Saw the above piece in this week's mcn on page 48, where a c-abs equipped blade owner writes in and asks the question about removing the abs system due to braking issues i.e the brake level coming back to the bar and going into fault mode especially on a warm day. Basically the experts (Scott Bullet of Double Motorcycles) said; It's caused by the front abs motor being position behind the exhaust downpipes. Being positioned here it gets very hot, which speeds up the brake fluid deterioration and he recommends a full bleed of the I believed the issue i had was caused by the poor design and location of the front power unit and i wrote about here on the forum; 29-07-2013, 08:29 AM Poorly designed location due to massive heat transfer and also for poor ease of access for servicing/bleeding. My bike hadn't covered more then 4,000m before i started to get issues. I beleive the heat transfer speeds up the*brake*fluid degradation massively compared to a non c-abs equipped bike.*Mr Honda must of let the YTS lad's loose on it, not you would have thought on their top flight sportsbike. After all the r&d that went into this c-abs system, they could have easily located it elsewhere. After carrying out a full bleed, i covered the front power unit metal shield and paperwork with thermal reflective tape and to date had no issues.
Thanks for posting. Interesting that someone from a main Honda Dealer has replied and acknowledged there is a problem.
probably wont be a main dealer for long....... so finally,some form of recognition that there is a problem,and some kind of reasoning as to why it happens.
When I went looking to bin my 10 plate ABS for a 14 non ABS, I went to Dobles, and in chatting to the sales guy, I was open that I had suffered multiple brake failures, and that was my only reason to sell, his response was instant, 'yep, not really meant to say this, but there are issues with the design and we have sold a number of non ABS Blades to owners who are swapping back from failed ABS bikes' The other interesting point was that there were multiple e mail contacts with an MCN reporter several months back who claimed they would run an article on the issues, and asked me to get a sample of owners with issues to e mail him direct and that he had the green light from his manager to push ahead with this. A number of forum members mailed in as requested.............................................the silence was deafening at this point.......to date, my knowledge is that none of us had any response after that point. Two other prominant biking publications have had test bikes that had brake failure, one of a 14 plate Blade, and went into print and published.......again neither publication responded to e mails..................make your own minds up guys and girls
Surely when one of the biggest Honda dealers in the country acknowledges there is faults with the C-ABS then Honda should take notice
This is my first post on the forum. I had a 2011 abs Blade until earlier today, done a px on a 2012 non abs, didn't have the 2011 very long. It was in Dobles 3 weeks ago for a full bleed, when I picked it up to ride home the same inconstant lever pressure was there and after a couple of days commuting the lever was back to the bar. I have spoken to Honda customer Services who deny any known issues, Dobles assured me that the abs is a great system but that it needs bleeding every 18 - 24 months (4.5 hours labour), but for me the problem must be greater than just fluid deterioration. I read the letter in MCN and can only conclude that some sort of coverup ongoing. Kentblade I have followed your thread on the issue I think you deserve praise for your efforts to try and bring the it into the open, obviously at the end of the day the customers and riders are less important than profits.
Saw this in MCN this week and interestingly enough, after weeks of no problems, I stamped on the front brake on the way home from a rideout last night and was lucky not to have hit something. The lever did not go back to the bar, just total loss of braking power. With me full on the lever, the brakes felt like I was gently braking. I eventually stopped about 30ft from where I wanted to. Luckily it was a quiet junction and there was nothing in front of me. Looked down at the dash and sure enough - ABS light was blinking. The brakes were fine after that albeit the ABS light kept flashing. Honda have got to acknowledge this before someone gets killed!
