Moco's ABS

[Bone Stockman]

There have been several firmware upgrades to the ABS, but I believe Ken's on a 2013, so his should be the most current iteration. I will say that my braking performance improved and the instances of ABS kicking in decreased dramatically when I replaced the POS air shocks with a shock that keeps the tire on the ground.

[J.A.F.O.]

If you have to manually apply them and release them...

Then I'm pretty sure they are not ABS brakes.

[J.A.F.O.]

Originally Posted by Bone Stockman

There have been several firmware upgrades to the ABS, but I believe Ken's on a 2013, so his should be the most current iteration. I will say that my braking performance improved and the instances of ABS kicking in decreased dramatically when I replaced the POS air shocks with a shock that keeps the tire on the ground.

Yep, that's the biggest issue i have with them..You hit a bump and lose traction on the rear tire and it sets off the ABS..Not cool.

Of course...Seeing as I do have an essentially BSL...I have the original rear shocks.

[Bone Stockman]

Originally Posted by J.A.F.O.

Yep, that's the biggest issue i have with them..You hit a bump and lose traction on the rear tire and it sets off the ABS..Not cool.

Yep. But the front brake shouldn't be cycling at that point, so you still have 100% of your front braking capacity.

[Ken R]

Originally Posted by MrSurly

Dan, Ken, first, how are you disabling? Using the PV? Pulling the fuse? Whichever, does it cause a code to store, or trigger the CEL?
Second, I agree the ABS needs some improvement. It works great in most situations but it has a real problem dealing with repetitive bumps or washboard at low speed.
I've had several occasions when the bike traveled at least a few feet farther than it would have without ABS. Usually on a county road or rough city street and during the last couple of seconds of the stop. I get the impression that it's not so much that it's too sensitive (I'm sure the wheel is locking momentarily) but to me, the issue is that the system is too slow to recover, i.e. after the ABS has sensed lock, released the brake and now the wheel touches ground again and starts turning.... the system is far too slow to recognize that the wheel is really turning again. By the time the ABS determines that the wheel is again, yes, it's moving now..and re-applies the brakes, well we're past the second bump without having applied the brake so now it is applied between bumps then locks and releases again...lather,rinse,repeat. It seems like it's waiting for a full revolution of the wheel before resuming braking effort.
I think this could just be a firmware flash to improve, just edit some milliseconds here and there in the response/resume area. Maybe they'll get right on it?

P.S. In parts of Central and West Texas "washboarded" caliche roads are prevalent. While I would not usually plan to ride my bikes on them, I HAVE....and the RK can stop on those roads but I'm not so sure the Ultra would.

Yeah, we just pull the fuse. At the San Antonio competition, I pulled the fuse because the patterns were way too tight. (no one could do them). The ABS actuated in the first pattern on the second day. WHAT???

Some competitors put a switch in line with the fuse so they can discretely turn ABS on or off for competition and practice.

When I got home, I put the fuse back in. That's when I discovered that I'd pulled the 30 amp spare.

No codes. The little yellow ABS light just stays lit. I don't think any ABS malfunctions cause a code to be recorded in the ECM. On my 2010, I had a broken front bearing sensor cable. The ABS light came on, but no code.

I don't think ABS should actuate below 10 mph. Yeah, a rider might go down, but it's not going to hurt much (like it would at 40, 50, 60, etc.) Highsiding below 10 mph would be rare.

I hope whatever they might do can be improved with a firmware flash. We gave them an earful at the competition. ABS in its current form can cause accidents.

[Ken R]

Originally Posted by Bone Stockman

Yep. But the front brake shouldn't be cycling at that point, so you still have 100% of your front braking capacity.

It's when the front brake goes ABS.

In normal riding, it clearly goes ABS when a non ABS motor would not lose enough momentary traction to be a problem. Examining the pavement before applying moderate front brake is required . . . or it'll surprise you.


The good thing for the Motor Company is that most riders don't use their front brake anyway. (except when duck-walking or slow speed maneuvering).

[J.A.F.O.]

Originally Posted by Bone Stockman

Yep. But the front brake shouldn't be cycling at that point, so you still have 100% of your front braking capacity.

It doesn't..just the rear cycles.

[MrSurly]

The issue that I've attempted to describe is primarily the front brake. It could be that the rear 'started it' or that both are actuating, but it's the front that is concerning me.

[Ancient Iron]

Originally Posted by Bone Stockman

There have been several firmware upgrades to the ABS, but I believe Ken's on a 2013, so his should be the most current iteration. I will say that my braking performance improved and the instances of ABS kicking in decreased dramatically when I replaced the POS air shocks with a shock that keeps the tire on the ground.

Good point.

[Jeffytune]

First, watch this video of a live demonstration put on by Harley and there engineers....

http://youtu.be/9GIIVwUfWHU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GIIVwUfWHU

It is pretty impressive, but it is a smooth surface, not a bumpy one.

My guess to why the front it so sensitive is related to how far a front wheel can skid before it folds under the bike and is unrecoverable.

I practice with mine first day, to get the feel for just were it would engage, I think it's fine, but I have not had the experience that yet.

[Homesick]

Kudos to you all.

I think this discussion is smarter and more useful than the other one.

joe

[MegaGlide]

Originally Posted by Homesick

Kudos to you all.

I think this discussion is smarter and more useful than the other one.

joe

Obviously this thread needs to be moved to a better forum.


Sent from my li'l ol' iPhone 4S augmented w/ a mophie juice pack plus® using Tapatalk.
Probably from the crapper.

[Bone Stockman]

While I have nothing but respect front the parking lot rodeo crowd (Ken, Danny, Wayne, et at), the fact of the matter is that real world riding is different. I rode 25,000 miles on a BMW with linked brakes and ABS. I was far from perfect, as any motorcycle system will be. Harley's ABS is very, very good, and for 99% of the riders out there, it's a Godsend.

The Doug Chandlers, the Pascal Picottes, and the Miguel Duhamels of the world may not need it. But those guys are few and far between. I consider myself to be a pretty decent rider, and I wouldn't consider a bike without ABS.


Sent from my iPad, probably while I'm pooping.

[Homesick]

I read a guy's story a few minutes ago.

On a curved off-ramp, on the brakes, he hit a diesel spill (slicker than snotty marbles, for those who don't know). The ABS allowed him to straighten the bike back up and go off the ramp into the grass (no fence); rather than lowside.

joe

[MrSurly]

ABS is a plus, a win, no doubt about it. It seems to have at least one area that could be improved IMHO. Hopefully, it's a simple firmware upload to address. I would not want to disable mine, unless as Ken noted, to try to 'rodeo' which I've never done.