Thing is, when your wheel locks up even a little, the brakes will release and you will have zero stopping ability until the system allows you to brake again. In mud or a slippery surface it is much worse, to the point that I almost could not ride my 1200RT off road when wet. Sometimes you need to stop quickly and on the 500 I routinely lock up my wheels, both ends, obviously not at the same time, but my riding style is such that I will crash horribly if I cannot apply the brakes when I need to stop. ABS is a tar system, unless some clever techie found a way past it at xxxxxx manufacturer.