I agree the linked brakes on the F6B (and other Goldwings) are well-designed and have very good stopping power. However, you'll never know that you really needed ABS until that rare occurrence where it will save you from a nasty spill. It's like the ejection seat on a fighter jet: you hope you'll never need it, but it's there just in case.

I doubt that weight-savings is the reason for the absence of ABS on most U.S. Goldwings, including the F6B – the weight of these components is minimal. Rather, the blame rests squarely on American Honda, who is trying to hit a price point to increase sales (or profit) at the expense of safety. I believe the U.S. is the only country where in the world where F6Bs are still sold without ABS, simply because ABS is not yet mandated here by law. All other major motorcycle manufacturers thankfully include ABS as a standard feature on most U.S. models. American Honda is the exception, other than with the ST1300, now discontinued.

Your hesitation about the ABS issue is warranted. However, when I saw the 2016s still did not have ABS, I bought an F6B anyway. And so far, I'm having a blast!