Front brake lever ROCK hard

[ichiban_imp]

I believe yours is the first reported failure.

I thought as much never seen ABS failures ever on a Honda, moral of the story is to keep changing brake fluid changed regularly. I am sure in the four years of it just lying around it had never been changed and the fluid congealed and closed the tiny apertures in the pump.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Hey Guys,

The dealer just rang me and they have had a look at this issue, They have found the front part of the ABS unit is in a locked status from the front brake pipe circuit and the rear circuit is fine.

As they are sealed units they can't just repair the front end the entire unit will need to be changed. In the UK the ABS unit is just a mere £2,153.15 plus labour and consumables. What if I bought this bike privately I would not have had this 6-month warranty with the bike, so it is a little concerning the unit is a quarter of the value of the bike.

So the question is guys how many other ABS unit failures have we seen here?

Yikes.

 

[ichiban_imp]

Further update, The ABS unit is off the bike and they have cleared the stuck valve and now the unit works fine. But the dealer is still replacing it as a precautionary measure as it is unknown it won't do it again. And no I can't ask for the unit back as they need to send it back for warranty purposes. DAMN could have played with it to learn more about it.

A New ABS unit was ordered and waiting for ETA most probably the bike will be back in a week's time.

 

[Lord Popgun]

If the brakes haven't been flushed on schedule it may have just gummed up or corroded. In any case replacing it is a good thing as brakes are not something to take lightly.

As far as Honda ABS failures, about 5 years ago the service manager told a customer's sport bike, not a CB1100) had a problem where the ABS would apply the brakes full on randomly. I don't know the resolution.

 

[ichiban_imp]

Hey Guys,

The dealer just rang me and they have had a look at this issue, They have found the front part of the ABS unit is in a locked status from the front brake pipe circuit and the rear circuit is fine.

As they are sealed units they can't just repair the front end the entire unit will need to be changed. In the UK the ABS unit is just a mere £2,153.15 plus labour and consumables. What if I bought this bike privately I would not have had this 6-month warranty with the bike, so it is a little concerning the unit is a quarter of the value of the bike.

So the question is guys how many other ABS unit failures have we seen here?

Yikes.

Yikes.
Tell me about it the cost is mad.

If the brakes haven't been flushed on schedule it may have just gummed up or corroded. In any case replacing it is a good thing as brakes are not something to take lightly.

As far as Honda ABS failures, about 5 years ago the service manager told a customer's sport bike, not a CB1100) had a problem where the ABS would apply the brakes full on randomly. I don't know the resolution.

Yeah, I have seen the service bulletin for the Fireblade had a recall too with the random\sporadic full brake on. The Honda dealer service manager also told me a few CB1100 or the CB1100 RS prior to 2017 had an ABS recall where the manufacturer left a small amount of excess grease in the internal diaphragm, which caused a blockage.

On the Honda system, my bike does not have this recall registered under its VIN, however, I still think the reason for ABS lock up on my bike is due to no brake fluid changes and sitting around not being ridden.

 

[Gone in 60]

Wow, your bike had the same problem as my last BMW. It was six years old with 1500 miles when I bought it, so it had obviously sat for quite a long time. However, when the problem manifested itself, the bike was well out of warranty, and repairs were nose-bleedingly expensive.

Glad you're getting yours sorted!

 

[The Gecko_imp]

@ichi, took me by surprise that you’re bike is still under warranty? how come ?

@all, can abs brakes (in whatever state) really go full on ? The way I understand (should I say : understood?) the design, this isn’t possible regardless of which part fails - valves open = pressure is released, valves closed = normal brakes. The whole concept should be fail safe in the sense that it always goes back or defaults back to “brakes w/o abs”
while riding (NOT while working on it like ichi did).

Please do only respond “yes” if your bike has really done it while you rode it. No cases you just heard about please.

See also max’ diagram posted in the thread “abs - help needed” :
https://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=18340&pid=326783#pid326783

 

[ichiban_imp]

Hi Gecko, I bought my bike via the main dealer. As part of approved bike sales Honda UK puts on 3 months of warranty on the bike additionally, you can leverage "The Consumer Rights Act" for another three months after the warranty has expired if anything else cropped up. Since my bike is 4 years old and only sub 300 miles on the clock Honda UK sees that as a low mileage bike and offers a warranty as peace of mind.

If this bike had an ABS unit where you could put it into a service mode, like my CBR600RR then this issue can be averted as all the valves can be operated and fluid chased out. However is it of the utmost importance regardless of what mileage you do, you have to change the fluid every two years, If you live in an environment with relatively high humidity then you should really do this year in my books. I did not ride my bike with the inoperable front brake no point risking a fall and damage. Never ridden a bike with no front brakes, I hardly use the rear, only for slow-speed maneuvers.

My bike has "Supposedly main dealer history" and the brake fluid has not been changed.

 

[ichiban_imp]

Got my bike back after a few weeks been waiting for the ABS unit to arrive. It's all fixed and now ready to ride as soon as the weather clears out.

 

[Nachodaddy]

Got my bike back after a few weeks been waiting for the ABS unit to arrive. It's all fixed and now ready to ride as soon as the weather clears out.

That is good news. You will enjoy your rides on that bike. Share some photos when you can.

 

[ichiban_imp]

thanks, @nachodaddy fingers are crossed that this minor hiccup on my bike is the last.

 

[Gone in 60]

Best of luck, Ichiban! Hope that solves your problems. And, may it be the only one you encounter on this bike!

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Got my bike back after a few weeks been waiting for the ABS unit to arrive. It's all fixed and now ready to ride as soon as the weather clears out.

Excellent ichiban, congratulations. :clap:

 

[Cormanus]

Great news, ichiban.

 

[ichiban_imp]

Best of luck, Ichiban! Hope that solves your problems. And, may it be the only one you encounter on this bike!

May it be the last too, there are always a few defects in millions if you follow the six sigma philosophy, and I got the short end of that stick.

Great news, ichiban.

Thanks mate, I can't wait to ride the bike. All I can do now is polish her to the nines. Yes, I am bored.

 

[Nachodaddy]

thanks, @nachodaddy fingers are crossed that this minor hiccup on my bike is the last.

I hope so too Number One, but where's the fun in that? Fixing these little problems and tweaking the bike to get the most out of it is a good part of why we ride, isn't it?
Enjoy!

 

[artashline_imp]

Hey guys, I was bleeding the front brakes on my CB1100 18 YM. Everything is routine, cracked the 8mm bolt and start bleeding after a few pumps later there is no fluid coming out and the front lever is rock hard.

I have tried both front calipers and both have no fluid coming out! What the hell has happened any clues?

Never seen this on any bike I have owned.

Rebuild your master cylinder it is corroded inside

 

[Lord Popgun]

Art, if you look up a few posts you will see the dealer replaced his ABS unit and all was well.