The paradox is that offroad I don't turn off ABS when the going gets fast, I need it off when the going gets seriously slow.Just my opinion, LOL
Ive almost had two very serious accidents on the street. I THANK ABS for saving me both times (on road)... When it comes to off road (for people that don't know me or have not ridden with me) I ride my Tenere like a 450 Moto cross bike. I ride hard, fast, off road, pussy-cat on paved roads. I cant recall turning OFF the ABS one time while owning the Tenere. With all the thousands of total miles I have ridden in the dirt with the Tenere, there have been a few times that I thought to myself "that would have been even more fun with the ABS off",, but I made it and it was all good.
For me, and me alone, my thought is this....... I DO NOT get paid millions of dollars from a factory race team to get everything out of the bike or a track. Im just a guy that likes to ride. ABS has saved my A$$ many times. For me, on the whole, ABS is a great thing and I just leave it on... At my age, if im doing over 100 Mph off road (again) and cant slow down, and the thought ever comes in my mind that I should have had the ABS turned off.............. I NEED TO SLOW THE -F- DOWN and chill out... LOL. I leave it on !!
Don't you just love that feeling when you're doing 100 mph on a gravel road, then hit some sand then gravel, and bike moves all around. I love that feeling ! ! Am I strange or is this normal ?
By the way, I raced Moto X for ten years as a kid, and have been on motorcycles over 35 years. Ive ridden plenty of bikes, on and off road with and with out ABS. I know the pros & cons of both...
Now, I don't think I've done 160 km/h offroad (130 sure, but never 160 ). But in those rare situations when you're going slowly down a steep downhill towards a sharp, hairpin turn, on shale, with a cliff behind it, boy-howdy is it ever nice to be able to slide the wheels and not have to worry that ABS will kick in and extend your braking distance ... into thin air. Very rare for me, but it has happened. The first time, I didn't have ABS disabled and it became a very uncomfortable situation.
ABS on-road or in spirited riding is excellent. In stuff that is rough and slow and makes your butt pucker, it's much less desirable based on my experience. It's all about the terrain