An anti-lock braking system (ABS) is a safety anti-skidbraking system used on aircraft and on land vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, and buses. ABS operates by preventing the wheels from locking up during braking, thereby maintaining tractive contact with the road surface and allowing the driver to maintain more control over the vehicle.
Anti-Lock Breaking System or ABS is a safety tool not a performance tool. Hopefully 99% of the time you won’t even know you have it. The 1% of the time it activates it will save you from a possible crash. If you are activating your ABS all the time you may have the grip strength of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the vision of a blind person or the reactions of a sloth (too much, too late). Either way you need to correct your braking skills.
Maximum braking force is achieved just before ABS is activated. When ABS becomes active it releases brake pressure to prevent the locking of the wheel and skidding of the tire. If ABS releases brake pressure it extends the distance required to stop. That is why racing bikes don’t have ABS.
Once again practice is the key. Find a parking lot and try activating the ABS in a stop. Keep practicing trying to achieve minimum braking distance and minimum ABS intervention. Make the proper procedure your reaction and your muscle memory.
