Forum

[PeteF]

Well Bertie, I don't (necessarily) want to disable either but I resent the fact that they are imposed upon me.
I feel much the same about helmets; I wouldn't ride without one but dislike being told I have to wear one.

[Rattlebattle]

Our American friends don't get the option to run without the lights on. However, there is a mod that can be done involving changing the wiring in the headlamp shell. I get the impression that on US models the switch is disabled but can be enabled by doing the simple mod. Their REs do have the switch on the cluster though.
I resent having the lights on automatically for the simple reason that the lights come on when working on the bike, wasting battery power. Apart from doing simple things like changing the clock setting having lights on with the ignition also requires the removal of the light fuse to disable the lights to save power to use diagnostic software on my Triumph. I resent the general dumbing down, leading to abrogation of personal responsibility. I doubt that the ABS will be switchable except perhaps on the Himalayan; it tends to be switchable only on off road type bikes. I could be wrong though.

[beamish]

I was sceptical about ABS until I had a moment of red mist a couple of years ago. It all went horribly wrong and I was stealing myself for a massive excursion into a Yorkshire stone wall when a minor miracle happened- I stopped shiny side up on a rough verge. Choice is a great thing but.....I now wish I had ABS on my EFI. On the other hand I am never tempted to be an idiot on my RE.

[ric]

In the past to overcome a wired 'headlamp on' situation I've isolated the main beam from the circuit and then left the Hi-Lo rocker switch in the High position.

[Adam]

ABS. If and when I buy a ‘modern’ machine (I have a Honda Deauville in mind) no ABS would mean no deal. To make it compulsory is surely one of the more sensible decisions to have come out of the Common Market, er sorry, EU!

AHO. There are strong reasons for driving with headlights permanently on and I am the one with headlight on, reflective jacket on, even reflective trousers when wet and reflective number plate on my ’61 Panther, anything to help me be seen. That said, I wholly respect the decision of those who prefer to use headlights only when existing legislation demands.

There is, however, an inherent danger associated with AUTOMATIC headlight on arrangements and in certain circumstances you need to be in full control of when your headlight turns on.

I was driving a modern tin box on a single carriageway well within speed limit, getting toward dusk but not dark enough for headlights so no lights on. Approaching minor road on left with impatient youngster waiting to turn right onto major road, head flicking left and right, road to his left became clear and he looked back at me just as the dense tree canopy above me caused my headlights to come on, he read that as a flash….. I was extremely glad I had ABS, Avoided collision by inches.

I have cancelled the AHO on the current tin box and if I had AHO on a motorcycle I would find a way of overriding it to ride with HO permanently.

Adam

[nigelphoto]

I'm happy to ride with headlight on, whatever, I certainly wouldn't wear a hi viz jacket and I don't like ABS on a motorcycle - I have a perfectly good brain which although old and tired can still make decisions on how hard i wish to squeeze the lever and take into account the road conditions at the same time. On a big single the engine does the slowing down, the brakes are there just to bring it to a final stop. If young riders grow up with ABS fitted, they're never going to learn what the limits of adhesion are and one day the ABS won't help them as they go straight to the scene of the accident. What I do object to is someone making laws who has no actual idea what its like to ride a motorcycle and forces me to have equipment fitted which I don't need or want, 'for your own safety'. Bollox

[Rattlebattle]

Just to be clear, there is a distinction between headlights on permanently and auto headlights on. As far as I am aware on a motorcycle what we have had for some time now is the system whereby the headlights illuminate when the ignition is switched on. FWIW my car has this annoying feature- see post above. On some cars there is a feature whereby there is a light sensor that automatically turns on the headlights when the sensor deems visibility to be poor. I've hired cars with this and I concur that it can be dangerous. Also dangerous, for the same reason, are car headlights that illuminate extra LEDs when cornering. I have known a situation when approaching a right turn junction the lights gets come in as the turn is commenced being mistaken as a flash to indicate to another road user to proceed. Result: near collision. Generally my position is similar to Nigelphoto's, except that I only use lights in accordance with the law and Highway Code advice. My risk- but what I can say is that an advanced rider it is very rare for anyone to pull out in front of me - something to do with positioning, safety bubble and a sixth sense. If one rides on the basis of right of way one risks having "I had right of eay" on one's gravestone. Better training and upskilling is far better than electronic aids in my book. None of my bikes currently has ABS; I know how to brake sharply from high speed but there's also the point about riding at a speed at which one can stop in the distance one can see to be clear on one's side of the road.

[Scalyback]

Me too, plus hi viz vest. Don't always use headlamp though, depends on distance to junctions on the road ahead.



ABS brakes? are they made out of plastic now?

[nigelphoto]

Love Simon's reply - if its made in China of course its plastic! Seriously, it does seem we're all broadly in agreement on here. Following my visit to the NEC on Tuesday I posted a couple of images of the new 2017 RE range on Real Classic Facebook page and made the comment that I thought rear pillion footrests on a single seat C5 were not entirely necessary and demonstrated the silliness of EU legislation. I received such a torrent of abuse telling me how wonderful Euro 4 is and that the EU is totally correct in all it does to protect us from our own folly that eventually I removed the original post. Sigh . . . there's nowt as queer as folk. Or, we're generally a civilised lot on here and can agree/disagree without being trolls!

[rustygman]

You gents make me chuckle on this subject. I bet you are all hanging on to your old bikes anyway. I see ABS as progress, doesn't mean I want to rush out and buy a new bike but who amongst us hasn't at some point had a puckering moment when we wish we could have pulled up a bit quicker.