Best New Technology

Honda C-ABS

Sportbike pilots usually have no interest in anti-lock brakes, believing they can do a better job of quickly bringing a motorcycle to a stop than a computer. But they probably haven't yet sampled Honda's new Combined ABS as found on the 2009 CBR600RR and CBR1000RR as a $1,000 option. With this new combined system, there is absolutely no mechanical link, or otherwise, between the front and rear. It is entirely up to the electronic control module to determine when more than one brake set is required. Not only does the ECM regulate pressure to each brake set, it also can “combine” front and rear brake sets based upon established parameters, and it does it seamlessly. We now have the first brake-by-wire system available commercially on sportbikes. Innovative!

Honda's new C-ABS has allayed our concerns about anti-lock brakes on a sportbike. You might not even notice it's there until it saves your bacon when you least expect it.