RE: BMW brakes in the news

["John Dancoe" <jdan@xxxxxxxx>]

Steve Makohin relayed some interesting & plausible ideas about expecting a
power-assisted-brake machine to keep working while coasting; likewise the
probability of mistranslation from the German. Thanks for distilling the big
list which I surely don't have time for.

Steve also wrote:

>With respect to John Dancoe's ABS observations, yes, BMW bike ABS responds
>suboptimally under some real-world conditions [SNIP]

[SNIP] replaces an excellent description of the syndrome, and it was good to
hear my speculation about its nature described accurately and
authoritatively.

Steve, I could not have said it better myself--and I've tried and apparently
failed many times!

I don't consider myself a brake god, but I do feel I'm competent and I've been
riding long enough to "know what I like".

Yes, I know I'm exposing myself to greater risk in general while possibly
reducing it in one very specific scenario. But I can't deny the fact that over
the course of several years of riding with ABS, the only truly terrifying
experiences I had were in that scenario. It is entirely possible that if I
lived anywhere but Michigan, I never would have encountered it...however, I do
live in a notoriously-potholed locale, and as a result this happened with
sufficient frequency to cause my dissatisfaction.

I bought ABS with enthusiasm and I feel I gave it a fair shake. Comments about
"where to draw the line of acceptable risk" apply.

Again, my own peculiarities notwithstanding, kudos to BMW for a demonstrated
ethic of striving to make motorcycling safer.

John D

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