Ian, I could be wrong here, but from how you described your braking practice with an ABS system, it sounds to be as if you're committing the cardinal sin in the operation of these systems by attempting to override their function with a "pumping action". Yep, The first thing the "experts" will tell you is to NEVER pump the brakes and to allow those systems to function as they were designed to do. AND, they're designed to stop a car involved in a skid in a much shorter and controlable distance than almost ANY driver has the ability to do by pumping the brakes on a non-ABS equipped automobile, and on motorcycles they're designed to keep the bike upright and not allow the front wheel to "wash-out" and/or the rear wheel to not come around on ya..as Ron here just explained about his son's mishap.
(...aaah, but then again and if I'm correct here, I suppose I'm not surprised that a guy who longs for the return of breaker-point ignitions and kick-starters on motorcycles would attempt to override ANYTHING on a vehicle that's MODERN!!!!!)
