Is no ABS a deal breaker on a first bike? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Is no ABS a deal breaker on a first bike?

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derekdel4

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Hi, I just got my M2 this past weekend and I'm looking into getting a bike. I'm 21 and for insurance purposes the bikes will be limited to 2015-2018 Kawasaki ninja 300, Yamaha R3 or a Honda cb 300F. I like the looks of the R3 a bit better bc its black, but the only R3's are two hours from me and more expensive with no safety. I was told the cb is very underpowered.

There is a small dealer in my town that has a very nice white 2015 ninja 300 for a great price. Older guy owned the bike and was the only owner, low kms, they have done all the service and its stock. I also know the employee so I know he is telling the truth about the bike. I really want to get this bike but it does not have ABS. I'm getting mixed opinions.

My M2 course instructor told me when learning it would be better to not have ABS so I can learn muscle memory. She said to practice emergency stopping like we did in class and to not rely on technology, it will give me stronger skills. Also if i got used to ABS and end up upgrading to a more powerful bike without ABS, then I could harm myself if I am not able to manage my braking. She is a lot more old school but i do agree with what she is saying. Other people have told me either "NO GET ABS OR YOU WILL CRASH" or "Nah its not needed especially for a smaller bike when you're only city riding"

So I understand that ABS is beneficial and is a good thing to have, but i guess my question is; If you have a perfect bike to buy, would it having no ABS be a deal breaker for you? Should I buy the bike or search for one with ABS? I really like the bike and I think I'm going to buy it just looking for some last min advice lol. Thanks
 
abs is like a seatbelt, might not need it 99% of the time, but that 1% of the time will be worth having
 
Depends on who you ask.

Anyone riding motorcycles for a while will tell you this:

derekdel4 said:
My M2 course instructor told me when learning it would be better to not have ABS so I can learn muscle memory. She said to practice emergency stopping like we did in class and to not rely on technology, it will give me stronger skills.
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It's only those who've never ridden a motorcycle without ABS who think they cannot live without it. Or quick shifters. Or cruise control.

My advice for those folks is just to stop delaying the inevitable and get a car already.

derekdel4 said:
Other people have told me either "NO GET ABS OR YOU WILL CRASH"
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ABS did not become widespread in production motorcycles until quite recently. It might be hard to believe, but people did ride them without crashing before.

It's a nice to have, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy a motorcycle that I liked or wanted if it didn't have it.

Practice emergency braking. Learn the limits of your bike.
 
bigpoppa said:
abs is like a seatbelt, might not need it 99% of the time, but that 1% of the time will be worth having
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Well from what I read it would be a bit different, as in a seatbelt is for things you cant control but abs a lot of the time will be fine not to have if you know how to brake properly and dont panic. So basically you wouldn't buy a bike without ABS?
 
Lightcycle said:
Depends on who you ask.

Anyone riding motorcycles for a while will tell you this:



It's only those who've never ridden a motorcycle without ABS who think they cannot live without it. Or quick shifters. Or cruise control.

My advice for those folks is just to stop delaying the inevitable and get a car already.



ABS did not become widespread in production motorcycles until quite recently. It might be hard to believe, but people did ride them without crashing before.

It's a nice to have, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy a motorcycle that I liked or wanted if it didn't have it.

Practice emergency braking. Learn the limits of your bike.
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This is what I think I'm going to do, shop around for a few more days but most of the bikes I see with ABS are more expensive, private sale and sold without safety. I will probably buy the bike without abs if I can't find any good deals in the next couple of days (then a good deal will pop up lol) but I imagine it wont be a deal breaker to ride without
 
derekdel4 said:
Well from what I read it would be a bit different, as in a seatbelt is for things you cant control but abs a lot of the time will be fine not to have if you know how to brake properly and dont panic. So basically you wouldn't buy a bike without ABS?
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I’ve had abs on majority of my bikes (low cc Hondas) and in close to 10 years I’ve activated ABS unintentionally maybe 2-3 times. And I’m super glad I did, because I sure wouldn’t want the alternative.

Is it required? No
Is it nice? Yes

as a new rider get the tools to help you survive. Even riding in the wet can be more confidence inspiring wiith it on the bike. Just don’t expect it to save you in every situation.

@bigpoppa is right….it’s like a seatbelt/insurance. Always in the background until needed.
 
No. Not a deal breaker.

I would also assume that this would not be your only bike in your riding lifeline. Should you decide to switch from the 300cc in the future, you can then decide whether ABS will be required in your feature set
 
For a street bike, there are very few reasons not to have abs. Bike market right now is crazy. Sometimes you cant get everything you want. I dont think I'd buy a new bike without abs (low incremental cost and if it saves you once while you own it, it more than paid for itself) but used bikes mean you need to take what is available.

Practicing braking is good, threshold braking even better but most of that goes out the window if the surface is changing under your front tire (sand, grass, chopped up pavement, etc change far far too quickly for a human to try to stay on the edge). Also, hard braking in a corner (bad idea but better than crashing into an immovable object at speed) is hard to practice (slight miscalculation and down you go). Abs helps cover edge cases where the rider is overworked and under skilled

Good luck OP. Post pics when you get a bike. Ride safe.
 
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ABS or no ABS, an age old argument, similar to oil threads.

Having ABS is no barrier to building your skills. By definition, threshold braking practice means the ABS should not kick in as you hone your skills to maximize braking without locking your front wheel. You either want to practice and build this skillset or you don't, and I don't think having ABS makes any difference in the decision making process. The vast majority of people have no idea as to the braking capacity of their bike and they ease off the brakes no where near the point where the wheel is going to lock up, so you really do need to practice this in a safe place.

