Motorcycle technology: what ABS means

What ABS means

ABS is a term you’ve probably heard often, but what does it really mean? This will become a more pertinent question in 2019, when all new Indian two wheelers that displace more than 125cc will have to have ABS installed on them. Alternatively, those with less than 125cc displacement will require a combined braking system. We’ve written about the difference between ABS, CBS and C-ABS a while ago, but with motorcycles getting more and more intelligent, it makes sense to have a closer look at the ABS systems of today. 

A short review of ABS and why it is so helpful, first: an ABS system prevents the wheels from locking up. This means you retain control of the vehicle, since once the wheel stops rolling, bad things happen. In a car, you can’t steer. On a motorcycle, you’ll fall. ABS also takes care of unique situations that India throws up – like a lane full of muck in the monsoon, or the greasy mixture of oil, dirt and water that coats the entire road at the very beginning of the rainy season. At times like these, ABS can help prevent a lot of things, ranging from road rash to death. 

The simplest forms of ABS prevent only the front wheel of the motorcycle from locking up. This sort of system is present on the Bajaj Pulsar RS200 and Suzuki Gixxer SF. Although it might sound ‘incomplete’, locking up the rear wheel doesn’t make the rider lose control, but locking the front wheel is a surefire way to crash. In fact, motorcycles like the KTM 390 Duke and dual-purpose motorcycles like Ducati’s Multistrada have a mode in their ABS systems that allow you to switch off the ABS at the rear wheel to facilitate better riding on dirt. 

The most common form of ABS prevents both the front and rear wheels from locking up. You can find this sort of system on motorcycles like KTM’s 390 Duke and RC390, the Bajaj Dominar 400, and the Benelli 302R. Most modern systems also keep track of the rear wheel’s position as well – if it lifts under heavy braking, they help reduce front brake pressure to bring it back down. 

When it comes to supersport motorcycles, however, the level of technology is extreme. Very recently, something called an ‘IMU’ or Inertial Measurement Unit debuted on a production motorcycle. What this does is take data from different sensors all over the motorcycle, and feed that data to other systems as and when they need it. The IMU has made it possible for things like ‘cornering ABS’ to exist. What this means is that the bike is smart enough to know that it is leaned over, and can’t sustain the same amount of brake force as it would if it was braking in a straight line. The rider can also decide how much intervention he wants from the ABS system – today’s products offer up to 10 different levels of ABS intervention. 

ABS or not, rider training helps. So practice panic braking even if your motorcycle has ABS to extract the most out of it.

How to distinguish if your motorcycle has ABS

1. There will be an ABS counter mounted inside the brake disc. If you have twin front discs, check both sides of the wheel.

2. There will be the standard ABS warning light on the instrument cluster that will light up if the system is malfunctioning.

3. You’ll feel a pulsing in the brake lever(s) when you make a panic stop.