ABS and offroad riding

[MooN]

can someone explain in terms an idiot (me) can understand about ABS and the desire / need to disconnect it when riding offroad?

Now, I don't do "proper" hardcore off road riding but trails / dirtroads in the dry . 

Bike is tiger 800xc ABS.  The ABS is deconnectable and I understand that this is most desirable for off road riding... what I don't understand is why? 

Whilst riding stony trails this afternoon, in a couple of steeper down hill sections, on loose stones, I distinctly remember thinking that I had to be really careful to not lock up the rear with the brake cos it'd become uncontrollable... a front wheel slide would be an automatic attack of "lying down with a motorcycle on top of me" . I then remembered that I had ABS  so was able to relax a little.  It may be that an experienced rider would be able to control a slide, a rear wheel slide at least but I'm curious as to what circumstances would make a rearwheel slide preferrable to controlled ABS braking? 

[XTreme]

This is the first bike I've ever had with ABS......and I don't like it.

I can't keep stopping the bike to turn it off if conditions get rougher......because over here the roads can turn into what is little more than a trail at anytime.

When I was offroad today I forgot to turn it off so basically when I was braking it wasn't having much effect. 

And on the road I don't see any difference really.

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

8 hours ago, XTreme said:

This is the first bike I've ever had with ABS......and I don't like it.

I can't keep stopping the bike to turn it off if conditions get rougher......because over here the roads can turn into what is little more than a trail at anytime.

When I was offroad today I forgot to turn it off so basically when I was braking it wasn't having much effect. 

And on the road I don't see any difference really.

I’m half n half. I’m certain it’s saved me from a proper mess at least once.
The time where you close your eyes cos there’s nothing left in the brakes (apart from skid) and nowhere else to go except the painful impact and somehow it worked it’s devilish skill and youre still alive. Can’t fault that.
But in some circumstances you forget to turn it off (ands that your bad) and the stupid slidey shit that can help you doesn’t happen- brrrr, good luck.

The brakes and ABS on the Himalayan are so bad ( I mean baaaad), in serious situations once the brakes have done their crappy most and you are unfortunate enough that the abs kicks in it’s so ridiculously calibrated it may well chuck you off. It’s ONNNN.. OFFFFF.. ONNNN... OFFFF.. so slow to arrive and yet so strongly applied unless you’re in a straight line it’s gonna seriously shake your tail. But most people aren’t so dumb and do turn the abs off or ride in a manner inkeeping with the bikes ability so yer mainly the awfulness of abs is only my fault

[MooN]

I can see that abs can render the braking power ineffective but would a locked wheel slide be more efferctive?  in the dirt I mean.

[Sir Fallsalot]

Basically with the ABS on you wont stop on a slippery surface off road  as the ABS system will take the control of the brakes off you. A locked wheel will eventually slow you down and stop due to friction. With ABS on, your wheels will keep on turning so on a slippery surface down hill  you will start picking up speed rather than slowing down, ABS needs some sort of grip to work properly. Have you tried ABS down hill in snow its bloody scary you cant turn it off in my car i know from experience i would be better off without it in the snow.  All of this is about slow speeds and trying to stop rather than stopping you locking things up at higher speeds in an emergency

[boboneleg]

If I'm on a steep downhill section of trail (especially if it's a loose surface)  I turn it off.  You want the back wheel to slide to a certain extent and ABS will stop you controlling that.

[Tym]

I think abs are criticle to riding, lower abdominal strength aides in off road endurance, enhances skill, so work on those abs people. 

 

[Skippy]

On 02/05/2021 at 10:51, Sir Fallsalot said:

Basically with the ABS on you wont stop on a slippery surface off road  as the ABS system will take the control of the brakes off you. A locked wheel will eventually slow you down and stop due to friction. With ABS on, your wheels will keep on turning so on a slippery surface down hill  you will start picking up speed rather than slowing down, ABS needs some sort of grip to work properly. Have you tried ABS down hill in snow its bloody scary you cant turn it off in my car i know from experience i would be better off without it in the snow.  All of this is about slow speeds and trying to stop rather than stopping you locking things up at higher speeds in an emergency

Couldn’t have put it better myself and the ABS on the Himalayan is pretty crude and I’ve had a couple of times where the bloody thing wouldn’t slow down enough on very loose terrain.

The best option I’ve had was in the KTM 690 Enduro whereby the aftermarket switch could turn off the rear ABS but leave the front active.