Bandit 1250 & 1250 ABS

[B6mick]

And just as easy, abs can put your arse in a sling.
Personally, if you need abs to ride safe, in the wet don't ride, yes shyte happens, but just as equally shyte happens with abs. I know, had shyte happen and it near put me into a swollen icey river, non abs brakes in my near miss, would not have been an issue. Taking away the ablity to lock one brakes under certain condition and circumstances, is just as dangerous as preventing lock up under another.
Bandit. hmm simple inline four easy to maintain, cheap good transport, hmmmm that theory going out the window. want abs buy BMW.

[DirtyDawg]

That's true to a point. Because of the very light weight of a bike compared to an auto, motorcycle ABS is pretty worthless on ice or certain near-zero-traction situations. My experience was on wet grass. The ABS kicked in and would activate the brakes, find nearly zero traction, then release, and repeat the cycle (without success) until it could find a surface with more traction. I was going about 25mph and with the ABS brakes on, I coasted another 75 yards! It was not a dangerous situation so I just rode it out to to test how the ABS would work. However, if I ever find myself going over a steep embankment of wet grass, I will now know that the proper action is to bail off; the brakes will not do a thing for me!

I am still a proponent of ABS brakes, now that I know their limitations.  

[Lmario]

This year I had a "advanced riding" training-session and there were some ABS bandits at hand.
For some braking, there was a test setup on dry smooth tarmac and a piece with uneven, but also dry tarmac. (your typical repair stuff and a small step up/down of about 3 mm)

First tried it with my own (1st Gen 1200) about 6 times.
(On two of them I made great stoppies. )
The shortest brake distance (#4) was marked.

Then with the bandit with ABS.
First try ever on an ABS bike:..... 30% less distance to stop.
Just squeezed as hard as I could. The rest of the attempts were about the same distance. (And on one of them the rear came up again.. )

Then some tests on the uneven surface and I could actually feel the front wheel stop and start turning again rapidly. A couple of short black lines showed where the ABS had been struggling. But I felt (and was) absolutely in control.

My conclusion: ABS will not help you on Ice or on Wet grass. But I have not done that a lot in my 20 motorcycle-years, so who cares? But even on a dry road ABS made me stop about 30% quicker.
Which means that, when driving 50mph , instead of hitting the side of the car/truck/bike with at least 20 mph, I can tell the driver what I think of him/her by shouting through the side window.  
(ABS: Aggresive Biker Shouting?)

[JamieK]

First try ever on an ABS bike:..... 30% less distance to stop.

Just to be the devil's advocate, you were comparing an 06 Bandit to your 1G Bandit. Now if the comparison was between a non-ABS 06 and the ABS 06 that would be more fair...you would still have to take into account brake wear, tire wear, rubber compound yadda yadda...I'm not doubting that ABS will allow shorter stopping distances but the results could be closer if comparing two 06 Bandits...for me it came down to color, ABS wasn't available on the red Bandits

[Lmario]

@dreanought.

You are obviously right, however....
My 1G has (amongst many more..)braided lines, carbone lorraine pads, WP front suspension and really sticky front tyre... De new 650 was without all that.  Doesn't make it apple vs. apple, but pretty close I think.

I also rode a GSR without ABS that day and that also stopped later, even later then my 1G. But thats really apples and unions... Because my 1G has 1 very strong point in favour: > 20.000km experience with me on track and road.

Seriously, the "first time" part and the control I kept at the uneven surface made me a beleiver.
But you are right, so you leave me no choice .....next year I will have to test the 1250ABS and without ABS. I'l give the guys at Suzuki a call...

[banditone1250s]

Yes it is redesigned.. New water cooler, new hydraulic clutch, 6 speed transmission, the option of ABS, and a new 1255 cc motor. There is a road test in the new cycle world magazine with the FZ1 and the 1250s Bandit. The Bandit favored very well and as you said above, against a much more modern bike. The Bandit is a hit and there's not any way to take that away from it. As some one in this forum said; ride it and you will want it. It is also a little less expensive than the FZ1. I rode both before I bought mine and the Bandit was clearly more of what I was looking for in a bike. I personnally think that it is a more capabale bike for road riding and touring, which I do a lot of both...Banditone1250s...

