Very Smooth Anti-lock brakes on the NT

[garwil]

Although I have about 12,000 miles on my NT, today is the first time I knew I had activated the anti-lock feature of the ABS brakes.

As I primarily commute on my bike, I have managed to avoid riding in the rain very much. However, my rainy day car has died, so today I rode to work in the rain. I got on my brakes hard coming down a hill to a stop sign and noticed the anti-lock brakes activated.

If any of you remember the first time you stomped on the brake pedal in a vehicle and felt the harsh pulse of the anti-lock brakes, which is what I was expecting on the NT. But I could not have been more wrong. The sensation was very smooth and not harsh at all. There was a sound, but it was similar to the sound of dragging a finger over the teeth of a comb. This is by far the sweetest, most finely tuned ABS I have ever experienced.

Good job Honda!!!

 

[jukka71]

And I have a question after 6 months here

I have a 2006 model with abs and I?m wondering how "old" is the abs-system on my bike? I have been training braking on empty roads but I think my BMW R 1200GS(2007) had a better abs-system than Hondas from 2006....

I know that you in the states ride bikes 2010- but maybe someone knows...? There is always some expert here

 

[suvcw04]

As we have very long winters here in Sweden we use a day each spring to get in shape with the bike again.

Ah, yes, seasonal amnesia. The first snow of winter always seems to catch drivers by surprise here. They slide through stop signs and stop lights, spin tires on takeoff and slide of even small curves. The body shop parking lots fill up. A couple of days later, most seem to remember that ice and snow are SLIPPERY.

 

[charlie b]

I'd suggest you try yours out on a dirt road. Mine have been activated twice on the road. Once because of sand and the other because of oil at an intersection. It is a nice feature and I won't get another newer bike without ABS.

 

[tawilke46]

I love my NT w/o ABS, but I am convinced this will be my last bike without ABS. Next bike will have ABS.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I've only activated the ABS once and it was a whole lot smoother than my '99 Buick Century.

 

[jukka71]

I love my NT w/o ABS, but I am convinced this will be my last bike without ABS. Next bike will have ABS.

I think the abs-brakes and motorcycles is one of the safest combinations in the world. And abs in motorcycles the most important invention after the helmet...

 

[charlie b]

I've also heard from a couple knowledgeable people that the Aprila Tuono and it's traction control and ABS is a beautiful combination as well.

 

[karl]

Traction control allows you to crack the throttle wide open without spinning the rear tire under power and drooping yourself on your butt. The stock power level makes that less than a must have on dry pavement.

ABS or AntiBlockierSystem (those silly Germans) allows you to apply Maximum braking without locking the wheels. I often read how the tester for one publication or an other beat the dry stopping distance with the system shut off. Less than 1 % of us have the required skills to pull something like that off on a good day.

Spent many bucks and hours perfecting this skill in a car and can tell you it ain't easy. Been off backward on every corner on Lime Rock Park except one. Doing this in a car hurts much less than on a bike.

Yes you can still lock the rear wheel with the engine. No it is not a stupid eliminator. Can't have it on an SCCA car but would never buy a new street bike without it. I am just not that good a rider not to need the help at times. Bless you if you think you don't need it yourself.

Have you ever tried this yourself or do you just know... smooth or not this is well worth the extra $1000.00 and it is smooth when you need it.