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I am hoping someone out there understands how HD's ABS braking system works so you can tell me what just happened. Was driving my 2010 FLTRX to work Monday and was running about 45 mph. Came upon a red light and begin to apply front and rear brakes as always to stop..... The brake pedal for the rear brake went to the floor! No rear brake at all. Spooked me a bit but I came to a normal stop using the front brake. Thank god this didnt happen in a emergency situation. Anyway I take the bike to my dealer to find out what happened. They tell me today the ABS modulator that controls the rear brake failed and they have me another one on order. Done some Q & A with the service guy but i am still not clear as to what happened.
Questions? What if the front had failed also? Does this mean I have no brakes? Is this possible that HD would design a braking system that has the ability to completely fail and leave me with no brakes? Shouldnt my ABS light have come on and warned me of a problem during the start up diagnostics check? If the ABS system failed shouldnt the braking system default into a manual (normal) braking system?
Sorry to be long winded but this has me a bit spooked. If anyone can explain or answer any of these questions it will sure make me feel better.
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That is really strange. The way it is supposed to be designed (according to HD anyways) is if the ABS unit fails, you will still have normal brake functions, it just wont pulse and could lock the wheels like normal brakes. I can't imagine both brakes 'going all the way to the floor' unless there was a loss of pressure (i.e. broken brake line). I know this doesnt help so im interested to see if you get nay more info
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West Point class of 2006
2008 RKC w/ ABS, Stage 1
I agree, sounds very strange and I'm glad you came to a safe stop. I'm curious, did you try pumping the rear brake to see if it would come back up again (assuming you had the time)?
I've always been told that, assuming no loss of the actual hydraulics (which would mean no brakes, ABS or not), that the brakes would continue to function as regular brakes in the event of an ABS malfunction. Sounds like that "might" not be the case.
Please let us know what you find out.
Steve R.
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09 Ultra Classic, Red Hot Sunglow / Smokey Gold, Security, ABS
After i got stopped and pulled the bike off the road i did pump the pedal and had some brake. Maybe 50 to 60% of what i would consider normal. I took off again slowly and done a few test stops and starts. If i pumped the pedal i would have brakes for a second or two then they would go to the floor....no brakes again. This continued all the way to the dealership which was approx. 30 miles away. Front brake was fine the entire time. I drove the bike around the parking lot of the dealership to demonstrate the problem. I was driving around at approx. 10 mph with the pedal all the way down as if there wasnt even a brake there. Lots of head scratching going on!
My ABS went out on my 09' after the recalibration d/l failed. The brakes worked as normal brakes. I actually drove a few days before having the D/L reinstalled.
S.W.A.G. (scientific wild ass guess) here. ABS works by *releasing* brake pressure if the wheel locks. I don't know the specifics of how they're released, but that is what ABS does. With that in mind, you may have a failure that simulates (or maintains) that released condition. It'd be real interesting if you could get your dealer to show you the failed part & how it failed.
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Jinks ('86 FXRS, '07 FLTR)
#64
Remember, "No good deed goes unpunished"
ABS Failure!
