Honda CBR600RR ABS helps keep the shiny side up

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BMW has had it since the ‘80s. Harley-Davidson as of the 2008 model year. And Triumph for 2009. I’m talking about anti-lock braking systems – a safety feature that’s typically employed on touring models and other bikes whose riders are of a certain age. But Honda is trying something different for the 2009 model year: It’s offering ABS as an option on its top-selling, blink-and-you’ll-miss-‘em sportbikes, the CBR600RR and CBR1000RR.

Designed specifically for its supersports, Honda has given its patented design a name to complement its different-ness. Called a Combined Anti-lock Braking System, or C-ABS, Honda’s sportbike ABS could just as well be called HAL. Electronically controlled, it has a mind of its own, measuring and responding to specific braking inputs and reacting accordingly.

Say you’ve grabbed a handful to avoid T-boning a car. The unintentional chassis jacking that would normally ensue wouldn’t happen. Nor, for that matter, would an (intentional) stoppie because the C-ABS would immediately sense what you were doing. It would decrease the braking pressure from your right-handed death grip and add a little rear brake to the mix, even if your foot was nowhere near the brake pedal. But trail brakers can take heart. Honda’s C-ABS is not a linked system. As long as you don’t stomp on the rear brake and threaten to lock up the back wheel, the rear brake will not activate the front.

I had a chance to test the Honda CBR600RR on a road where ABS was actually necessary: the stretch of Angeles Crest Highway linking Islip Saddle to Wrightwood – before the road was opened. It was April 24 – about a month before the road was set to go live with the public – and the pavement was covered with snow melt, grit and boulders. The C-ABS was no match for the boulders, of course. For that, I employed some of the bike’s other high-tech tricks introduced in earlier model years, such as the MotoGP-derived electronic steering damper and nimble, lightweight chassis. It was on gravel that I got a chance to (inadvertently) test the bike’s C-ABS on the Crest, which worked perfectly. In other words, I didn’t dump it.

No crash, no foul, though some payback was required for the favor. C-ABS comes at a $1,000 premium, but for safety-conscious speed freaks such as myself, the option is well worth the money.

2009 Honda CBR600RR ABS

Base price: $10,799

Powertrain: fuel-injected, liquid-cooled, DOHC, inline four cylinder, four valves per cylinder, four-stroke, 6 speed

Displacement: 599 cc

Seat height: 32.3 inches

Wet weight: 432 lbs.

Road Test MPG: 44* (based on 413 miles traveled)

* uses 91-octane gas

-- Susan Carpenter