[dcstrng]

The ABS v. non-ABS debate used to rage… I’ve never had ABS, but can see its usefulness – I got behind a guy on a late 90s Harley (pronounced rear-brake bias – single puck front) whose experience was predominantly Honda and Kawasaki – he was goofing around a bit on his newly purchased HD, when a car surprised him and he nailed the brakes – front didn’t lock, rear locked up solid – once he realized what he’d done, he sort of panicked and let loose of the rear which had started to walk out on him … instant high-side; fortunately at only about 15MPH – black and blue, but the bike did a barrel-roll and was heavily pranged… At the time I was riding a Nomad as well as a similar vintage Ultra and I know the braking reaction was very different between them… I always thought that ABS might have saved the day for him in that situation…

I look at C14 Connies rather lustfully, but I think given that my reaction time is probably measurable slower than it used to be –ABS with traction control might be something for me to look for in a truly higher-performance machine (currently have a C10 which seems quite predictable, tho’…)