Called in to my local dealer yesterday to order a spare key and rubber seal for my 2009 ABS Blade (and left £105 lighter ), but while I was there they checked the history and recalls for my bike and said they'd recommend an ABS bleed be done as they have no record of it having one (the bike has done 9900 miles). Now when I said I'd heard horror stories about the ABS system (mainly from this site), the technician said ignore all that as Honda would recall them if they had the slightest hint it was a safety issue (he used the worldwide Goldwing recalls as evidence of this). Based on the evidence I've seen here - he's obviously towing the company line on that one. Anyway, what was interesting was that he reckons he's got the ABS bleed down to 2 hours now thanks to some "special tool" he's made up which means he can bleed one of the rear modules without the need for removing the exhaust (which is what they used to have to do). He reckons the labour for the bleed will only be about £98. Now at the moment, my brakes are fine. No lever issues at all (touch wood). So part of me says to leave it to avoid adding problems to a system that doesn't have any. But on the other hand the cost of the bleed isn't as high as I first thought (unless he's talking bollocks), and I obviously want to be safe and get it done if it needs to be done. So - what would Jesus do?
I never had to remove the exhaust on my bike mate. A long 1/4" extension with a flexy knuckle on it does the trick. If that's what you can call a special tool
That's where I take mine! Thought that story sounded familiar! Big guy with the beard told U that I bet?
I do mine the same as ColinBR only I didn't need the flex drive just an 8mm long series ¼ drive socket on a long extension with the help of an Eazibleed to stop any air ingress between the stroke or pump and tightening the bleed nipple.
Yup - that's him. Reminded me of Zach Galifianakis from the hangout movies I've not used that dealer before (did my own servicing on my previous bike), but this ABS business is beyond me. What do you reckon to them as a dealer - any good?
I gotta say I think that's just corporate BS, can't tell me the forum posts from numerous countries around the world highlighting the various issues are made up and it's all in the owner/riders head! As far as carrying out recalls all manufactures weigh up the possible costs of litigation over the costs of the recall and which ever is cheaper is what they go with! Hell I seem to have a knack of getting them to fail when I'm on the abs blade and it's baby brother! But guess that's all in my head too specially when the panic sets in during the pumping of the front brake and narrowly missing whatever I originally wanted to slow down for upon first brake application! Yup the so called special tool we assembled from a standard socket set in a matter of minutes after looking at where we needed access to! Your brakes may well be working fine but the reason for changing the brake fluid is not to get more money from your wallet it's required as brake fluid obsorbs water particles from the likes of condensation, the more water droplets the fluid obsorbs the less heat the fluid can take before boiling off meaning the rider gets brake fade quicker being the most prominent issue! The added water content also means metallic parts inside the system will become more prone to corroding causing more issues down the line!
I get why it should be done but still nervous about adding problems when there aren't any at the moment. I guess I need to have it done eventually so maybe something for later in the summer after I've enjoyed the bike a bit more...
How long you going to keep the bike? if it's years and years it really should be done sometime. But I would have the summer first, if it cocks up you have time to sort it in the winter. just my opinion I think this changing fluid every two mins is over done, even though I have done it myself in the past. All be it non ABS I have bled brakes many times that were fine and had a pig of a job getting the pedal solid again. This Guy does sound confident... but worryingly he does seem to be playing the ''I'm a very clever magician''. Good Luck, Mike.
Yeah - I think I'm gonna leave it until later in the year. Any thoughts on his "only 2 hour labour" statement? I thought I'd read here somewhere that an ABS bleed was closer to £400!?
Now we have managed it, we reckoned it could be done in 2 hours. No need to remove the radiator either. Just undo the bottom bolt and tilt it forward a bit.
Yeah - maybe that's an option - to get Arthur to do it. I would prefer to get the work done by someone with a known reputation tbh.
I recon Honda could have made ABS servicing a whole lot easier though if they'd extended the 'FRONT POWER UNIT BLEED NIPPLE' (with a 'U' shaped piece of hydraulic pipe and support bracket?) to emerge on the right-hand side somewhere near the oil filter. Of course it's a 'mod' you can do yourself but it hardly seems worth it for an operation that's only undertaken every two years. Would have been nice if they'd fitted it on the production line tho. Nick.
Remember that your coolant should also be changed every 2 years, i do mine when i need to change the brake fluid.
