I know there is a lot of positive things to say about Honda bikes, but when it comes to Customer Service you are nothing! There will be others who may have had a better experience, but me, it’s the worst customer service I have ever been exposed to in my life from any organisation, so much Im putting it out there. If the Administrators of this forum, feel its a bit harsh then albeit, I respect your views and please accept my apology if I have caused offence. Having come from the dark side, I thought I would purchase myself a lovely brand new 2013 CBR100RR, which I did and so enjoyed until the bike reached the 1200miles mark, then the problem began. You will have read on various forums across the world a selection of very experienced riders are having issues with the C-ABS brakes, do Honda recognise this, do they heck. “it is the characteristics of the brakes”. Surely the brakes should feel exactly the same on a ABS and Non ABS and the only think I as a rider should know or feel, is I get no wheel lock up! So I asked my local Honda Dealer to investigate to which there answered NO, don’t want involved, I wonder why? Oh, yes I was astonished. Got it returned to the dealer I bought it from. They investigated the fault, found a similar issue that being the brakes lever does drop whilst bike is moving a slow speed. After VOSA got involved, Honda asked me for my permission for my bike to be taken back to Honda HQ. Two weeks later no fault found surprise surprise. So all in all Honda have had the bike between dealers and themselves for a total of 3 months out of my 6 month bike season, which was probably the best summer we have had for years So what have they done absolutely nothing no offer of support, nothing other than to say no fault found, when you want your bike back sir? Even though they have been undated with complaints on this issue, which they constantly deny, but we all know differently and claim VOSA have agreed with their findings, which they haven’t advised me of. So my advice to anyone consider all this in the event you have any issues with Honda and more importantly don’t set your expectations to high, as I know they don’t see you as anything other than 1 person out of 28,000 bikes sold, so I was informed. Considering how fragile the bike market is I find this astonishing behaviour and therefore will be parting company as soon as I can.
Sorry to hear that Jim. May I ask what was the issue? I have a non ABS blade, so i'm not fully in the loop. I know most previous attemts at ABS havent been the best, but I'd heard this one was meant to be a cut above th rest
They maybe in some cases but not in my view, if you type C-ABS on the forums you will see what some of us are experiencing
That's way to much.... I will give you £2k and deliver, fling in a years free insurance, 2 years service and full set of leathers or textiles
I will give you £4500 for it, or swap you for my 2010 non ABS Blade ;o) Doesn't sound good. To be fair my 2012 ABS has been ok - I do get the lever sometimes going closer to the bars after starting - but it does mention this in the Owners Manual. Have the brakes given any issues during normal riding? - if not I reckon you should keep it!
I have only had experience of honda's customer service at a local dealership level and your right about their customer service ethic, twice I've used my local dealer and on both occasions I was more than disappointed. Having just purchased a BMW ( car) from Sytner BMW l have become accustomed to a level of service one does not receive from Honda.
That is a shame. I was confident your efforts with Honda and VOSA would come to fruition, I was almost expecting a recall letter to get my ABS sorted ASAP.
Cud they not offer u a non abs Fireblade instead???? Which is cheaper n ive not heard owt about the brakes failing on non abs models?? And what about calling / emailing watchdog?? That Matt Alright on there rides around on a bike, he may take it up?? And there is trading standards as a purchase shud be fit for purpose for number of yrs after it us purchased???
On our last forum run out to Aberystwyth I experienced having the lever come back to the bar for no apparent reason, this then makes you go for a second pull on the lever only to find the brakes are there, thus inducing you to decelerate a lot more than originally intended. Not a heart stopping incident, but, nevertheless I could've done without it. I have kept way from the C-ABS thread because I haven't really had an issue before. Maybe I should take a look. Just for the record I never really gave the brakes a second thought for the rest of to day out but it makes you wonder.
Sorry to hear youve had grief with the bike and no support from Honda And I'm guessing for every punter pissed off with his brakes there are prob 100 that are happy, but this is the reason why I'd never get an abs bike!! (Yes they all will be soon)..... I mean, there is just more to go wrong which I believe we are hearing more of as the 08+ bikes weather.... Honestly don't think it's required on a sports bike. But thats just my opinion obviously.
