it. Too much weight on
the front, too much brake, down
she goes. So you can under-
stand my skepticism when told I
had to hit the front brake as hard
as possible while cranked over
at my maximum lean angle.
Doing so is against every fiber
in my body. The inbuilt safety
cell I have says I'm an idiot for
trusting this system, and actually
doing the exercise is as strange
as shaking hands with an alien.
Here's the area in which the
Cornering ABS system is at its
most effective: If you're cranked
over and you grab a handful
of front brake, what happens?
Answer: your machine will stand
up and run you wide, possibly
