Slick

[cactusjack]

I work in a large industrial area with a lot of warehouses and light manufacturing, so there is a lot of truck traffic in the area. As I was approaching the Wild Horse Pass Blvd overpass to enter I-10 E, I had to stop for a traffic light. I was about the 3rd or 4th vehicle back and when the left turn arrow came on, I moved ahead slowly. I had to stop, and the bike felt like it was on ice. A truck had leaked diesel in the left turn lane and it was slicker than snot. As soon as I hit it, I could smell it. The ABS brakes got me stopped, but now I had to turn left and went very slowly, as I did, the rear tire felt "greasy". Once I had safely made the turn, it was a straight shot onto I-10 and all was fine the rest of the way home. Kind of freaked me out for a minute or two, it would have been easy to go down or slide into the pickup truck in front of me. Be extra careful around truck stops or areas with a lot of truck traffic.

[blowndodge]

That had to be scary. Especially after your Nomad get off. Keep that beauty looking good for Idaho Scott.

[Top Cat]

That could have been bad Scott. Glad you and the bike are OK.
I was going to be a wiseass and say wow, good thing you had ABS or your bike would have been totaled, but I'm above stirring the pot when a friend comes out of an incident unhurt

[dshelly]

Originally Posted by cactusjack

Be extra careful around truck stops or areas with a lot of truck traffic.

Excellent reminder, not something that you would think of until it's too late. Good thing you were paying attention.

[ringadingh]

Good to hear that you kept it up, I wasn't so lucky on one of my other bikes about thirty years ago. A garbage truck blew a hydraulic line and covered the road in oil, I came along
and hit the oil slick and went down faster than I could blink. I was ok, and the bike was totalled. All the oil on the road kept me from getting scrapped up.

[carsixten]

Yeah, that has happened to me too, and it was very unnerving. Also, I've stopped and put my foot down on a oil puddle and nearly dropped the bike. It's tough to catch the 800 plus pounds when it starts to go down and you have an oil slick on the sole of your boot.
It happened to my wife once too. She put her left foot down on an oil puddle and tipped her 900 classic and got trapped under it. I had to jump in to shut it off and lift it off her. No damage or injuries, but still...
Anyway, s**t can and will happen, no matter how careful you are. If you ride, you have to know it comes with risks. We just have to do our best to deal with them.
At least I have way more good stories of riding, than bad ones.

[carsixten]

I read your post again Scott, and have a question about your ABS.
I have never ridden a bike with ABS, and am wondering about your assessment of it.
I've driven cars and trucks with it, and found it to be VERY detrimental to maintaining control under icy conditions (Minnesota winter). Stopping distance is sometimes GREATLY compromised by the ABS when on ice. As much a double the stopping distances in my unscientific tests.
But the dynamics of a motorcycle are different. We almost never ride on ice, and we have to maintain balance through steering control. Skidding the front wheel we know is VERY bad. = crash!
Does the ABS on a bike really help as much as it should? Your post sounds like it did the job OK for you. What do you think?

[id-man]

Originally Posted by carsixten

Skidding the front wheel we know is VERY bad. = crash!

Skidding the back wheel is no fun neither. Sphincter on 11. So does ABS really help?

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by carsixten

I read your post again Scott, and have a question about your ABS.
I have never ridden a bike with ABS, and am wondering about your assessment of it.
I've driven cars and trucks with it, and found it to be VERY detrimental to maintaining control under icy conditions (Minnesota winter). Stopping distance is sometimes GREATLY compromised by the ABS when on ice. As much a double the stopping distances in my unscientific tests.
But the dynamics of a motorcycle are different. We almost never ride on ice, and we have to maintain balance through steering control. Skidding the front wheel we know is VERY bad. = crash!
Does the ABS on a bike really help as much as it should? Your post sounds like it did the job OK for you. What do you think?

I can't speak about ice, which is only something I put in my drink.
I have used my ABS on a few panic stops and my slippery ride yesterday, and I think it does a good job of allowing the rider to maintain control.

What happened yesterday was I was moving quite slow, < 5 MPH. I applied the front brake to slow down and I could feel immediately that the front tire was sliding, the ABS started kicking in, pulsating the lever. I applied the rear brake and slowed the bike to a stop. The whole situation was unexpected and happened very fast.

I can't say what could have happened if I didn't have ABS. It might have had the same outcome, or it might not have. I don't think I would have been able to stop before I would have hit the F150 in front of me. If the back wheel started sliding I might have gone down.

The situation was similar to the circumstances under which I totaled my Nomad 3 years ago, except I was traveling about 45 MPH when that occurred and I didn't keep the bike up. I am fairly certain that is I had ABS then, I wouldn't have crashed. I made the decision that my next bike would have ABS.

[id-man]

Originally Posted by cactusjack

I am fairly certain that is I had ABS then, I wouldn't have crashed. I made the decision that my next bike would have ABS.

That's a pretty strong endorsement in my book. Thanks for sharing.

[Monkeyman]

Thanks for sharing, Scott. Glad you and the bike are ok. I had a similar incident years ago when I was trucking. Fully loaded (plus some) when I ran through a patch of diesel. (A couple miles up the road, there was a truck off the side with a ripped off crossover tube. I assume he was the guilty party.) Even at close to 100k pounds and 18 tires on the road, I could barely keep it straight.

[glwilson]

Glad to hear you maintained control Scott. My accident a few years ago was similar in that there was no traction for either wheel. Was like a solid sheet of ice... so ABS wouldn't have saved me.

HD's new ABS system (on some new models) is linked to apply brakes to both front and/or back as needed with the application of either brake. This occurs only at speeds above 20/25 mph. This is intended to help balance out any over braking that could occur in a panic situation.

A potential problem, a review-rider wrote about, happens when you’re entering a corner or braking aggressively to a complete stop (not that I ever recommend braking while in a corner -- a big NO-NO ).

However, as you pass through the programmed 20-25 mph disengagement mark, the brakes will stay in linked mode, which is great, but if you feather or let off, then reapply the brakes, you will suddenly be in non-linked mode, which doesn’t aid smoothness.

[caribou]

Glad your ok Scott. I had mine in a skid when a car pulled out in front of me last summer and was very lucky not to lay it down. I wish mine had abs and have thought about trading for that reason.

[blowndodge]

I would say thanks for sharing but you're too much of a CHEAP BASTARD!!

[shemogolee]

Originally Posted by glwilson

A potential problem, a review-rider wrote about, happens when you’re entering a corner or braking aggressively to a complete stop (not that I ever recommend braking while in a corner -- a big NO-NO ).

.

Greetings.

Your view of braking in a turn is a common one. Follow the link (to another Forum I play on). It has what I believe is a great explanation of why braking is ok in a turn if done correctly.

http://www.bccruisers.ca/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=292

Now, back to the topic of ABS ... I have it on my 2011 Voyager and it, combinded with the K-ACT braking system, works like a dream.

Most riders can achieve about 55-60 percent of available braking. This is mostly because of poor technique, no recent practice and a fear of locking up the wheels. If they practice regularly (using the correct technique) they of course can greatly increase that number.

However, with ABS even the unskilled rider can obtain about 95 percent of available braking using the correct ABS technique of smoothly and rapidly squeezing the front brake lever while smoothly and rapidly pushing on the rear brake pedal until stopped. He has the confidence to use this technique because he knows the ABS will keep the brakes from locking.

I believe that ABS is one of the best safety devices you can have on a motorcycle and if the bike you are buying has it as an option you should buy it.

best regards,

Shemogolee