I know this to be true of cars but if anyone here has a service manual with a Harley ABS section in it, it would be helpful to chime in on proper procedures!

 

I can't say what the industry standard is but I:

Clean the pistons before pushing them back in.

Put a hose on the bleeder valve and open it before I push the pistons in.

I do this to my ABS and non ABS Harleys.


I use DOT 5 fluid in my non ABS bike and it gets changed every 2 years. I use DOT 4 in my ABS bike and that gets changed every 12 months without fail. Additionally, after I flush my ABS bike, I button everything up and go for a test ride where I engage ABS on the front and rear wheels (separately) ten times. Then, I go home and bleed the system one final time to insure I purge the fluid previously captured in the ABS HCU.

One final note; every time I ride my 2011 with ABS I engage it at least once using stutter bumps, gravel, wet pavement or rough lever/pedal engagement. There have been a number of ABS HCU failures that resulted in a frozen pedal or lever that rendered the brake completely inop. I'd like to avoid that if I can as I'm an aggressive rider and wouldn't like to have such a failure at the entry of a fast sweeper.

 

Here's a youtube.com video on proper procedure for ABS equipped Harleys:

 

This is nothing more than a video on how to bleed ANY brake system on a Harley or other motorcycle; ABS or not. It does NOT bleed or exchange the captured fluid in the HCU. For an ABS bike you have three choices:

Have the dealer do it and they will activate the ABS HCU during the proce$$.

Do what I described above.

Do what the posted video says to do and hope the new fluid eventually purges the fluid from the HCU.

 

I replace the pads when installing new tires, every time. The calipers have to come off anyway and the price of pads hardly puts a dent in my bill for tires and install.

I had the dealer bleed/flush my ABS system last fall. They also replaced the front master cylinder cap with an upgraded cap and gasket. I think the bill was just a little over $100 for flushing the system, fluid and the new cap. Pretty cheap to keep the system up to specs.

I agree the ABS should not default to no brakes due to fluid contamination but this is the system Harley sold us.

 

I'm the original OP. I changed my brake fluid before I put her up for the winter so fluid was brand new. Piston bores were cleaned. I took the bike out for a long ride this past weekend and after a few fade in brake stops the brakes felt perfect. It just took a few miles of use.

Not loosening the Master Cylinder covers when I pushed the pistons back in the bores to install the new pads does not seem to have had any ill affect on the brake system or ABS. Next time I'll loosen the cover....Lesson learned.

 

Great news. Ride safe!

 

Yeah, this is what worries me. Just yesterday I spent hours with a brother working on his 2006. Of course a non ABS bike. But the point is, his fluid looked like CRAP! And now I'm thinking the fluid in my ABS box is gonna wind up the same way, even with the frequent flushes I do. So yeah, I'm gonna head to the dealer and pay the fee for a proper flush.

 

Touché - I've made it habit that when ever I replace my brake pads, I push them out further than normal and clean them up really good with simple green and apply brake grease around the pistons. Then I flush a bottle of brake fluid through the system before I push the pistons back in. Once the calipers are back on and the pads are installed, I seat the pads against the rotors and do one more flush and set the fluid level correctly. I always use new gaskets for the master cylinder too. I figure the system needs to be flushed every two years any way and brake fluid is cheap enough, it's just good insurance to prevent the hydraulic control unit from crapping out. Probably more work than necessary but my brakes have always been flawless so I'm not changing anything.

 

The dealer does NOT activate the ABS during the bleed process. The digital technician activates the HCU after the bleeding process is done to ensure any trapped air in the HCU is worked loose, than a second bleed "may" be required if it didn't function correctly. I've done this a couple times with the digital tech and it's not required if don't introduce air into the system. A proper flush won't put air in the line.