Letter from HD - Important Brake Maintenance Information
#21
#22
No its not! I've owned new Harleys since the 1970s and every FSM carries the same advice. It is actually a century ago this year that Lockheed gave his name to the hydraulic systems we all know and love. Man has been changing the fluid every couple of years ever since. This is nothing new.....
Yes, hydraulic brake systems have been around a long time, but ABS brake systems are comparatively new, especially on motorcycles. The NHSTA is investigating ABS brake system failures, which may or may not be related to owners not changing their brake fluid at the recommended intervals. I don't think you or anyone on these forums knows exactly what caused the failures, so giving history lessons and suggesting ABS brake failures are solely caused by not changing the brake fluid seems like a bit of an over exaggeration to me.
#23
#26
Is your bike abs? If so, the letter is probably a cya for older equipped abs bikes. My bikes 6 years old and I reported to the NHTSA 2 years ago so not certain of HD's motivation and who received the letter. You receiving a letter, and if no abs problem, tells the story..."
#27
I agree with the other posters. This is nothing new.
#28
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Mountain Top, Alabama
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#29
#30
What IS new is that Harley has provided it's customers with a "safety feature" called ABS that does what no other vehicle manufacturer's ABS does. When it fails, it renders one of the only two brakes on the vehicle inoperative. If you're tired of hearing about it then don't click on it.
I have the aforementioned ABS and have not had a failure but that's because I know what many who have been working on vehicles for years know. Many who come to ride Harleys these days know nothing more than where to put the gasoline in. So for these people (who come here daily as evidenced by the New Member posts) these multiple threads might serve as a warning to someone who bought an ABS bike second hand and would otherwise never know their life might be in jeopardy. Now if that isn't what you would call "worthwhile" I can't think of what is. Lord knows you're a walking billboard for service manuals and an unnamed suspension brand and purveyor and nobody busts your *****.
Lighten up man, everybody doesn't know what you think you know.
I have the aforementioned ABS and have not had a failure but that's because I know what many who have been working on vehicles for years know. Many who come to ride Harleys these days know nothing more than where to put the gasoline in. So for these people (who come here daily as evidenced by the New Member posts) these multiple threads might serve as a warning to someone who bought an ABS bike second hand and would otherwise never know their life might be in jeopardy. Now if that isn't what you would call "worthwhile" I can't think of what is. Lord knows you're a walking billboard for service manuals and an unnamed suspension brand and purveyor and nobody busts your *****.
Lighten up man, everybody doesn't know what you think you know.
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