On 11 Sep 2007 09:16:34 -0400, Scott Dorsey wrote:

>>> I flunked the last (not California) riding test twice because my bike
>>> has anti-lock brakes (an additional safety feature) which grab easily
>>> at slow speeds, forcing me to put one or both feet down.

Huh? Is this true? I have a K1200 with ABS and I never notice it.
The bike just brakes the way it's supposed to.

I'm sure if I did a 100mph to zero they might kick in, but I've never
noticed the ABS kicking in at the zero to 3mph speeds that it takes for a
lollipop test.

Can someone else with ABS confirm that they kick in at such low speeds?

I can't even imagine stopping "sooner" than expected and therefore having
to put my feet down when I didn't mean to stop. When I wish to go slowly, I
just go slowly.

>Huh? Is this true? I have a K1200 with ABS and I never notice it.
>The bike just brakes the way it's supposed to.

I'm fairly sure that ABS systems are supposed to shut off at low
speeds or else you could never come to a full stop. I think my car's
speed is either 5MPH or 15MPH where the ABS turns on and off.

Fake Name <fakename@fake.com> writes:

> >Huh? Is this true? I have a K1200 with ABS and I never notice it.
> >The bike just brakes the way it's supposed to.
>
> I'm fairly sure that ABS systems are supposed to shut off at low
> speeds or else you could never come to a full stop. I think my car's
> speed is either 5MPH or 15MPH where the ABS turns on and off.

If the OP was using the first generation of electro-assisted ABS
brakes on a beemer he have found that the brakes, especially
when controlled by the foot lever, were *extremely* sensitive.
It has nothing to do with ABS per say, just that only bikes with
ABS had the electro-assisted linked brakes. The early R1150RT
were famous for this. Also, the brakes were fully linked so too
the foot lever also activated the front brakes.

However, failing the test only means that the rider hadn't yet
learned to fully control his bike. In fairness I doubt if I'd
have been able to pass the test the first week of owning my R1150RT.
It did take some practice.

BMW got enough complaints that there were some minor modifications
made within the first 6 months (if my memory is correct) that helped
reduce the foot lever sensitivity.

// marc