I know this is an old thread but ABS ruined my ride this Weekend. We rode through the Mountains and I could not stop smooth even once. I was riding two up with gear and rolling to a Red Light my Bike would buck like a Bull, then slam to a stop. This was dangerous because the cars behind me almost hit me. I put up with this for two days. If I can't disable this ABS, I am going to take my Wife's advice and get rid of the bike. I now do not trust this ABS at all. Been riding for over 30 years without ABS and I consider it a good solution to a nonexistent problem.

 

Ok just a though and not direct advice but why not just put a blown fuse in the slot? I don't have ABS so I have no dog in this fight. My next one will though.

 

Man I've heard some ABS haters before but your story goes right to the top of the list. I've probably logged close to 80k miles on ABS equipped Harley's and BMWs and never experienced anything remotely similar to what you described. There's three possibilities here.

1) Your bike is ****ed up
2) 30 years of riding hasn't taught you ****
3) your just throwing gas on the fire

So which is it?

 

I love the abs in my truck...in the winter on ice. the same as I want it on a bike. I wanted orange so I had to get it, I hope it really does lower insurance and add to resale because I really need it least of all on the slowest worst performing bike I've ever owned.

 

Yes. Stopping distance can increase dangerously on dirt/gravel roads with active ABS BECAUSE the wheels keep rotating.

 

Why have I never experienced any of this bad ABS behavior on my 2014 Limited in 3000 miles?

The ABS is invisible except the ONE time I needed to panic stop when a moron pulled out in front of me. I grabbed both brakes and the bike just stopped.

That one experience made me an ABS believer.

 

Old post or not, its still a valid argument, no matter what side of the issue you are on.

To me, a bike with ABS is like having two brains aboard controlling the stopping. The ABS has a limited number of inputs and parameters automatically activating the system. That is the limit of its ability. It is great for those "Oh ****" moments when a surprise occurs and being only human, you couldn't possible stop as quickly or prevent wheel lock-up.

The problem with the system (for me) is when it activates when coming to a stop on a bumpy surface and you end up unexpectedly much further into an intersection then planned because of a "no brakes" situation.

Obviously, its a double edged sword argument with both sides having valid points. Coming from a background of riding in the dirt and relying on my learned skills, ABS has been a detriment more often than a help...but there was that one time, it could have been "lights out" if not for the ABS activating during an emergency stop, where I was able to slow down and steer clear of an imminent collision, when a car blew the red light and missed me by inches.
That one incident made it worthwhile to me to leave the system intact but at the same time, I know where the opponents of ABS are coming from.

ABS is something that should be considered carefully before buying a motorcycle. It is illegal to alter or disable ABS in many jurisdictions, so check into your state/local laws, which will trump any opinions expressed here. Last thing you want, is to be the "defendant" on the wrong side of a legal issue.

 

Uhhhhh.... Just get the ABS fixed. It should only pulse. It should never release. If it releases, It should disable it's self. When you see the ABS light flashing - Guess What. It's broke.

 

It damn sure will....I had a problem with my ABS emitting a very high frequency vibration when stopped and application of either brake....pulled the fuse for 10 minutes...restored the fuse and has been fine since.

 

Recycled my Bike is almost just like yours. It is a 2008 Police Road King. It has had a lot of work done to it though. Seat replaced, Latches replaced, inges replaced, Bars replaced, ect. This weekend I was two up with a lot of weight. I am a heavy front Brake user when coming to a stop at Red lights. At slow speeds the Front Brake would release while pulsing then apply again very heavy over and over. It did not help that my Wife hit me in the Back of the Head with her Helmet every time. I have had this bike right at a year and it is still in Warranty. I bought an extended Warranty when I bought it. I know there is something wrong with it because this happened suddenly. After it started doing it, it continued every stop. The Bike was stopping just fine before. I am not against ABS but I never figured that if it failed, it would create an unsafe situation. Funny thing is that I unplugged the Wheel sensors from the Module and it is giving me no error messages. It is still giving problems but it is just pulsing instead of releasing completely.

LA VIC you might watch what you say in print you never know who you are talking to.

Doc where is this fuse is it labeled. I made it home. Now I need to fix it.

Pulled the Fuse and all is well.