I have a late 09 ABS model and consistantly have problems at slow speeds with the brake lever coming back to the bars espescially if I have been feathering the brake. The brakes have been bled by the dealer (Bransons who are excellent) which is a major job I am lead to believe and the issue was better for a while but it is now back to the stage where I am trapping my fingers. Does anyone else have a similar issue with the ABS on their blade? Regards Wal 14
Hi, Is you ABS light on? We had the same fault with a C-ABS bike. After a complete system bleed Honda said to replace the front power control unit. So far so good.
Well documented issue on this site. It is a "feature" of the system Honda tell us. The lever should go back to the correct position when you fully release it. It is due to the servo when you pull in the lever but do not fully release. You also need to check the serial number on your ABS ECU as there is a replacement one that solves battery draining issues. The bottom line is - put up with the change in lever position as that's just the way it is.
Thanks for the advise......not sure it is such a good "feature" though as I nearly ran into the garage door the other day!!!!
I've had my new 2012 blade for 4 days, done 200 miles and was treated to the ABS light rapidly flashing on my way home from work yesterday. No effect on the brakes that I could feel (although I wasn't about to ride it into lockup to find out if the ABS was working.) Stopped, turned the bike off, gave the front brake lever a few good pumps, flicked the brake fluid reserve a few times (filled above the max level by the dealer) and off we went again with no problems. I'll be using it every day this week and am hoping that it was a one off. It's going in on Thursday anyway as the datatool tracker isn't working - "unit sleeping" and datatool feel it's a problem either with the unit or the installation. Wasn't expecting this from a brand new bike.
Just a quick update on the ABS issue - there was a single error code stored which was for total failure of the ABS control unit. No recurrence in daily riding since and all seems to be working fine. If it stays this way it's the best outcome IMO. Tracker replaced and now working fine too. Plus I got a courtesy blade for the morning. In red so not quite as fast as my black one but still pretty good
I have the lever position issues exactly as you describe, on my 2010 Blade. As a two finger braker myself; I find it pretty annoying and it almost had me colliding with cars whilst filtering on more than one occasion. It sucks. I'm going to try the (expensive) brembo master cylinder, not because I think for a minute that it will stop it happening, but because the Brembo seems to provide a much less spongy lever action, less travel and a bite point which is further from the bars, so will (hopefully) give my fingers a bit more room for when the position moves unexpectedly. If it doesn't help then the bike is getting chopped in for something non-ABS. Shame, because I like having it when it's raining. Another significant irritation with the ABS is the rear brake - I developed a habit of using the back brake a lot, often when coming up to lights I use it late, whilst gently cruising to a halt or waiting for the lights to change, partly because the back brake is less grabby and bouncy on the forks and partly because I like to take the weight off my wrists. But on the C-ABS bike I find that the back brake does almost bugger all until you press it very hard, at which point it will suddenly (after a big delay) applies lots to the front, punching me in the nuts and defeating the point of using the rear brake to come to a smooth halt. Probably an annoyance that only affects people like me who commute in Town, but seems to be a major flaw none the less. If I keep the blade then I am going to see if I can un-link the ABS and isolate the rear brake. If anyone knows if this is possible I'd appreciate your views. Binned_it
I experience the exact same issues as you mate. I am considering removing the electronics & converting to a standard setup. From what I can tell, the levers, callipers & MC are the same as used on the non-abs so it may be just a matter of fitting standard lines. Electronically, the braking system has its own ECU, the the wheel sensors may need shorting or a resistor to prevent the error light. I have also read that if you pull the appropriate fuse, the system will work in a conventional way but I havn't tried it yet.
Yeah, I'm 50/50. The wierd-isms are a bit annoying, but then there's something quite cool about grabbing the lever as hard as you can and coming to a smooth and severe stop, in the pissing wet or the dry. Counter intuitive at first, but awesome first time you try it. Having got used to the bike; I can stop it faster in the dry now by progressive hard braking, without the ABS kicking in. In the wet it's very handy, but as I say; 50/50 at the moment. Might chop it in for something else.
Weird as my abs is the best thing ever 2400 miles now and its mint! non of the above probs apart from a lever to bar while rolling down to IOM ferry lol!! When i got home i put hel braided lines on and my brembo rcs and its been perfect
So perfect once you'd spent 500 notes!!? Yes; this is what I had in mind as per earlier post, and it sounds like it will fix (or at least improve) the issues. Thanks for sharing
It seems that if you pop a wheelie or a stoppie and the wheels are off the ground for a small amount of time then my issue of the abs light flashing can occur. Mentioned in the owners manual and by the dealer. They spent a cumulative 5 hours trying to search down the cause of a recurrent fault light on one guy's blade before he mentioned that he would normally lube the chain on a paddock stand with the bike running......lol.
i have the exact same problem, did a quick thread on it http://1000rr.co.uk/general-1000rr-discussion/7290.htm this must be a manufactures fault if so many people are reporting, but more importantly, its dangerous
