Went exploring off-road

A couple of weeks ago on an unfamiliar road, over a hill, corner looked like it was going to drop to the right, went sharp left instead. Grabbed both brakes, rear locked up and skidded through significant gravel in the road. I let off the brakes and gently rolled through a shallow ditch and into a farmer's driveway.

I consider myself lucky and this never should have happened for many reasons. I don't expect ABS to make up for crappy riding skills, but hey, it's supposed to keep the wheels from locking up, right?

I have tested it in the past while riding, and felt the the ABS working, but not any more. I can lock up the rear whenever I want now. The ABS light comes on with the ignition, there are no codes, and I have not done anything with the rear wheel. As far as the front goes, I haven't determined if the ABS is working there or not.

How can I test and fix this issue without taking the bike to a dealer? My service manual is for an

03 but I have an 04 ABS. Thanks.

slightlyscratched said:

A couple of weeks ago on an unfamiliar road, over a hill, corner looked like it was going to drop to the right, went sharp left instead. Grabbed both brakes, rear locked up and skidded through significant gravel in the road. I let off the brakes and gently rolled through a shallow ditch and into a farmer's driveway.
I consider myself lucky and this never should have happened for many reasons. I don't expect ABS to make up for crappy riding skills, but hey, it's supposed to keep the wheels from locking up, right?

I have tested it in the past while riding, and felt the the ABS working, but not any more. I can lock up the rear whenever I want now. The ABS light comes on with the ignition, there are no codes, and I have not done anything with the rear wheel. As far as the front goes, I haven't determined if the ABS is working there or not.

How can I test and fix this issue without taking the bike to a dealer? My service manual is for an

03 but I have an 04 ABS. Thanks.

Click to expand...

Remove the hex screw attaching the ABS sensor wire from the ABS sensor assembly (#2 in photo)...handle carefully...remove the rear axle far enough to take off the ABS sensor wheel (#9 in photo)and clean, clean, clean the sensor, the sensor mount area, and the sensor wheel. Clean enough to let your 4 year old stick it in his/her mouth. Do not use harsh cleaners. Brake cleaner is your friend.

[SIZE=8pt](Or use harsh chemicals if you're not particularly fond of your 4 year old. )[/SIZE]

Thanks Howie, I will try that.

RadioHowie said:

slightlyscratched said:

... , there are no codes, ...

03 but I have an 04 ABS. Thanks.

Click to expand...

...

Remove the hex screw attaching the ABS sensor wire from the ABS sensor assembly (#2 in photo)...handle carefully...remove the rear axle far enough to take off the ABS sensor wheel (#9 in photo)and clean, clean, clean the sensor, the sensor mount area, and the sensor wheel....

Click to expand...

Sounds unlikely to be a wheel sensor. It is was, the ABS computer would detect one sensor giving signals, the other not, and flash lights, show codes, and generally ensure the rider knows about it. So unless both sensors packed up at exactly the same moment, there would be an error code (unless early ABSs were not as helpful, but I doubt that).

Trouble is, I can't suggest what might be wrong, so let's hope RH is right. (He knows all about taking FJRs apart :focus: .)

PS. Don't test your front ABS, not worth the risk :worriedsmiley: .

mcatrophy said:

Sounds unlikely to be a wheel sensor. It is was, the ABS computer would detect one sensor giving signals, the other not, and flash lights, show codes, and generally ensure the rider knows about it. So unless both sensors packed up at exactly the same moment, there would be an error code (unless early ABSs were not as helpful, but I doubt that).
Trouble is, I can't suggest what might be wrong, so let's hope RH is right. (He knows all about taking FJRs apart :focus: .)

PS. Don't test your front ABS, not worth the risk :worriedsmiley: .

Click to expand...

The only reason I ventured into ABS "Dark Territory" is because almost exactly the same thing happened to my '04. One day I had a panic stop situation and my rear locked up instantly. I was shocked to NOT feel the ABS kick in.

No codes...no ABS light...just didn't work. Later, unhooked the sensor wire from the assembly and the sensor was downright crusty from road spooge.

Cleaned it up real good, cleaned up the "socket" in the sensor wheel, plugged it all back together and it worked just fine again.

The crap encrusting the sensor apparently prevented the ABS ECU from detecting a lock-up occurence so didn't kick in. BTW, the same panic stop situation that signalled the lack of ABS on the rear did NOT trigger the ABS on the front, because the front didn't lose traction and skid.

Road Spooge my ***! Quit jerkin yer gerkin next to the bike ya flake..

:jester:

My rear tire was almost gone so I waited until I had it changed to look at and clean up the rear ABS sensor. Anyway, I cleaned it up and bled the rear brakes and guess what? The ABS still doesn't work. The rear wheel will lock up whenever I want.

Any other suggestions? This is an '04 with 65K miles.

slightlyscratched said:

A couple of weeks ago on an unfamiliar road, over a hill, corner looked like it was going to drop to the right, went sharp left instead. Grabbed both brakes, rear locked up and skidded through significant gravel in the road. I let off the brakes and gently rolled through a shallow ditch and into a farmer's driveway.
I consider myself lucky and this never should have happened for many reasons. I don't expect ABS to make up for crappy riding skills, but hey, it's supposed to keep the wheels from locking up, right?

I have tested it in the past while riding, and felt the the ABS working, but not any more. I can lock up the rear whenever I want now. The ABS light comes on with the ignition, there are no codes, and I have not done anything with the rear wheel. As far as the front goes, I haven't determined if the ABS is working there or not.

How can I test and fix this issue without taking the bike to a dealer? My service manual is for an

03 but I have an 04 ABS. Thanks.

Click to expand...

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***Going to do a sort of thread hijack here real quick like...you'll return to the regular programming shortly....***

Glad to hear that you are still around to tell the tale, and your wallet is still intact because you didnt have to spend money on repairs. This story is a good point though about relying on technology in certain situations. I've noticed in my particular hobbies over the last 20 years or so that there are many technologies that have been developed and utitlized to make things safer or more efficient, but there is definitely a dark side that is not discussed much. Your example is a good one for motorcycling...riders are tempted to ride a little faster in questionable situations because they know they can rely on the ABS to stop em quick. If you didnt have ABS, you'd maybe ride just a notch slower and look ahead just a few feet further, knowing that you had to be ez on the brakes or you'd low side, etc. Could be the difference between a crash and a close call. My 2008 FJR is actually my first bike with ABS. I still ride it like I have conventional brakes though, just to be safe. I assume the ABS may not work as advertised.

In skydiving, they developed the AAD (automatic activation device) that will fire your reserve chute if you descend below a certain altitude at a certain speed. Plenty of us questioned this technology after seeing a few newbies rely too heavy on it and pull WAY lower than is prudent for life n health. Again, the technology encouraged people to push the envelope a little more. Of course, some of us resisted the ADD because of the chance that it would fire the reserve just as we were pulling the main, which could result in a 2 chute out scenario (not necessarily good).

In scuba diving, the octopus regulator came out, and all of a sudden there were divers that were neglecting their main regulators because they knew they had a backup. I personally was on a dive in Florida once (Vortex caves), and saw a guy check his gear, and the main regulator was not working properly (maybe a bad diaphragm), so he just secured it and said "hell with it", I've got the octopus. Again, had he not had the new technology, he would have taken the time to properly check and/or repair his gear.

Anywho, just a thought that your story brought to my pea brain.