donch@tekirl.UUCP (Don Chitwood) (07/08/86)
There is active work, at least in Europe, on anti-skid braking systems. Two versions at least have been highlighted in several magazines I take. One is a system made by Lucas or Girling in England (it could even be Lockheed--forgive my poor recall) that has been fitted to a variety of test bikes. Another system is by Bosch, and I understand it will be marketed on top-ov-the-line BMWs in a year or two. They both work on the front brake alone, I think. The English version is totally mechanical, the Bosch is electromechanical. (Massive disclaimer: all of the above is from skimming one or two articles this spring. My facts may be way off, but the reality of anti-skid systems on motorcycles is beyond dispute.)
marauder@fluke.UUCP (Bill Landsborough) (07/10/86)
In article <818@steinmetz.UUCP> davidsen@kbsvax.UUCP (Davidsen) writes: > >I have a question for someone who's closer to new developments in bikes >than I am. After reading the posting on braking techniques I am >wondering why someone has not developed an anti lock rear braking >system for bikes. > >Since there are a lot of other smart people in the world, why isn't >something being done about this (or why haven't I heard)? > >Thanks for any info, mail or post as appropriate. > -bill davidsen >"Stupidity, like virtue, is its own reward" I would imagine that when they (who is they??) started doing their research of a consistant ratio of front to rear brake application they found that the rider needs to vary that ratio because it is never the same in different situations. On clean dry pavement and in a straight path, you want the front brake to do the majority of the work and so you would naturally set the bike up that way. But then along comes a down hill slow turn into someones gravel-on-cement driveway and all of a sudden you don't want to touch that front brake! Or there are a variety of different situations where you want to have different brake application than what "they" would set the bike up for. Of course, they could provide some sensing devices to monitor the speed and traction but how much money do you want to spend to remove one of the most basic challanges of motorcycling? It's like automatic transmissions on (street) bikes; I'll never own one and evidently there isn't much of a demand for it either. Bill Landsborough
animal@ihlpa.UUCP (D. Starr) (07/11/86)
> > There is active work, at least in Europe, on anti-skid > braking systems. Two versions at least have been highlighted > in several magazines I take. One is a system made by Lucas or > Girling in England (it could even be Lockheed--forgive my poor recall) > that has been fitted to a variety of test bikes. Another system > is by Bosch, and I understand it will be marketed on top-ov-the-line > BMWs in a year or two. They both work on the front brake alone, I think. > The English version is totally mechanical, the Bosch is electromechanical. > > (Massive disclaimer: all of the above is from skimming one or two articles > this spring. My facts may be way off, but the reality of anti-skid systems > on motorcycles is beyond dispute.) If the British system you mention is the same one that was written up as being under development back in the late '70s (in Rider magazine), it is not a fully mechanical system. The one I saw described used a saw-toothed brake disk and a Hall-effect pickup to electronically determine whether the wheel had locked, and pulsed the brake accordingly. I have also seen pictures of an anti-skid system being tested on a BMW at Continental's test facility in Germany, but don't have any more information on it. The big problem is that with the current state of US product liability law, there's a very good chance that anti-skid braking systems may appear only on European or Canadian models. The way the law is currently being interpreted, the act of claiming a system prevents skidding leaves the manufacturer wide open for a massive lawsuit if some fool still manages to skid somehow.