Hi Henry,
I have only managed 300 miles on the bike so far. It has rained solid for nearly a week now and the forecast for the next two weeks is more of the same.
I had to do quite a hard stop when a car pulled out on me last week but the ABS didn't cut in. As yet I haven't been aware of the ABS on the road. The 2004 ABS model gets a very good appraisal in the US Motorcycle Consumer News, claiming it allowed them to do 45 degree stoppies
I think I'd prefer to keep both wheels on the ground, especially the front one. It also achieved a stopping distance of 110 feet from 60mph compared with 124 feet for a Honda ST1300 which is better than 1G - pretty impressive. The ABS can be switched off but I don't think I'll bother.
Derek