Can you help me choose a bike?

Ace says...

I can stoppie the CB250RS, with some effort and an empty topbox.

 

Him speaketh the truth. You can't go wrong with a thou.

 

I challenge anyone to moderately compress the forks on a Z200 by use of the
front brake.

 

<waves> As a crap driver, might I say in my defense that I only use ABS as
a performance aid, and then only when I'm on one?

 

This is because you've jammed the tools into the spokes of the front wheel,
yes?

Speaking of tools, have a look at this:

http://uk.f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ukrmplatypus/album?.dir=/93f3

 

platypus says...

Classy, I like that.

 

It was round the back of a place we were staying in Keswick a couple of
months ago.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, platypus

It is somehow fitting that the gates are particularly badly aligned.

 

[tale of woe snipped]

Well if this is the case, get your self into a F650 or an R850R. Excellent
bikes for the inexperienced, comes with ABS and have quality and reliability
built in. Despite what Lozzo says.

East London eh? ......Mmmm tasty.

 

And propped up with some old bricks.

 

Thank you very much to those of you who have posted useful suggestions
- I will check them out.

To those of you that suggest that wanting ABS means that I don't know
how to brake properly: that's just daft. You could extend that
argument to any piece of safety equipment - airbags, seatbelts, etc.
If motorcyclists drove everywhere at 3mph then I don't suppose they
would need crash helmets, for example. So using that logic, I
conclude that we all ride our bikes too quickly.

I've owned and driven cars for 17 years and have never once crashed.
I don't "rely" on ABS brakes on a day-to-day basis; it's just nice to
know that they're there if you need them (like airbags, seat belts,
etc.). Occasions where the ABS brakes have kicked in have been
extremely rare - and none of them was a situation that I couldn't have
got out of without ABS. So all the "you must be a crap driver"
replies are way wide of the mark I'm afraid.

 

Albanian army knife?

 

No. It's not. It's quite clear that you don't understand, for example,
that ABS brakes can make your stopping distance increase, compared
with proper manual control.

No you couldn't. None of those are about control of the vehicle.

They were all based upon your own statement "and I've come to rely on
ABS to stop me in a straight line... ", which, if true, would
certainly support those replies.

Anyway, the basic response that you should take on board is something
like: "You don't need ABS on a bike. Really. You just don't. Trust us
on this, OK?".

 

The R/H gate was sagging a bit, but they both opened fine. The bricks were
near but not touching, and played no part in the operation.

 

LeatherSheddi

 

It's quite clear that you don't understand, for example,

I have always known that in some circumstances ABS can increase
stopping distances. Snow and gravel are examples of this and some of
the other posters have mentioned this. Some cars (Audis, for example)
allow the ABS system to be switched off for exactly that reason.

OK, fair point. Let me reword that statement slightly then. I don't
routinely rely on ABS to stop me safely; but I do take a great deal of
comfort from knowing that it's there "just in case". I don't accept
that ABS is somehow pointless. I think it's probably one of the most
important safety inventions of the last 30 years.

There's a counterargument to this I suppose which is that if road
conditions are so dangerous that I'm worried about locking the wheels
up when I brake, then I probably should stay at home instead or get
the train - and this was true when I was a car driver and is still
true now that I have a bike instead. I will never "need" to ride the
bike because I live in central London and there's always a public
transport alternative if road conditions are bad. I get the bus to
work so I don't need a bike for commuting.

OK, I hear what you're saying!

Perhaps the question I should be asking is this therefore: what
features should I look for in a motorbike (and which bikes give me
what I'm looking for) given that a major priority for me is my safety?
Perhaps ABS is part of this but I'm sure there are others - handling,
grip, stability, acceleration, braking, etc.

 

I already told you. Gixxer thou. YKIMS.

 

If you're looking for safety, don't ride a bike.

 

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember (Alan)
saying something like:

This ^^^^^^

Doesn't reconcile with this ....

"come to rely on" is the significant phrase.

--

Dave

GS 850 x2 / SE 6a
SbS#6 DIAABTCOD#16 APOSTLE#6 FUB#3
FUB KotL OSOS#12? UKRMMA#19 COSOC#10

 

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember (Alan)
saying something like:

I fully agree with you there. If you're not actually driving like a ****
and don't use the ABS all that much, if at all, then fine.
I don't think it's pointless either, and afair, nobody else said it was.

--

Dave

GS 850 x2 / SE 6a
SbS#6 DIAABTCOD#16 APOSTLE#6 FUB#3
FUB KotL OSOS#12? UKRMMA#19 COSOC#10