I think abs & traction control are one of thoe things you personally have to experience to become a believer. Since most of us have been riding bikes without all the fancy electronics for many years its easy to tell yourself you don't need it. The first time ABS or TC saves your butt is when you tell yourself you'll never own a bike without it.
I've def engaged ABS before & have purposefully tested TC, & hell yeah they work great, & now I def prefer my bikes to have em. Can live w/out the linked brakes tho...unless Kaw fixes it (like Hondas)
I never said they were bad, I just said that many people today have lost necessary skills because they rely on ABS and traction control. They simply grab the brake and pray with no regard for proper braking.
I hear so many people say that TC or ABS saved their butt. I hear some of the same people say it has saved their butt more than once. I say, if it saved your butt more than once, most likely you are not braking properly, or using your throttle properly. It tells me that if you were riding a bike without ABS or TC, you would have crashed more than once. So in other words, they have lost throttle control and braking skills.
That being said, the proper way to brake with ABS is to squeeze and let the ABS do the work. So, if you do that, most likely you will engage ABS, but that doesn't mean it saved your butt, had you been on a bike without ABS, you probably wouldn't have simply squeezed and prayed, you would have modulated the brake properly, and also not have wrecked. The same with TC. If you are hamfisted and slam the throttle open, and TC kicks in, you may say that TC saved you butt. If you didn't have TC, most likely you would have been more smooth with the throttle control and not had a problem.
I rode on the gravel without issue. Why? Because I used good throttle control, and good braking skills. I didn't skid, and didn't skid and didn't spin the tire. So how would TC or ABS help in that situation? It wouldn't. Now if I were unskilled and simply grabbed the brake, then ABS would kick in. Likewise if I didn't control the throttle properly, TC would kick in.
ABS is amazing. It is fantastic in a panic situation on slick surfaces, especially for those who don't practice. It doesn't save your butt often as I hear so many times. I prefer simplicity. What happens if the ABS fails? It can happen. Not a big deal on a car, but on a bike it is. Likely? probably not, but possible. I prefer a choice. Now had Kawasaki implemented ABS without the idiotic linked brakes, I very well may have bought a newer model with ABS. I hate linked brakes on a sport bike though, it makes trail braking difficult and potentially dangerous.
