SIngle Channel ABS vs Dual Channel ABS in Motorcycles: Which is better and Why?

With the new safety norms, ABS is mandatory on all motorcycles above 125cc in India. And because of this, almost everyone would have heard about Single channel and Dual channel ABS. Most of the buyers will be confused about the differences between these 2. We'll discuss about that here so that the confusions and doubts will be cleared to a great extent.

What is ABS?

ABS or Anti-Lock Braking System is a safety feature that existed in mainly the premium cars. But that's not the case now almost all of the manufacturers now in India offers ABS as a standard feature even in their entry level segment cars. Apache RTR180 ABS might be the first commuter bike in India to get this feature. It was a Dual Channel ABS. Some of the buyers opted for it but most of them didn't, mostly because of the higher price and not having an idea about the importance of ABS. So, What is ABS?
ABS is a safety feature that prevents the wheel of your vehicle from locking in the event of sudden braking. This sudden braking case can happen due to a lot of things like a cat or dog jumping on to the road, unexpected bumps, potholes, gutters or even when the vehicle in front of us stops due to lots of reasons. We may need to apply sudden brakes when someone crosses the road without care (which usually happens here and is a reason for lots of accidents). In all these cases, our reflexes makes us apply the brake hard. And as a result, wheels lock and due to the momentum, the vehicle will skid. In the case of a car, as it is on 4 wheels, it won't fall. But that's not the case with a 2 wheeler. It'll skid and will fall on to the road, hurting the rider(s). Here, ABS avoids this locking up of wheels so that the vehicle won't skid. So the motorcycle won't fall. 



How it works?

ABS avoids locking up of wheels by applying the brakes at a small interval. There is a sensor for that in the wheel and the whole system is governed by ECU. 
You might have seen a slotted ring on the wheels of the motorcycles with ABS. This ring is used for sensing the speed. When brakes are applied, the interval for applying brakes are calculated according to the speed of the wheel (Average speed of front and rear wheel). When we apply brakes all of a sudden, the wheel will lock up. ECU, which gets its input from the speed sensor ring activates the system so that the brakes are released for a fraction of a second. Then when the wheel is locked again, the same process is repeated till the speed of the vehicle stops or asagain. In simple words, it is applying brakes at regular intervals so that wheel won't lock up, to avoid skidding. All these things happen at a frequency of 10 or 12 times per second. ie. you apply brake, wheel locks and unlocks in 1/12th of  second. That is really fast. 
The frequency of this is not fixed. It depends on the speed of the vehicle. When the speed is less, the frequency will be less. And, at low speeds, ABS will be inactive because its action is not required. The speed sensor sends signals to ECU, where the frequency for actuation of brakes is calculated. Then, 2 solenoid actuators actuate the brake pads at the required frequency by changing the pressure in brake lines. When brake is released, everything gets back to normal state.

Single channel or Dual channel? 


Now, to the point. Is Single channel ABS enough? Or is Dual Channel ABS required? Single channel ABS, even though it is used by almost all manufacturers in their motorcycles to sell their models as per the law, is enough for your safety if you are a really good rider who knows how to ride the bike properly and how to apply brakes properly. Well, that's not the case with most of the riders in our country. Lots of people have asked me about "Why is the ABS equipped in the front wheel and not in the rear wheel?". This doubt comes from the basic way of how an average Indian guy rides a bike. Almost all of them thinks that rear brake is the main brake of the motorcycle. Similar doubt also came across all of these guys when Disc brakes were implemented on the front of the bikes earlier and not in the rear. I even heard a friend of mine saying that when he had to apply brakes to avoid a crash, he didn't even touch the front brake. He locked the rear so the bike skidded. Somehow, he didn't fall. He was saying that with some kind of proud feeling (lol). If he had applied front brake, he could've stopped the bike safely. That's the case here. Most of the riders don't use or know how to use the front brakes of a motorcycle. In my opinion, it is a lot safer to ride a bike with only front brake than one with only rear brake.
The thing everyone should keep in mind is that most of the weight of a bike is in the front half and while braking, almost 60 to 70% of weight comes on front wheel. So, you have to apply front brakes if you wish to avoid a crash or to stop safely. So, in the case of an average person, Single channel ABS is just useless. This doesn't mean that it's just a gimmick used by bike manufacturers to by-pass the law. It is safe and useful when you use brakes in the right way. ie. Focus more on front brakes. Don't lock up rear brakes. Then, it can save you. 
One problem with Single Channel ABS is that, if you lock the rear wheel accidentally when you apply both brakes, the ECU takes the average speed of both front and rear wheel. So, if you're going at 60kmph, front input will be 60 and rear will be 0, if it gets locked. So, the speed ECU takes will be 30kmph and the frequency of actuation will be calculated according to that. This may lead to locking of the brakes for a longer instant than required. This will lead to intermittent skidding of bike. And also, if the average speed comes below the required speed for ABS activation, ABS may remain inactive and the front wheel may also get locked up resulting in serious accidents. And you may end up complaining that ABS on your bike is not working properly (After you recover from the injuries).

