BMW R 1200 S Rider's Manual page 67

to the maximum transferrable
braking force, so the wheels
continue to turn and direc-
tional stability is maintained
irrespective of the condition of
the road surface.
What are the effects of
surface irregularities?
Humps and surface irregu-
larities can cause the wheels
to lose contact temporarily
with the road surface; if this
happens the braking force
that can be transmitted to
the road can drop to zero. If
the brakes are applied under
these circumstances the ABS
has to reduce braking force
to ensure that directional sta-
bility is maintained when the
wheels regain contact with
the road surface. At this in-
stant the BMW Motorrad ABS
must assume an extremely
low coefficient of friction, so
that the wheels will continue
to rotate under all imaginable
circumstances, because this
is the precondition for ensur-
ing directional stability. As
soon as is registers the actu-
al circumstances, the system
reacts instantly and adjusts
braking force accordingly to
achieve optimum braking.
How can stopping
distance be minimised?
Each time the brakes are
applied, a load distribution
shift takes place with the
load shifting forward from
the rear to the front wheel.
The sharper the motorcycle
decelerates, the more load
is shifted to the front wheel.
The higher the wheel load, the
more braking force can be
transmitted without the wheel
locking.
To optimise stopping dis-
tance, apply the front brakes
rapidly and keep on increas-
ing the force you apply to the
brake lever. This makes the
best possible use of the dy-
namic increase in load at the
front wheel. Remember to
pull the clutch at the same
time. In the "panic braking
situations" that are trained so
frequently braking force is ap-
plied as rapidly as possible
and with the rider's full force
applied to the brake levers;
under these circumstances
the dynamic shift in load dis-
tribution cannot keep pace
with the increase in decel-
eration and the tyres cannot
transmit the full braking force
to the surface of the road.
ABS has to intervene to keep
the front wheel from locking;
this increases stopping dis-
tance.
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