Combined braking system

A combined braking system (CBS), also called linked braking system (LBS), is a system for linking front and rear brakes on a motorcycle or scooter.^[1] In this system, the rider's action of depressing one of the brake levers applies both front and rear brakes. The amount of each brake applied may be determined by a proportional control valve.

BMW Motorrad uses a system called Integral ABS, in which the front brake lever operates both the front and rear brakes, while the brake pedal operates only the rear brake.^[2] In the inverse, Honda's system that features both combined brakes and Anti-lock brakes is dubbed Combined ABS. In this system, it is the rear brake pedal that operates both front and rear brake, where the front brake lever operates only the front calipers.

Honda made several variations of the LBS system with differing levels of complexity and integration. The CBR1100XX featured what Honda called LBS II, a system where both levers would activate both brakes through a system of secondary pistons and proportioning/delay valves. One front brake caliper was connected to a secondary master cylinder, and the caliper was allowed to rotate slightly to apply pressure to the piston in that secondary master cylinder. Braking force was translated into pressure that was sent to the rear brake cylinder. Only the two outer pistons in the front brake calipers were directly activated by the brake lever; the center piston received pressure from the rear pedal via the proportioning and delay valve.

References

1. ^ Effectiveness of Antilock Braking Systems in Reducing Fatal Motorcycle Crashes, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, March 2009, p. 2, http://www.iihs.org/research/topics/pdf/r1110.pdf, retrieved 2009-11-11 
2. ^ "BMW ABS and Automatic Stability Control". webBikeWorld. http://www.webbikeworld.com/BMW-motorcycles/bmw-abs-asc.htm. Retrieved 31 January 2010.