Below given is the list of bikes with Single channel ABS. -
  1. Hero Xtreme 200R
  2. Honda CB Unicorn 150
  3. Honda CB Hornet 160R
  4. Honda xBlade
  5. TVS Apache RTR 160
  6. TVS Apache RTR 160 4V Fi
  7. Suzuki Gixxer
  8. Suzuki Gixxer SF
  9. Suzuki Intruder 150
  10. Bajaj Pulsar 150 TD/180/220F/NS200/RS200
  11. Bajaj Avenger 220 Cruise/Street
  12. Yamaha FZ(S) V3.0
  13. Yamaha MT-15
  14. Jawa 42/Jawa
  15. KTM 125 Duke/200 Duke
  16. KTM RC 200
  17. RE Bullet 350/500/ES
Now coming to Dual channel ABS, this is nothing but 2 single channel ABS on both front and rear wheel. Here, even if you apply both the brakes really hard, none of them will lock up as the ABS is equipped on both the wheels and the intermittent braking occurs on both the wheels. Dual channel ABS is better than Single channel ABS in all aspects, even in the higher premium as it offers a lot more safety.

As told earlier, Apache RTR180 comes with a Dual channel ABS. Also, RTR200 comes with the same setup. Below given is the list of motorcycles with Dual channel ABS setup -
  1. TVS Apache RTR 180
  2. TVS Apache RTR 200
  3. TVS Apache RR 310
  4. RE Classic 350/500 series
  5. RE Thunderbird 350(X)/500(X) series
  6. RE Himalayan
  7. RE Interceptor 650
  8. RE Continental GT 650
  9. Yamaha YZF R15 V3
  10. Yamaha FZ25/Fazer 25
  11. Bajaj Dominar 400
  12. Honda CBR250R
  13. Honda CB300R
  14. KTM RC 390
  15. KTM 390 Duke/250 Duke
  16. Kawasaki Ninja 300
  17. BMW G310R/GS
  18. Jawa 42/Jawa 
Some of you might be thinking that Pulsar series come with speed sensor rings on the rear as well, "so, isn't it equipped with dual channel ABS?". The thing is, the ring is for sensing the speed. In the case of other bikes with Single channel ABS, manufacturers are connecting the speedometer cable to the rear wheel so that speed sensor setup is not required. I believe that in addition to that being a cost saving measure, the Pulsar series have RLP or Rear Lift off Protection for which the speed sensor is required. This prevents the rear from lifting off the ground in the event of sudden braking. (Dual channel ABS comes with RLP btw).

Conclusion

 

So, I guess now you have an idea about ABS, how it works and which one is suited for you. I'd recommend buying a bike with Dual channel abs as it is the safest addition to your 2 wheeler partner. It is worth the money. Single channel ABS does the job but there are some risks. 
Going through the list, the cheapest bike with Dual channel ABS is the RTR 180. I expected TVS to offer similar setup on RTR 160 series also but they went with a Single channel unit with RLP. So, it's better to buy an RTR180/200 instaed of the other single channel ABS motorcycles so that you will be safer on the road. FZ25 is also an option. Other motorcycles with similar price tag comes with just Single channel ABS which will only help you if you ride the bike in the right manner. 

I hope this has helped you in arriving at a final decision. Let me now your thoughts in the comments section. 

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