There is a lot of misunderstandings of what ABS is and what it does and more importantly, what it doesn't do. Let us discuss it with a listing of what I think are 3 facts and myths surrounding ABS and why it could save your life someday . ABS is Anti Brake-Locking System As the name implies, it prevents brake locks - the heart-stopping panicking moments of wheel locking up if we apply brake too suddenly. Brakes? Kinda are more important than the engine themselves. This can cause awesome skids which could be attractive if you are a stunt rider and are stunnting. Whereas, if you are trying to stop because you are riding head-on onto oncoming traffic; I have no clue why you would be; but that wouldn't spell good for you, so stopping the biking when you want it to stop is critical for riding. ABS is any system that prevents the wheel lock, by releasing the pressure on the brake disc, if it senses a wheel lock. This is done using motion sensors, which in turn
My dear readers might be wondering why I am comparing two different pieces of technologies. Read on to understand the similarities and why bikes even use it when higher lap times could be made at times without them.
There are two types of electronics/electricals that are used on the bike.
1) The components used to keep the bike running - Stator, RR, Ignition Coils, ECUs and more.
2) The components used to control the ride - ABS, Traction Control, LeanAngle Sensors and lot more electronics...
Before we dive deep into why they are similar, let us understand what they are at first:
ABS, short for Anti Brake-locking System is any electronic intervention in the brakes that will simply release a brake(disk) if it detects that the wheel is stationary (wheel lock) that will result in loss of control or skid. This is generally achieved by measuring wheel rotation and reverse pumping brake fluid if wheel rotation is found to be 0. More Info on Myths about ABS
TC is short for Traction Control is a little more complicated to understand. On high powered motorcycles, when the throttle is yanked to the extreme - the rear wheel spins to deliver power to the road but if the lacks traction hence just continues to spin. This is best imagined when we try to do a burnout start in mud or empty parking lots.
What is basically happening is the rear wheel is rotating but doesn't have the traction to move the front wheel, which is therefore stationary - a difference in wheel speed between front and back is created - which causes you to lose control! And imagine yourself losing rear wheel traction while leaning into a corner?!
Now what if we use electronics to measure the difference of the two wheel speeds and traction is understood to be lost when there is a speed difference between your front and rear wheel;
Therefore, the engine needs to slow down to recover traction. Voila, that is Traction Control for you!
A quick search online will get you reports of how high low siding and high siding still is, even with bikes having TC. So imagine yourself riding a high powered bike without traction control?
So how do we make a high powered motorcycle controllable, while braking and accelerating? especially when the repair costs are huge for even a simple crash?
One way would be to reduce the power of the motorcycle, but no one is going to accept that. So the apt method is to control the delivery of power. And by power delivery both Throttle Power and Braking Power - and this is what ABS and TC do, and that is why they are similar.
ABS restricts the power delivery of brakes by releasing brake if you are too hard on the brake while TC releases the throttle if you are too hard on the throttle.
Therefore, the engine needs to slow down to recover traction. Voila, that is Traction Control for you!
A quick search online will get you reports of how high low siding and high siding still is, even with bikes having TC. So imagine yourself riding a high powered bike without traction control?
So how do we make a high powered motorcycle controllable, while braking and accelerating? especially when the repair costs are huge for even a simple crash?
One way would be to reduce the power of the motorcycle, but no one is going to accept that. So the apt method is to control the delivery of power. And by power delivery both Throttle Power and Braking Power - and this is what ABS and TC do, and that is why they are similar.
ABS restricts the power delivery of brakes by releasing brake if you are too hard on the brake while TC releases the throttle if you are too hard on the throttle.
Conclusion or thoughts to take home?
These two pieces of technologies are relatively modern inventions. We sometimes don't want to embrace these techs and say that it is just manly to ride our bikes without any electronic aids. But what I will say any day, every day is that when ABS and TC kick in, it saves lives and I rather live long than suffer because randomly there was mud on an otherwise clean road :) Cheers and Ride Safe.
And don't forget to subscribe or otherwise miss out on upcoming video on Kolli Hills Trip planning ;)!
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