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From: animal@ihlpa.UUCP (D. Starr)
Newsgroups: net.cycle
Subject: Re: Braking Methods Research
Message-ID: <1512@ihlpa.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 11-Jul-86 15:13:39 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihlpa.1512
Posted: Fri Jul 11 15:13:39 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Jul-86 07:16:09 EDT
References: <649@kepler.UUCP> <818@steinmetz.UUCP> <79@tekirl.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
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> 
> There is active work, at least in Europe, on anti-skid
> braking systems.  Two versions at least have been highlighted
> in several magazines I take.  One is a system made by Lucas or
> Girling in England (it could even be Lockheed--forgive my poor recall)
> that has been fitted to a variety of test bikes.  Another system
> is by Bosch, and I understand it will be marketed on top-ov-the-line
> BMWs in a year or two.  They both work on the front brake alone, I think.
> The English version is totally mechanical, the Bosch is electromechanical.
> 
> (Massive disclaimer:  all of the above is from skimming one or two articles
> this spring.  My facts may be way off, but the reality of anti-skid systems
> on motorcycles is beyond dispute.)

If the British system you mention is the same one that was written up as
being under development back in the late '70s (in Rider magazine), it is
not a fully mechanical system.  The one I saw described used a saw-toothed
brake disk and a Hall-effect pickup to electronically determine whether the
wheel had locked, and pulsed the brake accordingly.  I have also seen pictures
of an anti-skid system being tested on a BMW at Continental's test facility
in Germany, but don't have any more information on it.

The big problem is that with the current state of US product liability law,
there's a very good chance that anti-skid braking systems may appear only
on European or Canadian models.  The way the law is currently being interpreted,
the act of claiming a system prevents skidding leaves the manufacturer wide open
for a massive lawsuit if some fool still manages to skid somehow.