I agree that ABS is a big improvement for motorcycle safety, but sadly, the industry still sees this as an "optional extra" instead of standard equipment. On those few models where it is offered, you have to spend about $300 more for ABS. And some companies (notably BMW) have problems that the ABS needs to be "re-booted" sometimes, so it may not work when you really need it.
At my safety training last year, there was a guy with a BMW touring bike that had an ABS that wasn't properly balanced. He went into a panic stop and put this big, heavy bike into a 30° stoppie. The front didn't lock up, but the bike shouldn't have lifted the rear that far off the ground, either. The instructor had a look of shock on his face - the rider just smiled, because he had experienced that a few times before.
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