So do you honestly think your insurance agent has your best interest at heart? They're there to take your money. They're not in the business of giving it back out. Any of them will look for ways not to have to pay out. Regardless, a bypassed ABS module will not cause denial of a claim to get your bike fixed or repaired. On the other hand, in the event there is a large medical claim associated, then anything is possible.

 

Thanks for all the input, I'm going to by pass the system and go with a new front brake line and keep the back hooked up for now.
For all that say by passing it is wrong, you may have never been on one going down the road and had to stop when it has failed. I do not like it as with many others. This is a safety issues in itself that HD should deal with before someone gets killed.

 

I really find it hard to believe that a failure mode of the ABS is loss of braking. Yeah, I know there have been posts about it...but I still find it hard to believe.

 

Well I've seen it first hand and I hope you never experience it while riding your own. When it malfunctions, I can promise you that you won't be able to squeeze or stomp the brake hard enough to make it work.

 

i'm confused here. first you argue against oko's post, then you seem to be arguing for it.....

 

Only part that may have validity is if there's a large medical claim involved. Any time there's big money involved, they'll nit pick it to death. Yes I realize it's a thin line but I just don't believe an insurance company would deny a claim on your bike because a faulty ABS module was bypassed. But...I have no facts to base this on.

 

When you say ABS was optional on your bikes, the key word is OPTIONAL. If a vehicle comes from the factory with a safety feature, whether it's optional or not, if it's disabled then an insurance company has every right to deny your claim.

 

I respectfully disagree with part of your statement. They can only deny a claim on a bike with optional ABS, if you told them it had ABS and it really didn't, or it did and then you removed it..

An insurance company doesn't care if you have ABS or not... They will adjust the premium, based on how their actuarial tables define the risk between an ABS and non-ABS bike. They only care that you get charged the proper premium for your level of risk. If you remove the ABS and don't tell them, it's like not mentioning a teenage driver, changing where you keep the bike to a bad part of town, or changing any other factor that figures into your risk after they figure your premium... all policies have a disclaimer about giving false information.

If you insure a bike with ABS, and they they charge you a premium for a bike with ABS (probably a cheaper rate), and then find out during a claim that the ABS has been removed, they can certainly deny that claim.... you weren't paying for your increased level of risk... they are under no obligation to absorb that increased, unreported change in risk.

In the vast majority of claims, I doubt that anyone would check, or know, if the ABS is there or not. If it is a case involving serious injury or death, there is a much bigger chance that the insurance company (or law enforcement) might inspect the bike.... I'm sure part of that inspection would include the condition and serviceability of the brake system.

I suspect if you called your insurance company about a bike insured with ABS, and said, "My ABS broke and it's too expensive to repair. I am going to remove it from the bike. I wanted to let you know" They wold probably just bump up your premium a bit and say "Thank you. Have a good day..."

I have three bikes, only one has ABS. I have reasonable premiums on all three bikes. Never once has my insurance company yelled at me for not having ABS on two of my bikes, or threatened to cancel the insurance on them because they have no ABS...

They don't care, as long as my reported risk is accurate.

 

 

Just try stopping on gravel one time with your ABS, it about killed me.
I was standing on the pedal and the car would not stop, almost rolled out in front of a truck, so yeah F*** ABS