Continental, one of the renowned companies, is known for its installation of efficient braking systems in two-wheelers. Also, it is a world leader in supplying chassis, powertrains, instrumentation, vehicle electronics, elastomers, tyres and infotainment systems. Piaggio has its Vespa, which has been one of its best sellers across a number of countries. Continental and Piaggio have collaborated to offer dual-channel and tri-channel ABS systems in the Vespa GTS 300, Piaggio X10, Beverley and Vespa 946. The three-channel system is also installed in the Piaggio MP3.
The number of accidents has increased worldwide in the recent past and it has been found out that two-wheelers are most vulnerable to such accidents. Continental and Piaggio have joined hands to bring forth the importance of road safety. This has been done by developing an all-new mono-channel ABS system, which will be incorporated on low-end two-wheelers. During day-to-day riding and driving, panic braking is a much-witnessed factor and one of the leading causes for accidents. Panic braking leads to the front wheel getting locked, which in turn contributes in the skidding of the bike. ABS finds its use here and it prevents the locking of the wheels. In a research, it was found out that a fifth of all bike accidents could have been avoided if there was ABS in the system.
The new mono-channel ABS is compact, light-weight and easily customisable. The box has a volume of a mere 300 cc and weighs nearly 420 gms. It has been designed and developed in such a way so that it suits a number of two-wheelers. A wheel speed sensor has been incorporated in the system that constantly monitors the bike speed after ignition. It also determines whether the wheel would lock in the scene of panic braking. The mono-channel ABS is already incorporated in the Primavera and Sprint and is expected to become a mandatory feature in the 125 cc segment in the next couple of years. All in all, the safety measures have been made adequate and the R&D teams of top bike-manufacturing companies are looking forward to make them a step better by incorporating the new ABS system.
