Quote:
Originally Posted by
caea
Hi everyone!
Being a newbie (only had a morcycle driving course) and still on the search for a first bike, the choice stands now between the Yamaha XT 660 Z Tenere. Normal version vs ABS version.
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I told him that it would be my first bike and asked if the ABS was really necessary, he promptly replied that it was one more thing to rely on from a safety point of view (In the traffic, city ride, rainy weather, emergency stops). It convinced me at the time, but after a while and seeing that the ABS version loses some cm in suspension travel, well is that loss of travel negligible?
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Thinking forward to eventually take the bike in some off road tracks (large roads nothing too technical) does the ABS version (loses some cm on suspension travel)
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I agree with the salesman :-)
Do you remember the time when ABS became available for cars ? In the beginning nobody thought it was necessary but today everybody agrees that ABS is a good thing.
Back to bikes - If you are a race driver and goes around in circles on a surface with predictable traction you don't need it - but because you will be riding close to the edge you will still crash from time to time ...
If you only ride/race offroad only the best abs systems gives you an advantage over an non abs bike. But you will still ditch it from time to time when you interpret the conditions wrongly.
Most of us spend most of the time on tarmac and in traffic where even a low speed crash easily can be fatal when you are hitting or getting hit by a car.
Even when riding very alert you risk that someone/something gets into you way and you'll have to brake as hard as possible to avoid collision. Murphy law dictates that the surface will probably have less than ideal friction or very changing friction like braking onto spilled diesel. This is the time where ABS makes a difference.
If you lock up your front wheel a skid is very difficult to save - and even if you save it your braking is less than efficient and that could be the difference of an accident or just the need for clean pants.
Now that you have decided on a new xt660z i think the choice is easy.
Unless you go very fast or very technical green laning the suspensions is good enough on the ABS version. And yes some aftermarket parts will not fit but there is still a lot of choice in parts
If on the other hand you were on a strict budget and looked at 5year olds you might not be able to get an ABS version or if you fell in love with a motorcycle that was not available with ABS.
I don't really ride offroad (like deep mud or big rocks) but like to get away from the tarmac like on the small video clip below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRwdDCB5LRM The pony handles that just at well as my old super tenere.
Until I bought the pony last year I had looked more than a year for what should replace the super tenere and ABS was a priority so excluded all KTMs in by budget. In the end it stood between the bmw f800gs and the small tenere. Last august i then saw a low mileage tenere at a reasonable price and bought it.