• Smallest and lightest antilock braking system for motorcycles
• World’s first brake control system developed specifically for motorcycles
• Cost-effective technology for all classes of motorcycle

Munich – The ADAC, the leading German automobile association, has presented Bosch with the “Gelber Engel” (yellow angel) award for its new motorcycle ABS (antilock braking system). In awarding its first prize in the “Innovation and Environment” category, the judges paid tribute to the great road-safety potential offered by this new Bosch development.

At a ceremony in Munich on January 14, 2010, the award was presented to Dr. Werner Struth, the president of the Bosch Chassis Systems Control division.

“The system's cost-optimized design makes it affordable for all classes of motorcycle for the first time,” Struth said. “In this way, we are helping to make this life-saving technology widely available as quickly as possible.”

This year’s award is the third time Bosch has been singled out for this highly regarded innovation prize, which has been awarded annually since 2005.

Bosch has been manufacturing brake control systems for motorcycles since 1994. While all the ABS systems on the market so far are based on passenger-car technology, engineers at the Bosch competence center in Japan have now designed a new ABS generation specifically for motorcycles.

With greatly reduced volume and weighing just 0.7 kilograms, the new “ABS 9 base” is half the size and weight of its predecessor. This makes it by far the most compact system in the market.

Its design is also cost-effective, which is important if it is to be used widely in all motorcycles with hydraulic brake systems. The motorcycle ABS is part of a new Bosch modular generation, a first variant of which went into series production in November 2009.

While the number of fatal accidents involving passenger cars in Germany has fallen by more than 80 percent since 1970, the number of road deaths involving cyclists of powered two-wheelers has remained largely unchanged for many years.

There were 822 deaths in 2008. For the same distance traveled, the risk of a fatal accident when riding a motorcycle is 20 times greater than when driving a car.
Studies demonstrate life-saving potential.

Experts regard the antilock braking system as a huge boost to safety. A study published by the German Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt) in 2008 concludes that there would be 12 percent fewer fatalities if all motorcycles were equipped with ABS.

Indeed, a study published by Vägverket, the Swedish highways authority, in October 2009 suggests that the system’s effectiveness is even higher: it concludes that 38 percent of all accidents involving personal injury and 48 percent of all serious and fatal accidents could be prevented with the help of ABS.

This active safety system allows motorcyclists to brake safely in critical situations without locking the wheels, and without having to fear an inevitable fall. Braking distance is also reduced considerably.

Up to now, only every tenth new motorcycle manufactured in Europe is equipped with this system. Worldwide, the figure is only every one-hundredth bike. By way of comparison, the figure for passenger cars worldwide has now reached 80 percent.

Contact person for press inquiries in Ukraine:
Julia Golubtsova
Phone +7 495 937-0402
E-mail: julia.golubtsova@ru.bosch.com

January 14, 2010 PI 6907 CC Ks/hb