Well I'm almost a bit scared to say it but I think my brakes are now sorted! My garage have been fantastic and after Honda UK carried on saying there was no problem the garage swapped the entire ABS system, both ABS modules and pumps etc!!! This is after they changed the ECU (Honda did acknowledge that fault, battery drain). They are now awesome. I have just spoken to my garage again and interestingly Honda are now sending them both ABS modules, although they are still denying any problem. For any of you out there still struggling, keep battering away and hopefully you'll get the right result. I absolutely agree with Pete1987. I think there was a faulty batch of ABS modules. A massive thank you to you Pete1987, you gave me the faith to keep on at Honda rather than give up. Cheers, Steve.
Glad you (hopefully) got it sorted. Was you bike still covered by warranty? And which dealer was this? A decent dealer is pretty hard to come by these days....
See me.... i have an S1000 with ABS... every time i break whether at low speed feathering or higher speeds the lever brakes at the same point, just what i expect from the system, the same as the ABS in my car, no difference to brake pedal position no matter ...Honda have absolutely made a howler and they will be caught.... its just when.... glad i have opted for a manufacture who can develop an combined braking system....if anyone opts for a Blade ABS model you are doing so at a huge risk and its a nightmare to bleed. God help everyone when it ABS becomes mandatory
Interesting to see this guys, and I am very pleased for those who think its resolved. A number of issues come up above. I do not subscribe to a faulty batch of modulators, this issue is repeatable on bikes built from 09 to 14, so any faulty 'batch' would be narrowed down to a specific manufacturing run, not spread over 5 years. Maybe there are manufacturing tolerances that are causing the issue on some units, but even thats hard to believe in modern manufacturing techniques. The fact that Honda UK are still misleading customers by telling them they are the 1st person to report an issue and they have not heard of this before. The ABS Blade I traded disappeared for 2 months, only to resurface for sale in the last week at my dealer. They know I have been outspoken on this issue and the bike had multiple brake failures, but maybe coincidence, or maybe its been somewhere, who knows? Not many dealers can afford to p/ex a bike and store it up for 2 months during the prime biking season and then put it up for sale near the end of the season. The one thing that seems consistent at present is that owners who have the modulators replaced appear to be satisfied their bikes brakes improve and work correctly. So that's something I guess. Is anyone feeding these updates to Martin Ryder at VOSA? Because as JIM says above, this is not a dead issue, and the likelihood is that many owners will face the same problems in time. [email protected]
If you've been following a similar issue in MCN with the BMW R1200RT ESA suspension, you'll have seen that BMW have recalled all affected bikes. They've kept them all for 3 months while the problem was investigated, whilst issuing the customers with loan bikes or cars. In the last couple of weeks they've said they fixed the issue and that customer bikes will be repaired free of charge before being returned with £500 of BMW accessory vouchers, and 3 months warranty extension on the bikes. I'm not a BMW fan by any means but that's how to do customer service! Honda take note!
I totally agree with Kentblade, Jimglasgow, and all the other skeptics. I have been struggling with this issue for 2 years now, and I can tell you, its extremely frustrating. My theory is that it has nothing to do with the power modulator (aka "pump"; "power unit"). If you study how the C-ABS system actually works, it becomes apparent that the power modulator has nothing to do with what the rider feels at the lever. All rider "feedback" is accomplished by the "stroke simulator" in the valve unit (and nothing else). I've come to believe that the 2 magical pieces of rubber in the mysterious stroke simulator don't react quite as well as Honda would have you believe (especially with partial release of the lever). Maybe it's simply "poor tolerences" in the manufacturing process that cause the stroke simulator to react differently under different circumstances, or maybe it's just a flawed concept altogether. It seems unlikely that a couple of pieces of rubber could accurately and consistently reproduce all the subltle nuances of the feel of a mechanical braking system. I'm also skeptical of all the "one way" valves in the valve unit and what their actual purpose is. It's also possible that the "inconsistency" in the feel of the brake lever is somehow related to the opening and closing of the solenoid valves when switching from the C-ABS circuit to the "normal" braking system circuit. Regardless, my money is on the "valve unit" as being the culprit, and perhaps swapping this piece out with a new one is what improved Pevely1's system. What's really amazing is how long Honda has gone on selling motorcyles with faulty brakes - whats it 6 years now? If only Honda devoted one tenth the time, energy, & resources that they are willing to spend trying to discredit their own customers, and actually investigated the problem, I'm sure they would have already found a "fix" by now. For those who don't understand what we're talking about, here's a video I made of my brakes failing in and attempt to prove to Honda that the problem actually exists: HONDA CBR 1000 RRA C-ABS BRAKE FAILURE - YouTube Amnesia
Guess what I got today ??? Yes, a Fireblade C-ABS Problem, like so many other here. If my ABS problem cant be solved, goodbye Honda Fireblade....
Welcome to the club mate... And commiserations. FWIW Honda don't even bother calling me back any more. H
I had already written a complaint to Honda but got no response until today. I expect nothing from Honda and that was determined already too much.
Yip my dealer told me about it and looked after all his customers, ensure they were all sorted..imgine honda taking a similar action..no chance
When Honda finally except there is a problem i will be right in there with the boot...as for advise keep badgering away at VOSA maybe they will start to realise we aint making it up in our head
Me again, I'm on a roll.....MR HONDA we know you are watching you should note how many people have looked at this thread well over 11,000 views!
Normally I would say you have joined an exclusive club, but unfortunately it's not, it's pretty stuffed out with members, very soon there will be a waiting list. PS By the way, you are making it all up, there is nothing wrong with the Honda Fireblade C-ABS braking system, the only issue Honda have is with owners who expect that when they operate the front brake lever the bike will start to slow down, if only their customers were not quite so demanding, then this issue would quietly disappear. Maybe we should behave like the motorcycle press, and quietly let the issue drop, then it would be a perfect world.
C-ABS Problems Hello Ladies and Gents, This is the first time i have ever posted. As so many others on these threads have mentioned I have a problem with my 2011 C-ABS Blade. I came across these threads recently after having issues with my bike. I asked on the Fireblade owners page on Facebook but have never got any solid advice(as yet).So here is a little bit about my issue: -Early 2013 front brakes felt 'odd' mentioned it to the garage - no action taken. -Mid 2013 I noticed the lever was coming back further towards the bar,discussed this with the garage and told it could be normal. Later in the season on a ride out with my wife on the back we approached a roundabout and on pulling the front brake lever got a handful of nothing(about 80-90 per cent of power gone) but managed to brake in time so I took the Honda back to the garage ( feeling pretty pissed off) and they bled the system saying they had never heard of this issue but they had found some small bubbles in the line. The bike seemed fine for around 1000kms. -1000kms later and same issue again - lever going to the bar, so I gave the bike to the garage for the winter season and received it back in Feb of this year with the main unit replaced (P/No. 57500MFJA51) under warranty. -Problem came again and now Honda are not willing to continue with warranty work but have 'lent' a front power modulator(servo) to use for testing purposes to my local garage.
Give them hell Shady! Cant believe poor feckers are still being denied any useful info or help from Honda. Please be careful, someone needs to listen to all these blade riders before something nasty happens
Im afraid there is only one answer and solution...sell the bike and cut your losses. I had the bike at Honda UK for nearly 4 Months and they said there was nothing wrong with the brakes. Got myself a BMW S1000RR and guess what the brakes do exactly what you would expect and no difference under any driving conditions how the brake lever feels, always bite at the same position.....odd that, maybe the BMW are broken....ehh naw!