Most of the people I know who have bikes with ABS indicate that it has kicked in very very seldom, but when it did, it made a difference. One rider purchased a new bike in 2006, first with ABS, and 2 blocks from the dealer on the drive home someone turned left in front of him. He slammed the brakes on full on an unfamiliar bike and avoided a collision. He indicates that it has never kicked in since, only needed it once in 15 years of ownership.

IMHO, you should hold out for a bike with ABS, in particular because you're a new rider.
 
GreyGhost said:
For a street bike, there are very few reasons not to have abs. Bike market right now is crazy. Sometimes you cant get everything you want. I dont think I'd buy a new bike without abs (low incremental cost and if it saves you once while you own it, it more than paid for itself) but used bikes mean you need to take what is available.

Practicing braking is good, threshold braking even better but most of that goes out the window if the surface is changing under your front tire (sand, grass, chopped up pavement, etc change far far too quickly for a human to try to stay on the edge). Also, hard braking in a corner (bad idea but better than crashing into an immovable object at speed) is hard to practice (slight miscalculation and down you go). Abs helps cover edge cases where the rider is overworked and under skilled

Good luck OP. Post pics when you get a bike. Ride safe.
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Thanks. That’s what I was thinking, like it’s not needed but good to have. Like AWD. I’m going to look around but I think I might end up buying the bike. I’ll see what’s available first
 
ReSTored said:
ABS or no ABS, an age old argument, similar to oil threads.

Having ABS is no barrier to building your skills. By definition, threshold braking practice means the ABS should not kick in as you hone your skills to maximize braking without locking your front wheel. You either want to practice and build this skillset or you don't, and I don't think having ABS makes any difference in the decision making process. The vast majority of people have no idea as to the braking capacity of their bike and they ease off the brakes no where near the point where the wheel is going to lock up, so you really do need to practice this in a safe place.

Most of the people I know who have bikes with ABS indicate that it has kicked in very very seldom, but when it did, it made a difference. One rider purchased a new bike in 2006, first with ABS, and 2 blocks from the dealer on the drive home someone turned left in front of him. He slammed the brakes on full on an unfamiliar bike and avoided a collision. He indicates that it has never kicked in since, only needed it once in 15 years of ownership.

IMHO, you should hold out for a bike with ABS, in particular because you're a new rider.
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I’m going to look around but I think I might end up buying the bike. I don’t imagine riding it for too long anyways because it’s only a 300. Once insurance gets cheap I’d probably upgrade. Thanks
 
Been riding over 40 years and never owned a bike with ABS.

You can live without it. Why start off needing the nanny state to help you?
 
timtune said:
Been riding over 40 years and never owned a bike with ABS.

You can live without it. Why start off needing the nanny state to help you?
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Because the one time it saves you on a manhole cover/painted line/sand/etc more than pays for itself? As others said, for most people, most of the time, it doesn't intervene (and if you are hitting ABS often, you definitely need to work on braking skills and/or situational awareness). It's a light poke to tell you that you came close to crashing instead of a few thousand dollar bill and picking the bike up off the ground (hopefully money is the extent of your problem).

Now, if I wanted to take a bike on a round the world trip, I'd rather not. I want the simplest tractor I can buy that can be fixed by anyone with anything.
 
derekdel4 said:
Thanks. That’s what I was thinking, like it’s not needed but good to have. Like AWD. I’m going to look around but I think I might end up buying the bike. I’ll see what’s available first
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AWD is a performance feature not a safety one. If given a choice you should always opt for ABS. It only has to work once to be worth it.

Be safe.
 
derekdel4 said:
There is a small dealer in my town that has a very nice white 2015 ninja 300 for a great price. Older guy owned the bike and was the only owner, low kms, they have done all the service and its stock. I also know the employee so I know he is telling the truth about the bike. I really want to get this bike.
Click to expand...

Congrats on the M2 .

This sounds like the perfect starter bike for any new rider. So many bikes, you don’t know the history and don’t know what you’re getting into. Go for it before someone else snaps it up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Well white is the BEST colour for a bike.

"but black is so cool and bad ***"
and very cliched and not as safe (visible)
 
Lightcycle said:
Depends on who you ask.

Anyone riding motorcycles for a while will tell you this:



It's only those who've never ridden a motorcycle without ABS who think they cannot live without it. Or quick shifters. Or cruise control.

My advice for those folks is just to stop delaying the inevitable and get a car already.



ABS did not become widespread in production motorcycles until quite recently. It might be hard to believe, but people did ride them without crashing before.

It's a nice to have, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy a motorcycle that I liked or wanted if it didn't have it.

Practice emergency braking. Learn the limits of your bike.
Click to expand...

Take a dirt riding course and you will learn a lot about controlling your bike without ABS


Sent from my iPhone using GTAMotorcycle.com mobile app
 
Evoex said:
AWD is a performance feature not a safety one. If given a choice you should always opt for ABS. It only has to work once to be worth it.

Be safe.
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I understand that it’s a safety feature. My point was just if I should buy a bike without it bc everything else is perfect. Also my m2 instructor said it would be better to learn
 
I have ABS as well...I've had to use it once in the 4+ years of ownership...and that was because I was being a dumbass and driving beyond my capabilities.
Almost crashed into the rear of a vehicle stopped at the lights - thankfully I was able to steer and slow down by the side of the vehicle (my front wheel ended up beside the other drivers rear wheel).

Given a choice, I will still prefer a bike with ABS..only annoying thing is that you will need a special device when bleeding brake fluid in order to get the old fluid out of the ABS module -not an issue if you are not OCD lol.

I'd go so far as to say that ABS is especially important if you are a newer driver.
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