Tiger 1050 How Important Is Abs?

I am shopping for used Tigers (USA). There are quite a few non-ABS for sale for less than the ABS models. If it was a matter of a few hundred dollars and all else was equal I'd just pay more and get the ABS.

I am seeing low mileage Tigers that appear in pristine condition, for great prices, but that lack ABS. I'm wondering how much weight I should put on the ABS feature. Does it drastically improve braking?

I'll be riding solo 80% of the time. During the wintertime we get regular rain, but no snow or ice. Summers are dry, often a month without rain.

I will very rarely be hauling any baggage.

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

 

In my opinion ABS is very useful. Your bike will be stable when you have to break hard due to an emergency situation.
If you are used to ride without an ABS you may go for a bike without it.

 

@Dan Zulu The ABS is pretty useful but not essential. Honestly I prefer my bikes without

 

You can stop quicker with progressive braking, but if you grab a handful in the wet, abs should prevent a lock up.

 

Thanks everyone. I read this thread, and did some research. It looks like ABS, statistically, does have a large effect on safety. I'll be narrowing my search down to ABS bikes, primarily Tigers.

 

ABS is only important when you need it.

I would certainly rather have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. My wife had on older Indian Scout which she really liked. When ABS became available in 2018, I convinced her to sell the old one and get ABS version. Made me feel better knowing she has it.

 

I had an old lady pull in front of me couple of years back, on my speedmaster (non ABS) she couldn't see me or me her due to van in front turning off to left once I spotted her and grabbed a handful, bike low sided and i ended up sliding into her car. Still think to this day I would have still been aboard with ABS and won't buy a bike now without it.

 

I opted for a non ABS version when I bought my first Tiger800XC in 2011 because It cost an extra £600 over the ABS version and I'd never had a bike WITH ABS so thought I'd never need it. However, when I came to sell it, I had several people answering my advert who asked; "does it have ABS?". And when I said no, they weren't interested.
So the weight you should put on it is resale value.
As for whether it improves braking? No. It's there as a safety net for slippery conditions. Those times when you might "grab a handful" in an emergency and over power the grip.