Can't judge your skills, but you should bring the beast to a complete standstill as quick as possible. That is not possible with the ABS on. You will need to lock both wheels completely, which takes some skill. In a real emergency situation that can make the difference.

The flipside is, if you need to do that, you probably went too fast for the condition in the first place.

 

Can't judge your skills, but you should bring the beast to a complete standstill as quick as possible. That is not possible with the ABS on. You will need to lock both wheels completely, which takes some skill. In a real emergency situation that can make the difference.

The flipside is, if you need to do that, you probably went too fast for the condition in the first place.

Not doubting your skill level Moose but I'd love to see a video of you completely locking the front wheel and keeping it locked at say...20 MPH...and stay up.

Just saying

 

I regularly ride gravel and dirt roads in my area, and almost always leave the ABS on... the theory being that I can (and have many times) slow or stop quickly without drama, provided I am vertical and going straight.

IMO, you may need to disable ABS when negotiating steep downhills, and when deliberately sliding one end or the other on loose surfaces. Otherwise, its probably okay to leave it on.

Locking both ends, especially at any speed, is asking for trouble... regardless of your skill level.

 

On the newer GS's you can turn the ABS off on both wheels or turn the ABS off on just the rear wheel.
That is so if you are going downhill on a dirt road you can lock the rear wheel but the front will not lock up.

 

Steep downhills are the main reason. You need to be able to bring the front tire to to point of lock up on a steep downhill to be in control.

Here is an example of how NOT to do it: ABS-On

 

OK. ABS off on steep downhills. That does make sense to me. But shouldn't you then mostly brake with the rear brake? And only lightly touch the front brake?

Also, the guy in the video opened the throttle - - close the throttle, and the bike will crawl down by itself in first gear, that is my experience. Also, stand on the pegs and lean back. Look where you want to go. Don't look straight down.

 

OK. ABS off on steep downhills. That does make sense to me. But shouldn't you then mostly brake with the rear brake? And only lightly touch the front brake?

No... as nw_gser says, the front brake must be kept close to the point of lockup for maximum control. ABS makes that difficult if not impossible. As with most braking situations, the front brake does most of the work and adept front brake control is one of the most valuable skills a rider can learn and practice, with or without ABS.

 

I guess it boils down to your personal skills level, nothing else. PP, you won't see that video as I will in all likelihood not be able to do that. At least, I understand my shortcomings on dirt. Most difficult situation I had was on a downhill in a forest section, with very loose powder like sand, both wheels completely locked for about 50m, slip sliding down. With ABS I would have seen my backside.

Furthermore, I have the tendency to listen to people who are by far better than myself. At the off-road rider training here, you are told in no uncertain terms, to switch off the ABS.

The chap in the video was most probably a novice rider, went by far too fast, instead of using 1st gear and let the compression do the job instead of opening the throttle. Also wrong tyres for the territory.