Unintended ABS test

[Dirt_Dad]

I've shown photos and video of this road several times. It's one of my favorites not too far from home. Well today it had a nice coat of mud on top. Not deep mud, but the mud that can get you sliding around pretty good. It's the slippery stuff that is amusing on flat and level surfaces, even heading uphill on the switchbacks was pretty fun. But your attention gets very focused going down the back side of the mountain on this steep road with considerable drops.

I did not set out to do an ABS test today, but it turned into one. The ABS was kicking in strong at the 1:52 mark of this video. It was the first time ABS even crossed my mind on this ride. I'll admit when it first happened I was wishing I had that off switch. But, the ABS worked. Bike stayed in control and never gave me the feeling it was going to let loose. That's good, because if it had let loose there I don't want to think about what would have happened. The road at this point is steeper than it appears on the video.

ABS Test

Yes, I know this is a very slow speed video. Like I said, the road is steeper than it looks, and keeping that 600+lb bike pointed downhill on muddy switchbacks was enough to keep my hands full. I'm pleased I did not need to take any sleeping Tenere photos. Being alone and picking it up in slippery mud would have sucked.

 

[rem]

Like I said, the road is steeper than it looks, and keeping that 600+lb bike pointed downhill on muddy switchbacks was enough to keep my hands full.

You don't have to convince me, D_D. My pucker factor was working overtime just watching the video. That's good commentary about the ABS function. ::024:: R

 

[Dirt_Dad]

You don't have to convince me, D_D. My pucker factor was working overtime just watching the video. That's good commentary about the ABS function. ::024:: R

Most of my pucker was in the corners. Fortunately I figured out staying in the gravel in the middle of the road was fairly good traction.

 

[carrot]

looked like fun except for the steep drop offs .i had a moment after a flood i was cross a bridge that had a lot of washed up mud covering covering the road in corner hit front brake bike slide half second then stopped that's when i was convinced that abs worked! if i was on any of my other bikes i would definitely went down .

 

[autoteach]

Rear brakes, front, both? What tires?

 

[Maxified]

Thanks for taking the time and effort for this posting, great writeup & video. That wet road sure looks like fun, good for exercising the focus abilities & adrenal glands as well as toning up the sphincter. Nothing like that road here in Flatistan.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Rear brakes, front, both? What tires?

Front tire: K60 with about 13K miles
Rear tire: modified K60 with @6K on it. Modification is a chunk cut out in center section at every other lug.

Front was definitely modulating, could not tell if the rear was or not.

 

[sfc67]

Front tire: K60 with about 13K miles
Rear tire: modified K60 with @6K on it. Modification is a chunk cut out in center section at every other lug.

Front was definitely modulating, could not tell if the rear was or not.

So how do you like the rear tire now.
Only got about 150km on mine before the snow hit but really liked it.
Will be another 3 to 4 months before I'll get to try it now atleast the snowmobiling keeps me out
of trouble. ::022::

SC

 

[tomatocity]

I did not see if you had TC active or not. That is a scary surface and terrain. The early part of 2012 I found myself in some wet clay and that was scary. Not knowing I was going to be in mud I was in TC2 and was wishing that TC was Off. I only had to use the brakes twice and was VERY careful. We are lucky to be riding a bike that crawls, uphill or downhill, very well.

Keep the videos coming.

 

[thfraser]

Thanks for the video and pics. I went to an ADV RTE yesterday and decide to take a few backroads on the way home. I had the ABS kick in a couple of times. It was slick, but fun! I tooks some video, but the very foggy conditions caused the casing of the GoPro to get water droplets on it, so the video is hard to see.

 

[slipangle]

That was some nice riding.

I find the slow tricky stuff the scariest, as there's plenty of time to appreciate potential disaster.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

So how do you like the rear tire now.
Only got about 150km on mine before the snow hit but really liked it.

Jury is still out. I only have less than 400 miles on it myself. I can say that I've found no ill effect from it, and it been on some very wet roads. But my rear tire was already well into the later stage of life, so no full test of it yet. I can say yesterday it did a fine job of taking me up the mountain on the equally steep and muddy other side. I do plan to modify the next K60 I put on to see how it is with fresh tread. I hope to give a full thumbs up to your tire design skills. So far, so good.

Rear tire pic from yesterday.

I did not see if you had TC active or not. That is a scary surface and terrain. The early part of 2012 I found myself in some wet clay and that was scary. Not knowing I was going to be in mud I was in TC2 and was wishing that TC was Off. I only had to use the brakes twice and was VERY careful. We are lucky to be riding a bike that crawls, uphill or downhill, very well.

Keep the videos coming.

I was in TCS2 in that video. I was doing a little better than crawling up, but not enough that TC2 was an issue. I find it to be more of a problem on wash-boarded roads when trying to go fast. It's downright annoying at that point. The fog video below was in TC off. I started that one in TC2, but it was driving me nuts. So glad "Off" is an option.

Thanks for the video and pics. I went to an ADV RTE yesterday and decide to take a few backroads on the way home. I had the ABS kick in a couple of times. It was slick, but fun! I tooks some video, but the very foggy conditions caused the casing of the GoPro to get water droplets on it, so the video is hard to see.

The fog was insane yesterday. I slogged through it to the top of Mt Weather, where it was clear and unlimited sunny visibility to the west and horribly foggy to the east. Rode the west side all day in the sun up to 70 degrees, it was wonderful. Got back to the top of Mt Weather on the way home and everything was fogged in again. You'd never guess at the end of this video I'm sitting across from the entrance to the Emergency Operations Center. It's right across the street and I couldn't see it.

Fog