Struggling ABS
Tourer
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 465
Likes: 3
From: North Shore of Massachusetts
Paddling down through the gears without letting out the clutch as you come to a stop can confuse the ECM and cause the engine to "surge". If you are doing this let clutch out with every down shift as you come to a stop . Could be your problem .
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Cruiser
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 143
Likes: 0
From: North Carolina
Thanks for everyones input. I will try a few of the suggestions. The thing i don't understand is why dealership can't find any problems. Since bike is under warranty, why not just put new rotors and pads on it if it solves the problem. Make customer happy. We fork out lots of money for these bikes, so they should want to please their customer. If they don't then the customer may go somewhere else for the service work. I am actually thinking about taking my bike to another dealership to see what they say. If they say it has warped rotors and fix it, then they will get all my service work even though i have to drive an extra 20 miles. I am certainly no mechanic but i know when something don't feel right with brakes.
I have a similar problem with my 2011 FLHTK. Took it to the dealer as I was pretty sure my front rotors were warped. I knew I was in trouble when the service guy asked me which one! Turns out the left was out 1/1000th and the right 5/1000ths. Harley says they won't replace unless they are 8/1000ths out!!! That is BS!!! If I have a problem, and the bike is lurching when I brake, the rotors need to be replaced! I don't care if it meets their specs or not, the damn rotors are warped, and now I am out of warranty. My local bike shop is looking for a set of rotors they have somewhere they took off one of their bikes. Probably be free or real cheap and I'll do it at my next front tire change. I had the same problem with my '05 Ultra (not ABS), and when I replaced the rotors, it went away and never came back. You might have warped rotors and they won't tell you because they don't want to replace them. Just another one of the issues Harley has not handled very well as I had the same problem with both a '05 and an '11. I think the front rotors need to be a little wider like the rear.
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Cruiser
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 143
Likes: 0
From: North Carolina
Teardrop, i brake with both. I am going to try braking with just the rear to see if i get the same feeling. If i don't i would assume i have warped rotors on front, and dealer don't want to fix. Which would suck!!!
Very often when going downhill I will pull in the clutch, downshift accordingly to maintain proper gear for speed, then pull to a stop. How will this negatively impact the ECM? I don't see why I should have extra clutch pulls, with subsequent wear, and keeps revs up when I am pulling up to a stop.
Tourer
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 465
Likes: 3
From: North Shore of Massachusetts
Very often when going downhill I will pull in the clutch, downshift accordingly to maintain proper gear for speed, then pull to a stop. How will this negatively impact the ECM? I don't see why I should have extra clutch pulls, with subsequent wear, and keeps revs up when I am pulling up to a stop.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 7,855
Likes: 11
From: Oroville,Washington.
I'd suggest test driving a different streetglide just for a comparison. ABS modulates the pressure of the brake fluid to the caliper based on inputs from a speed sensor. If during "normal" braking you feel the pulsating of the brakes (typically felt through the lever or pedal, a completely different feel then rotors being out of parallelism (warped)) then I would say your waiting too long to brake. I notice on mine a momentary loss of brake if I downshift and apply the brakes at the same time. Nothing I can't live with, just different, especially compared to my wing with ABS and a linked brake system.
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Road Master
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 867
Likes: 17
From: Brentwood, TN
Not to get completely off OP question but my rear brakes have a significant POP about the time the ABS would engage. Is this normal. It seems to still work but is pretty annoying to go through the pop prior to ABS engaging. I do not notice this on the front brakes. My 2011 is about out of warranty so may get the service manager to check it next time I'm over that way.
Road Warrior
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,692
Likes: 22
From: Denham Springs, La
Not to get completely off OP question but my rear brakes have a significant POP about the time the ABS would engage. Is this normal. It seems to still work but is pretty annoying to go through the pop prior to ABS engaging. I do not notice this on the front brakes. My 2011 is about out of warranty so may get the service manager to check it next time I'm over that way.