No mate just a bit of a joke with muffking because of all the grief & expense I had with the abs. Although I nearly had to change my knickers a couple of times when it did it at speed
Honda ABS = YES Honda combined ABS system as used on Fireblade = NO EFFIN WAY! trust me Im a bike rider lol
Put my tuppence in this one, as someone has asked a direct question, even though I said I would not comment again. I was heavily involved in the original VOSA investigation, and magazine campaign, and let’s just say, if it was a free and just world without outside influences then this model would have been recalled. Just look at the recent BMW car issues, in parts of the world BMW were forced to recall cars, here they just lied to VOSA and got away it and a poor guy lost his life over the issues. VOSA are totally toothless against large global corporations and don’t have the money or legal firepower to stand up and challenge them when a manufacturer refuses to play ball and do the correct moral action. As for bike journos, their heads are so far buried up manufacturers ar*es you can’t see their Daytona freebie boots, they completley sold out the very people they claim to represent, us the owners and riders. Let’s hope they are never holding the life belt when you fall overboard, you will drown trust me So with all that considered if you get an ABS Blade that fails, and clearly not all do, then at least you have been warned and made an informed decision. Don’t come back bitching on here, you won’t get any sympathy from me. The system put my life in danger several times with compete brake failure at both high and low speed, and my wife and kids were worth far more than a few grand loss I made when selling it. That said for a 1 litre superbike as an all round day in, day out package the Blade has no peers in IMO, yes there are better more focused packages out there but no better all rounders, and if you spend 95% of your riding life on road, the Blade is right up there with the best. That’s why I traded for a new 2014 onwards model with no assistance apart from the mandatory steering damper, and that works, and after owning 7 Blades in the last 20 years it’s the best one they have ever produced.
Not peeing in your pocket, but that is very objective and unbiased opinion. Many can jump on the 'ABS bandwagon' sprouting hearsay, but when honest experiences like yours and @Lozzy 's for instance are brought to our attention, it REALLY should caution prospective purchasers to beware.
I was on a ride out with a forum member when his brakes just didn't work, he had to pump it to get it back, that was an ABS Blade so it seems there is a problem with them ,i wouldn't buy the older ones, however heard Honda moved to a different system for their latest bikes.? or is that just wishful thinking?
Yeah you're right Simon...it's a different system for the 17 onwards. Although when it was first released I did ask at a dealership about the time length of bleeding the new system at fluid change time and he said he thought it would be still around 3hrs?!? £300 mark So again that's not a cheap job is it! Don't know if that's been proved right or not...maybe someone with a new Blade that's had it done can enlighten us.
Just want to throw something else in here re some folks NOT having had issues with their c-abs. I don't think that means there are lots out there that are performing fine. For example. The final time mine failed before I sold it...it had only done 4k since its last full bleed and because of the high miles I did that was only about 4 months previously time wise. Now if I'd have sold that bike straight after the bleed and the new keeper had say kept it a year and done 2k before selling it on and then that owner only did 1500 for the next year...then you'd have 2 owners saying they'd never had a problem with the c-abs! There are far more sportsbike owners do the lower mileage quoted and change their bikes frequently than the big mileage long term folks I reckon, to be able to get an accurate idea of the size of the problem. Personally I think the whole system was flawed and damned what is a superb bike in all other ways. I can't fault my 16 non abs at all.
I haven't had a braking problem on my 2018, and nor have I had the ABS system bled. Admittedly, the bike's only done 1370 miles, but I'm just putting the info out there. I still think owners are being shafted with the '3 hour' bleed estimate. There just seems no logic to that amount of time being required. Sure, it takes time to remove air locks, and ABS modulators can hold air, but 3 hours? I wonder if car manufacturers offer the same estimate? Perhaps @Bikeboy might assist with this?
Sounds like Dealer liked charging 3 hours and wants to keep the gravy train rolling. Giving then the benefit of the doubt but more worryingly they may not realise how much simpler a non c-ABS system is to bleed.
Glad I got a service plan thrown in ....will get it done in 2 yrs time on that......probably will have sold it by then...I had no issues on my 2014 abs ....8k miles....must of been lucky..
Pre 2017 Fireblade with ABS I'd strongly recommend giving them a miss. Reason? The braking system is very unreliable. I used to call it a variable biting point for the front brakes. I had several occasions where I went for the front brakes only to find the lever coming back to the bars. It was mentioned to Honda dealer at one service but they not heard about this fault. (liars). Still it has gone now. Good riddance to it. Now my problem isn't braking , its accelerating.
Isn't that sorted yet, Kevin? It did go back to dealer as I recall. Did you get the 'we can't find anything wrong' brush off? Sorry if you posted update - I might have missed it.
I haven't been back yet Nige, I'm waiting to take it in for the first service. TBH I think it's gonna be the reverse of the ABS syndrome. I feel a trip to Jordan Bikes in Leeds coming on.
Have you tried giving a tank of the top notch fuel ....that's all mine has....my Ducati did it changed fuel and it sorted itself.....just a thought...
Interesting point, Woz. I changed to ethanol-free Premium a few tanks back. Can't say I noticed a mid- to high range performance improvement, but it did seem to smooth out up to 2,000 rpm.
