BMW – OWNED HUSQVARNA HAS DEVELOPED ABS SPECIFICALLY FOR OFF – ROADERS. CHRIS MOSS PUTTHE SYSTEM THROUGH ITS PACES ON ATE449 ENDURO BIKE

Developed at the same time as the ABS fitted to the S Thou superbike, its clear that safety comes first both on and off road at BMW. The 1.5kg system is a breakthrough product on the off – road scene, with its slip threshold developed for off – road use, it cleverly only works on the front wheel.

Surprisingly unobtrusive, the set – up was only triggered once while I rode it, and it definitely boosted my confidence over tight and slippery sections. It let me tackle steep rocky descents with a lot more faith knowing it wasnt possible to lock the front.

Riding the same course later on a non – ABS TE449 highlighted the systems value. Though I didnt have any moments, I felt less comfortable without the safety net there. Off – road purists may well scoff at the idea of ABS, but there were a fair few of them on the test who couldnt diss it. Those new to dirt – bikes happily admitted it made them feel a lot safer and more confident.

The man behind the project, Ulrich Dumm, told us more about the development and future of the ABS over a beer after the test.

“We are pioneers of ABS, being the first to fit it on the Kl and K100 roadbikes in 1987. It was logical to take the next step and fit ABS to an off – road machine. Its aimed at the hobby rider and allows him to concentrate on things other than braking.

“The main challenge we had was making the ABS system work on just one wheel, as off – roaders have to slide the rear at times.

To make it work effectively you must know the bikes speed so we have sensors on both wheels. The difficulty comes when the rear wheel locks or leaves the ground. We think weve solved that problem though, and even our experienced testers find the system hard to fault.

“I realised there would be plenty of scepticism when we started the project but were pleased with the positive reaction. The ABS will help most off – roaders, especially the less experienced when theyre going down steep hills. Its primarily for safety and isnt a performance aid. Its not made for competition. We think the system will encourage more riders to take up off – roading by helping to reduce their nervousness.”

But I left the test with more questions than answers. The biggest of which is, do we really want ABS on a pukka off – roader? One of the beauties of off – roading for me is the bike control it forces you to learn. Its all down to the rider to keep things in check. And as for the safety aspect, I reckon if you dont want to crash, then dont go off – roading – falls come with the territory.

In saying that, a week later on a Husky TE511 riding some super – slimy and slippery trails local to me, I was ready to eat my hat. On the wet roads between the trails, where the knobblies had next to no grip, I would have loved ABS.

Husqvarna says its a serious project and will be fitted to a production off – roader in the near future. To which bike and exactly when, they wouldnt admit.

This ABS system suits big adventure bikes and we could see it in on the next range of BMW GSs. Get the price right, enable it to be turned off and itll be a mod worth having.