I am writing because at this point I do not know whom to turn to, it is hoped they will leave thread in this area, because when it goes to "brakes", a few respond then it gets lost, Here’s my story.
In the AM of April 23, as I was preparing for a morning ride, during my usual visual & operational checks I found that the front brake lever was “frozen” hard. As such, I had no control over the front brakes. I rolled the bike into the garage & went to breakfast by car. Prior to returning home I stopped by my local dealer and talked with my mechanic that has always done all the service & work on my bike. I described the situation & he immediately diagnosed the problem without seeing the bike as a failed HCU, cost is $395.00 plus labor of approx. $175.00 and did I wish to get one on order as they were currently backordered with two additional bikes in there shop with the same problem. I said yes. He went on to say that they had replaced several of these over the past months. As is my habit & as the service records for the bike will reflect all service & adjustments recommended are always approved by me and preformed by the dealership & I have never declined repairs that they recommend, they are the experts I am not. I do change my own fluids, but with riding approximately 8 to 12K a year the bike receives yearly tires & inspection, & I always tell them to “check the brakes” & perform any service required, again the records will reflect that. (Bike is 2009 CVO Road Glide with 72K purchased new and received delivery Aug. 2008)
I trailered the bike two days later to the dealer. As soon as the two mechanics grabbed the lever they said together, “another failed HCU” While any part can fail, I get that, bikes like any other mechanical equipment must be serviced & repaired. Up to this point all repairs made were things that by their nature I knew were subject to wear & understood at least the principal of why a part need to be replaced, but I was not familiar with this part called HCU and how could it be responsible for the sudden & total loss of the font brakes? So I started researching this issue. As you most likely are aware the HCU, Hydraulic Control Unit, (also known as the Hydraulic Brake Modulator) is a key component within the ABS system, that when it receives a specify signal from the wheel sensors modulates the brakes when required to prevent the wheels from locking up during hard braking. How can the failure of the HCU result in brake failure when it is clearly stated in writing in the bike manual provided with each ABS bike sold, “If ABS becomes defective you will still have operational brakes, but without ABS.” There has been threads on the forums about this “issue” going back to 2008 with failure occurring at start up & while the bike was underway. I am totally mystified on how HDs engineering failure analysis team could ever approve such a flawed design.
Want proof:
First call any HD dealer, ask for “service”, describe the frozen front brake lever, & they will advise, “Failed HCU, ya want us to order you one”.
Then call MOCO tech support & asked the following questions in order:
1) If my ABS fails electronically, electrically or hydraulically will my brakes still function”?
MOCO response will be: “Yes brakes remain operational, but without ABS”l
2) My front brake lever is frozen what is the “fix”
MOCO response, “Have your dealer replace the HCU unit”
3) Isn’t the HCU part of the ABS system?
MOCO response: “I can comment on that,” “what”, “I cannot comment on that”.End of discussion.
MOCO knows they have a serious and life threatening problem, but to this point have elected NOT to address it. From my research no other ABS system that I know of within the automotive or motorcycle world will cause the sudden & total loss of the braking system when their ABS system fails!! That violates all safety engineering principals. When the HD HCU fails, it will either take out the rear or front brakes depending on what position that the solenoid value is in at the moment of failure.

I am NOT complaining about the cost, part wear out I get that, I have only the best wishes for HD and have loved riding and have always had great service from my dealer, I am however concerned it is only a matter of time before one of us is going to be killed as a direct result of this disastrous design.
I’ll ride the bike home when the unit is replaced, but at this point I think I will reluctantly sell it & I’ll pray the next owner is not injured if the HCU fails again. Most of us know & understand the dangers we face riding these bikes, but sudden brake loss is not something I will be comfortable with into the future, (as I want a future)
If you look into to this, & obtain information that proves me incorrect, I would very much welcome knowing that.

 

Have you contacted NHTSA for an investigation on this? If enough people have this failure, a recall may be issued. Scary indeed.

 

Yes I have, but others have done so as far back as mid 2008, remember these are the same people that run the VA & Obama care.

 

Unfortunately nothing will probably happen until someone gets killed and the news gets a hold of it

 

but the lever was frozen, but you could still roll the bike? did the rear brake seem to work properly?

rereading your post, you are saying that either front, or rear brakes fail to operate depending upon solenoid position? so that would mean the the other one still is functioning? I am not defending anything here, trying to get this in my head, as a mechanic. So at least while driving, you don't lose all braking, just one axle, it sounds like. You live in a high humidity area. have you had brake fluid flushes done? When was the last one? Do you know if the other complaints, were in other high humidity areas? I am wondering if it is getting moisture in the unit thru the fluid causing the valve to stick.

I have the same bike, but with less miles, and so far no sign of trouble, but you didn't either. I'm just trying to find the common denominator here. With cars, these units (very similar) are almost bulletproof. BMW loses the control modules all the time, but no hydraulic issues come with that failure, and Mercedes, (who helped develop ABS with bosch) have zero problems with this. (well almost zero). Its hard to think that the HD ones are starting to crap out, (Yea, along with wheel brgs!! I know!) I guess something is making these fail. Would be nice to get Govt help in opening a file for this. If this is an all area issue, a recall is really needed

 

Waiting on the government to do something about it is probably futile. I wonder if any newspapers or tv stations would do an exposé of sorts on this issue. Stories like this can snowball and lead to action if the right people get ahold of it.

 

Your not kidding. Of all things, being able to stop is mandatory on a motorcycle.

 

That was my question as well.

When the OP described the front lever as "frozen", I took that to mean that the front brakes were (for lack of a better way of putting it) 100% 'engaged'. Apparently not, if he was able to roll it.

Some questions for the OP:

- Are the front brakes, as things stand, completely disengaged?
- Will any amount of effort on the brake lever deliver any amount of braking on the front?
- Is the rear brake functioning normally?
- Any idea what would happen if this failure had occurred at speed?

 

One other, general question: Surely the MoCo did not engineer their own, proprietary ABS system. Does anyone know what brand of ABS they are using?

 

Delphi, I think, but not positive.