Ryan kruesi who owns kruesi originals seems to favor removing the entire abs system all together. Might be worth searching his YouTube vids to see if he has any videos discussing how

Kruesi

 

IRT removing ABS I wonder about effects on ones insurance (?) and the bikes title if you sell it (or try to sell it w/ ABS removed)?

 

ABS is positive thing, Harley’s version of it not so much.

 

While ABS is good, I don't think it matters to insurance much at all... It would seem the bike's value and annual mileage is much more important...

I have 4 Harleys.... an '01 Springer, '03 Heritage, '16 Low Rider, and '16 Ultra Classic....... only one has ABS.... The '16 Ultra Classic

All the bikes have the same coverage, from the same insurance company.... the non ABS bikes run from $260 to $309... the ABS bike is $800. The ABS bike was the most expensive to buy and gets almost 2.5x the annual mileage.

FWIW.... I don't feel like I'm in more danger riding the three without ABS...

 

It is so dam easy to flush and cycle the ABS unit. I just do not get the remove ABS thing at all.
5 bikes with ABS ran up a lot of miles. Flush and cycle every 2 years or so never and issue.

 

Regardless of the reason, the op needs to buy a second ABS unit in three years...

He said, he "I have no faith in the HD module."

Not sure I would want to spend the money on a second ABS unit in three years either....

His bike, his call... that's why he's asking for options to remove the ABS unit...

 

If you bleed and cycle it evry two years there is no issue with the ABS.. Many of us have ABS and do the maintenance.
No issues.

 

That's an excellent maintenance routine... one that Ipersonally ascribe to. But it's no guarantee that the unit won't have a problem. Especially with the early HD ABS. Many consider them a poor design because when they fail you don't just lose ABS, you totally lose your brakes....

IMHO.... No three year old ABS unit should fail, just because it wasn't flushed at two years. Especially if it was rarely ridden.... unless of course it was stored inside a car wash....

 

Two parts to the abs, and one is very fixable, while the other can be resolved, but does take a special set up to pump MEK through the valves to free up the corroded valves from not changing the fluid frequent enough.

Hence if electrical problem, will be in the control box with a cold solder joint most likely on a head pin connection point to the board, and just need to go back in to re-flow the solder to correct the solder joint. in regards to this problem, maybe a 1 in 1000 kind of problem

If valve sticking problem with fluid not changed frequent enough so fluid is not high water content (what the fluid pulls from the humidity in the air, and pull it faster the higher the fluid temp reaches, that causes the corrosion problem inside the valve assembly), then it's a mater of the MEK flowed through as the valves are being cycled to clean them up (if possible). Hence so long as valve is able move, the very good chance of correcting the problem. If not, then check around, since there are shops that are set up to replace the valves, and will be hell of lot cheaper than buying a new unit (or a used unit that may still need to be MEK cleaned as well).

Bottom line, the valve assembly's are press fit into place, so the only want to remove them to clean them by hand, is to destroy them, and unless you have replacement valve assemblies and a way to press fit them back into place, then Mek fluid with circulation and cycling can clean them up, so long as they are moving in the first place/corrosion is not to the point that is just seized them in place.
Note here, sucks that the units are not built in a way to just thread the housings out to clean them that way, but is what it is, so have to get creative in forms to clean them up in place isntead.

Simply, if you do have a bike with ABS on it, replace the brake fluid with power flushes and bleeds yearly. If you have a hydraulic clutch, then same for the fluid in it as well. Think of it as the part of the three hole change, where is a mater of either mileage, or yearly instead. Fluid and your own time is very inexpensive, instead of the cost to replace the unit instead.

Bike without ABS, can go two years, but don't push it past that, including if hydrolic clutch as well. Hence on these parts, if you do have problems with corrosion build up, its parts can be pulled apart to service them on the ease isntead.

If older bike with Dot 5 fluid 2 years as your guide line, then just keep an eye on the color of the fluid, and if not purple before say the two year mark, then time to power flush replace the fluid in the brake instead. Dot 5 is a little more expensive, but a lot cheaper than have to replace a caliper when it surfaces are just a pitted corroded mess from the water in the fluid instead.

Hence time amount is your basic guide, but as stated, the hotter the fluid gets towards it boiling point, the fast it will pull humidity out of the air to water contaminant the fluid, with the water in the fluid starting to corroding parts.

To add, always beho0ves me when someone will drop $20K or more on a bike, but either gets too lazy to service it themselves if they have the talent, or too cheap to just take the bike in to get serviced before the learn to do the basic services themselves. Hence have seen ABS units that have clogged up in a mater of few years when brakes are used on the greater side to really get the fluid close to boiling points in the first place, bitch about the problem, when the bike is still running the same brake fluid is came with from the factory. Compound that with a few years the that factory was using less then stellar brake fluid in the first place, and really begin to see that is not a parts problem, but owner induced problem isntead.

 

This bike would lock out the front brake with the key off and also with it uplugged. I tapped the side of the module with a small hammer and it opened up the front brake circuit. Within 3 pulls of the front lever, it would close off again. Still with the key off, simply sitting still.