I was expecting something like this! Massive Suzuki GSX-R recall - | Motorcycle News | Bike News | Motorbike Videos | MCN
Having had my ABS blade for over 2 years that has been used to Tour, track many times and fast road I must be a lucky one as I've not hand a single problem with it Touch wood
Personally I do not find this surprising, but it flies in the face of reality, there are reports from all over the globe with owners reporting identical symptoms. Honda appear to be trying to distance theirselves from this, because the fall out Is more than a Japanese corporation can swallow. They are more concerned about corporate loss of face than rider safety IMO. Thats not withstanding the cost of rectification. ABS blade owners appear to have been cynically used as guinea pigs with this braking system, It is hard to believe that Honda do not know what the flaws are, and I expect the next gen Blade will benefit from our woes. I received an update 2 weeks ago from the VOSA engineer dealing with this case, after I had contacted him again and advised I had suffered another high speed back to the bar incident. Here is an extract from his e mail 'Thank you for your email dated 27 September 2013. After examining the technical detail of the system and riding a similar machine I am unable to ascertain how the brake lever can travel to the handlebar and not supply any braking effort. Indeed the only time I could get additional travel of the brake lever is when the machine had been ridden over a certain speed and braked to a stop. For a very small period of time all three valves in the modulator unit are open and the lever will go more towards the handlebar, when released and applied quickly. However, this is when the machine is stationary, the brakes still function, there is still reserve travel on the lever and it is a function that is designed into the system. Honda have now asked for a machine with the reported concern to be taken to their Training School/ Workshops. Permission of the owner has been given and testing will start next week. Neither Honda nor VOSA have received a substantial number of reports. However, the nature of the concern demands an in depth investigation even though the number of reports is low. So in short, the concern is still under investigation.' The second last paragraph told me everything I needed to know about how this would end. I do not know how an investigation is conducted by VOSA, but it is clear that Honda and their dealers in the UK are stating that the number of reports are not substantial, obviously there is no qualifier to that statement to understand what would be considered substantial or not. This seems to go against reported issues from both this country and globally on forums. I find it very concerning that the engineer believes the lever travel, can only travel further than the norm, when the bike is stationary, this goes against what every owner who suffers issues complains of. What I do not know, is where the bike he tested was supplied from, ie Honda UK or an owner with reported issues. It seems incredulous that so many owners are stating on forums that they are experiencing these issues, but the manufacturer appears to maintain a blinkered stance and attempts to deal with every owner as a one off, as evidenced by the response most owners get from Honda customer relations. Most people do not complain if there is nothing to complain about, sure a few individuals will argue over where the sun rises, but most people do not go to the trouble, effort, time and expense of complaining without good reason. I have yet to read or see one owner of a non ABS complain of a brake lever that does perform the way the expect it to....that in itself seems to indicate that ABS owners are experiencing intermittent issues that are not normally expected from a braking system. So now we all know, Honda are prepared to tough this one out, stick 2 fingers up to affected owners, they have done the sums, a few pissed off owners that buy another brand is a far cheaper option than rectifying this issue. Then as the bikes age, and the now known issues regarding the maintenance of this braking system, and the sheer cost of bleeding etc, any issues will be just swept away under the cover, it will be simply that the owner did not maintain the system to the manufacturers specification Lets just pray that it does not take one attributed serious or fatal accident to really get to the bottom of what causes the issues with this system.
makes me glad i have a beemer.......... seriously though,honda seem to think that if they know of a problem,they just state thats how it is and is ok (oil burning issues etc). on the other hand,if they cant find a fault,how are they suppoosed to rectify it?
I can confirm it was my bike they had. VOSA were going to be closing the case until I intervened and said the dealer has experienced the bike bar going to the bar, with my bike. At that point and within a few hours after obvious calling around, Honda asked for my bike. Had it for two weeks, seemingly driving up and down roads, waist of time, it only happens to me generally when the bike is filtering. Am I shocked at the outcome am I heck. I'm not convince VOSA have been hard enough on the case, probably to close for comfort. Anyway guys its dead now, nothing we can do other than wait for some organisation with balls elsewhere to take this on. As I have stated previously there should be no behavioural difference between an ABS and a Non ABS I just cant see why VOSA don't even recognise that basic element. Anyway it has worn me out, all I pray for is everyone remains safe until these arrogant people at Honda wake up and some organisations with balls around the world take the gits on!
Well you people with ABS issues could decide to have a meet at Honda HQ, notify MCN , facebook Youtube etc and I'm sure Honda would love the bad publicity.Just to show our disgust at not sorting this issue out the rest of the non abs owners could meet up too making it look like a BIG problem.If we all help out by showing our concern we would certainly get this issue resolved for you.
It's bloody frustrating when you show someone a problem and they pretend it's not there, I've had that happen to me, you feel your head will burst. It's the old 'you can lead a horse to water' saying. Over time the truth will out. Save your energy, wasting it on people without honour isn't worth it. If you can, forgive them for being weak, cowardly and worthless. It may make you feel better. Good luck Mike.
We've sold quite a few ABS Blades over the years and only seen 1 with this issue that was easily rectified by replacing the front modulator power unit, this was a couple of years ago. The owner is a regular customer so I know it's been fine ever since. But these issues did put me off getting the C-ABS version.
As per the title, think before you buy. The abs issue has been talked about for years now, so any new buyers must just be ignoring it and hoping for the best. The whole situation is pretty ridiculous, where you have one camp telling us the abs will save us and everyone else saying it will kill us! I'm not a fan personally, whether it works properly or not.
