R1150R ABS PROBLEM

[bubsees]

Hi there, have 2002 R1150R with 28000 miles on the clock, bike has abs and servo brakes fitted, on setting off from cold the system self checks as normal and both lights go out, after about 3 to 4 miles both lights come back on with the warning triangle on constantly and the abs failure light flashing fast ( 2 or 3 times a second i guess), if i stop the bike and turn off ignition on setting off again both lights stay on and system wont self check, leaving bike for a while gets me back to phase one where system self checks then iilluminates after 3 to 4 miles, have checked brake pad wear which is well in limits, cleaned abs sensors and checked rings which all looks ok, renewed tail light bulb, the battery is kept on an optimate charger and is only 18 months old so assume its ok, fluid levels in resevior all ok, servo whines and brakes are good so assume all ok there, my nearest bmw dealer is 70 miles away so trying to avoid visit if possible, not even sure if there is a 'plug and play' diagnostic system on this bike and if so where it plugs into, any thoughts you guys have would be very welcome, if i have to do the 140 mile round trip i may as well be armed with as much info as possible as to the problem. many thanks.

[hank]

You say the brake fluid level is ok. Where did you check? as there is more than one reservoir. One is on the bars, one on right hand side above rear brake pedal and a couple more under the fuel tank on the ABS unit.

[bubsees]

checked both the visable ones which are ok, taken tank off and located abs unit underneath, there are two caps but cant seem to get either of them off to check levels, do they unscrew or just tug off with pliers, not to mad on all this mechanical stuff and dont want to do any damage.

[omg1010]

Sir,

may I suggest you have a look at this (http://users.rcn.com/dehager/service/service_abs3.pdf) and proceed accordingly?

A wealth of info concerning the 1150 models can be found here http://home.mindspring.com/~jabrooks/
I suppose this will answer all your questions.

Brgds
Oliver

[hank]

I have just been out to the garage and checked. The caps under the tank are the two with the small bore rubber pipe on them they just unscrew, they shouldn't be too tight to turn by hand but if they are a 19mm or a 3/4 inch spanner fits. Hope you are lucky and it's just low fluid levels that are the cause of your
problem.

[sweatmark]

ADV is also a good resource:

http://advwisdom.hogranch.com/Wisdom/service_abs3.pdf

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=326162

And remember, the iABS power brake system is easy to remove.

[bubsees]

thanks for the advice boys, have checked the under tank resevoirs and one was a little low, putting the bike back together now and fingers crossed that will be the problem, if not i may go along the lines of removing the abs all together, watch this space !

[bubsees]

no joy on any of the things suggested so looks as tho trip to dealer is in order, thanks for all your help.

[slowtorque]

Let us know what they find, if you would. Good luck.

[opposedtwin]

I'm having exactly the same problem and it occured yesterday. All brake resevoir levels are correct and pads are ok. However, I notice I have relatively no stopping power when using the rear brake lever. Front brakes are as powerful as ever. Looking forward to hearing what the solution was for the original poster. Have a one day trip planned for Saturday (approx 500 mi). Since there are no leaks and I rarely use the rear brakes anyway, do you think doing the trip a bad idea?

[Hottech]

Unbelievable but true, the same thing happen to me yesterday. 2004 R1150R with 30,000 miles. I was riding home and the red ABS warning light started to blink and then the red brake failure light came on. No rear brakes but the front grabbed just as usual. Rode home very slowly and could not find any reason for both lights to come on. Changed my brake fluid last year and just put new rear pads on last month. Hope you can find out what is going on. It looks like a trip to the dealership for a diagnostic check. Hope it is not my ABS goin out.

[Hottech]

Charged up my battery and all seems to be working out fine. Went ahead and ordered a new battery just to be on the safe side.

[opposedtwin]

After making double sure all fluid levels were ok I decided to ride my bike despite the brake warning lights. After 5 miles warning lights quit flashing and both front and rear brakes work as normal. After around 50 mi lights begin flashing again and as before when they were flashing I have almost no rear braking power. Front brakes are normal. Somehow it seems to be a rear brake problem. Are the rear brakes connected in someway to the ABS servo separately from the front brakes?

[bubsees]

hey there guys, further to my abs problem, lights ended up being on permanently and not self checking, had everything checked by mechanic mate with no joy, gaps, fluids, battery ect, looked like a trip to mottrad and the costs that go with it, taped over the annoying lights and carried on riding, after one ride noticed final drive oil covering rear wheel, bearings had died and shredded seals, remains of final drive oil full of swarf, £100 worth of parts and help from mechanic mate and local engineering company saw final drive rebuilt and leak free, on test ride removed tape and , hey presto, abs lights gone out, must have been the swarfe in the oil messing up the rear sensor, happy days. have changed rear drive oil 4 or 5 times in last month to remove as much swarfe as poss and fitted a magnetic sump plug, all looks good and now planning next years trip to italian moto gp on it ! moral of the story is :- takes 5 mins to change rear drive oil, dont neglect it like i did !