    And oh yeah, I almost forgot... The dealer told me that I could use the Buzza cams some time later on if I really wanted to add the the "scoot" power"

[ZenMan]

Bandit. hmm simple inline four easy to maintain, cheap good transport, hmmmm that theory going out the window. want abs buy BMW.

Ah Mick, yer just set in yer ways. ya grumpy old codger!  

Just farkin' with ya, mate. My new B1250 is without ABS... but I still think it's a good thing.  

[SteelD]

Yes it is redesigned.. New water cooler, new hydraulic clutch, 6 speed transmission, the option of ABS, and a new 1255 cc motor. There is a road test in the new cycle world magazine with the FZ1 and the 1250s Bandit. The Bandit favored very well and as you said above, against a much more modern bike. The Bandit is a hit and there's not any way to take that away from it. As some one in this forum said; ride it and you will want it. It is also a little less expensive than the FZ1. I rode both before I bought mine and the Bandit was clearly more of what I was looking for in a bike. I personnally think that it is a more capabale bike for road riding and touring, which I do a lot of both...Banditone1250s...

    And oh yeah, I almost forgot... The dealer told me that I could use the Buzza cams some time later on if I really wanted to add the the "scoot" power"

Hey banditone1250s, why are you digging out these old posts that died some 6 months ago - we've moved on since then.  

[ZenMan]

Hey, it's new to him, he's probably surfing all the "old" threads about the B1250... he's just excited about his new bike.  

[leedogg]

YEp that was my thinking too Zen...but I don't mind as I didn't go digging that far when I got here a few weeks ago.

I found the wet grass thing interesting...I got the non ABS model too- but I have wondered about it.  Oh well- I may regret it one day- but the hope is to stay out of that situation to begin with.  So far - even in the rain I have yet to lock up a tire.

[Red01]

want abs buy BMW.

Hmmm... not the best example of which company I'd rely on for ABS. Seems BMW hasn't gotten ABS "right" until just recently.
Makes me wonder if some new bug will show up in this version.  

[Blue Racer]

I got my 1250/ABS June 6. (number 330)  I wanted the ABS as it "might" save my withered butt in a pinch.  Won't try it out until I brake in the pads in the next few hundred miles...along with the engine.

I ride with a group of long time (read old) riders.  Most have GW or other touring bikes.  Some have ABS on their GW's and swear by it, as it has helped them in an emergency situations.  One friend has ABS on his GW and said it saved him two or three times.  He rides everywhere, 35-40K a year, on his business.  I have not seen him in a car in three years.  He swears by it.   It was $500 retail, so I figured if it helped me once, it would be worth it.  

In our group, the argument comes up about ABS vs. non ABS once in a while.  It is like the oil isssue...it will never be solved.  Each to his own.  

[SteelD]

There are those that swear that seat restraints and air bags in cars cause more problems and there are those alive to tell the tale who wouldn't be otherwise. In the dry, it's amazing how hard you can apply the brakes on a bike  before locking the front wheel but in the wet or on a loose surface when a car unexpectedly pulls out in front of you, it might just save your neck.

ABS won't work in all situations but the situations where it can work to your advantage outweights the others by far. For me, going back to a non-ABS bike is like swapping out a 100W headlight buld for a 55W version or replacing a double disc front brake with a single disc as bikes used to have when disc brakes first became available on those spoked wheels. That's just my personal preference - others will have different views and I respect that.

[SteelD]

Then some tests on the uneven surface and I could actually feel the front wheel stop and start turning again rapidly. A couple of short black lines showed where the ABS had been struggling. But I felt (and was) absolutely in control.

That's not ABS 'struggling' - that's simply ABS doing it's job i.e. applying maximum braking effort (the black lines) and then releasing the brakes as traction breaks (the gaps between the black lines) and re-applying braking pressure once more (the next black line).