I had close to 200,000 miles on three bikes without ABS and had never felt like I needed it. But I was sold by what I read about it in Motorcycle Consumer News and other cycling magazines as well as by experiencing the difference it made in my '99 Buick on snow and ice.
So, when I was ready for the NT, I decided I'd spring for the extra cash. I bought the bike in March and in August, while riding through Watertown, IA, after heavy rain had just stopped when a driver ran a red light. I know we're all supposed to sque-e-e-e-z-e the front brakes rather than grabbing them. But with the driver was approaching me still doing 30-40mph while I was doing 30-35mph, I guarantee that I grabbed rather than squeezed. I think I felt the ABS system pulse once or twice, but I stopped safely and surely and the driver was gone. I'm reasonably certain I would have T-boned her without the ABS.
Last summer, in Eddie's Cove, Newfoundland, I was doing the speed limit through town (only about 50kph or 31mph) when a woman pulled out of a grocery store right in front of me. She pulled out and I grabbed brakes and came to within a foot of her right rear fender. It was foggy and drizzling and she proceeded on down the road at about 20-25mph. I followed her to the next little village and she pulled into another grocery store. I followed her in and asked if I could talk to her. She said, "Here in the rain?" I told her what had happened and she was shocked. She hadn't looked, so she didn't see me. I told her that those of us on motorcycles were pretty vulnerable and she knew that because her husband rides. Again, I'm pretty sure that without the ABS, I'd have either gone down or hit her. IMNSHO, ABS is worth the money!