I am currently preparing myself to join the illustrious league of sidecarists and would appreciate some insight from the knowledgeable collective regarding the pro's and con's of choosing a bike with or without ABS. Any and all assistance will be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
ABS on a solo bike can keep one from dropping the bike during a panic stop since it releases the brakes when they lock up and start to skid. A skidding tire is no longer a steering tire. It will remain travelling in the path of least resistance, usually a straight line. In this instance since the only stopping power developed is through the coefficient of traction between the rubber and the road, one could be in deep "Hazanga" (as the natives say).
Adding a sidecar will not change the workings of an ABS system on the bike as long as the integrity of the system has not been compromised by tapping into it with an added brake system (such as a sidecar brake) that the original ABS system was not designed to support.
I'm not Pro sidecar brakes to begin with but if one felt the absolute necessity of an auxiliary sidecar brake with a bike that is equipped with ABS, I would suggest an installation with a separate brake pedal adjoining the rear brake pedal of the bike so one could use the sidecar brake with disgression if so desired without disturbing the integrity of the ABS system.
Another alternative would be to disable the ABS feature and tap in the sidecar brake system.
Contrary to popular belief, ABS will not stop you quicker or in less distance than a non ABS system. It will however, help to give a more controlled stop in a panic situation.
Lonnie
ABS is less important on a sidecar tug then a 2 wheeler. Locked wheels do not result in going down as is the case on 2 wheels. ABS can also be difficult to link to the sidecar brake if you decide to set your rig up with linked brakes. A Properly setup ABS is not a disadvantage either.
Some much more important issues are the type of frame and if it will allow proper access to mount your chosen sidecar, the amount of horsepower(more is better), and the the ability to reduce trail by modification of the front suspension.
Lonnie wrote:
ABS on a solo bike can keep one from dropping the bike during a panic stop since it releases the brakes when they lock up and start to skid. A skidding tire is no longer a steering tire. It will remain travelling in the path of least resistance, usually a straight line. In this instance since the only stopping power developed is through the coefficient of traction between the rubber and the road, one could be in deep "Hazanga" (as the natives say).
Adding a sidecar will not change the workings of an ABS system on the bike as long as the integrity of the system has not been compromised by tapping into it with an added brake system (such as a sidecar brake) that the original ABS system was not designed to support.
I'm not Pro sidecar brakes to begin with but if one felt the absolute necessity of an auxiliary sidecar brake with a bike that is equipped with ABS, I would suggest an installation with a separate brake pedal adjoining the rear brake pedal of the bike so one could use the sidecar brake with disgression if so desired without disturbing the integrity of the ABS system.
Another alternative would be to disable the ABS feature and tap in the sidecar brake system.
Contrary to popular belief, ABS will not stop you quicker or in less distance than a non ABS system. It will however, help to give a more controlled stop in a panic situation.
......................................................................
Couldn't have said it better myself.
I am not a huge fan of sidecar brakes either.
Gentlemen
Thank you for your much appreciated insight, bit if you don't mind I have one more query.
If you were to start fresh and you had a bike in mind that was available in either a standard or ABS configuration, which one would you choose for the project?
Cheers
Friends,
Doesn't have EML (or Krauser?) allready a 3 wheel ABS? I heard a rumour in the 90ies they would try something own on the base of the electronic BMW-ABS.
With my little experience with ABS in cars and some bad adrenaline shocks at the beginning with my actual Jawa rig (SC brake cable was wrong routed by the importer and breaked of its own in fast left bends!)
I would say:
-no SC break and bike with ABS OK for to start slowly
-a weak SC break and bike with ABS better for to start
-a strong SC break and bike with ABS will give you some adrenaline shocks too.
A bike without ABS and a well adjusted, harmonic SC break of the same actuation as your back wheel is good for many years. (Guzzy with EML or Jewell SC)
Don't forget that ABS in gravel or sand makes the stopping distance much longer!
If there is a 3 wheel ABS available that you can switch off for off road driveing then you got the best imaginable thing. Look arround If that Lottery is allready on the market.
Pure 3 wheel ABS that you cannot switch off is in my eyes only for street use! I guess it will not teach you the feel for the tires grip and to learn the touch in the gud for to drift!
I for my part stepped 1985 into Lukas Girling's main office and offered me as a test driver for their hydraulic ABS system. Sadly it was too early and they didn't like to give it to a foreigner! It took until 1988 that Honda (or Kawa) put it into one of the huge bikes (for a lot of extra money).
My 2 cent from Costa Rica
Sven Peter Pan
I forgot in the early 50ies there was allready a first hydraulic ABS system attached to a private 250 BMW (single) by a german engineer. He couldn't sell it, because it was too fancy for the time!
---
In the same time range another german ex-submarine engineer installed a fuel cell and an electric motor into his BMW R25 frame.
Ask US military why we had to wait for fuel cell-technic becomeing available for public until the nineties! Its a 1927 patent and was used in WW2 on sub's!
The first thing they did when they came to Munich was to clean out the patent office!
Regards
Sven Peter
Originally written by Tinkerfreak on 7/8/2007 8:36 PM
Gentlemen
Thank you for your much appreciated insight, bit if you don't mind I have one more query.
If you were to start fresh and you had a bike in mind that was available in either a standard or ABS configuration, which one would you choose for the project?Cheers
....................................................................
I would choose a non ABS bike with non integrated brakes on the bike.
If I were to plan on building a true high performance sidecar the sidecar would possibly have a brake on it hooked to rear wheel brake of the sidecar with a proportioning valve plumbed in. If it was not to be a true HPS rig there would be no sidecar brake.
But that's just me of course and some others may differ in opinion 🙂
