1150GSA brake problems

[lozza1986]

Guys and girls help needed urgently please.

I picked up a 2002 reg 1150gsa today from a used bike sales place.
The bike has only done 31500 miles and 2 owners.

The day before I was heading down to view/buy the bike the chap who owns the company phones me to say that he has noticed the warning light is on with the brake failure light flashing.
After the call I went over to have a look at the bike and a road test.

It rode fine and the brakes pulled up great. I never got the ABS to kick in but then I don't really care for ABS

I done a little research and found that nearly all the problems with the brake warning lights are usually down to a dodgy battery or a bulb.
They had mentioned that the bike had stood for about a year and that it had previously had all the abs pump replaced a few years ago.

Putting it down to standing around for a year I was hopping it was just the battery so I bought it.

My journey home was around 80 miles. I was almost home and traveling at motorway speeds when the traffic started to back up quite quickly so I went for the brakes.. . . . . .

Nothing happened. No servo at all and by this point I'm almost snapping the levers off the bike and still don't know how I managed to stop..
I bought the bike knowing the servo was working and that the brakes where sharp.

Once the servo stops working it doesn't come back. Turn the bike on and off and you hear a little test sequence but both warning light and failure are on.
If you leave the bike for a while then it returns but for how long????

It has a mind of its own. I managed to get home and phoned a dealer to see if they had a battery for it.

I have since then fitted a new yuasa battery but the thing is still lethal.
Any ideas?

should I call the company where I bought it from and ask for my money back? Try fix it ?
I'm totally lost.

Can anyone help please?

 

[DrFarkoff]

Mate There is NO EASY WAY WITH THIS!

You need to get the codes read on the electronics! End off Story You can fanny about changing and F***ing about, but you will waste more than you save!

Whether you Pay a BM dealer or ask for someone on here to come round with their GS911 diagnostic device, you need the results to make your decision

As an Alternative Just google "Servo ABS Removal" there is actually an article on here about it in the technical section
What you are looking for is in the last third of the posts POST 100 Here

Do NOT "Dive in" at Post one and get excited! Whilst at the time, it was the way to do it, things moved on and its MUCH easier now

If the post talks about cutting wires DON'T!

Keep reading till you get to the bit about removing the electronics box off the ABS unit and plugging it back in

 

[lozza1986]

Cheers mate. I thought I would end up having the blood codes read.
I was also hoping that as the battery had been on the bike for a while and it had been standing that it may just be a case of resetting it all?
Have you heard of this fault before?
I really like the bike but like I said I bought it with the brakes working so I'm still going to see what the sales place has to say on this as it is not safe.

If worse comes to worse can I bypass all the BMW bollox braking system and just have a standard brake like you would on most Jap bikes?
I'm certainly not about to start chopping the wire harness up that's for sure.
Cheers.

 

[DrFarkoff]

Have you heard of this fault before?

Sighs! Obviously New to the fold!

Mate join the 10's of thousands who have removed their Servo ABS systems and Never really knew what the fault was!

I really like the bike but like I said I bought it with the brakes working so I'm still going to see what the sales place has to say on this as it is not safe.

Yeah May I suggest you find the nearest brick wall and start headbutting it! See above 10's of thousands had same problem
If you like the bike other than the brakes then ask them to perform the ABS-ectomy <- See there is even a word for it! If not ask for another bike

If worse comes to worse can I bypass all the servo ABS system and just have a standard brake like you would on MOST motorcycles including the BMW pre servo generation?

Yes that's what I said and so does that Post 100 Also Fixed the your post for ya!

If you subscribe to the forum you get access to reasonably cheap goodies and loads of good advice

 

[moonhead911]

i removed my servo last june best thing i ever did my rear pads last for ever now. my rear brake failed. plugged my 911 in all it would tell is was the brake pressure is low thats it not much help. so i thought fuck this its coming out because i was going on a 3000 miles trip the week after to Austria. i would recommend ripping it out loads of info in hear

 

[The Grey One]

Get straight back to the company that sold the bike, Do not try to fix it yourself. They are responsible for the bike and should fix or refund, Fiddling with it yourself just muddies the water. Call them tell them you had a total brake failure and ask them to collect the bike and sort the problem. If in doubt contact your local trading standards for advice.

John

 

[Stujw70]

Depending where in Hertfordshire you are, you could do worse than dropping Motoscot a visit over near Redbourn.

It's might give the advice you or don't want to hear ready to head back to the selling garage.

Have a google for 'motoscot'

 

[DrFarkoff]

Sorry to bring the original poster back to earth

If it worked while they had it and when he rode it away with them working (almost 80 miles) then its not their fault.
The ABS warning lamp at the Seller, could just be that the salesman did not know the bike has to turn wheels for them to go out OR it may have been that the brake switches are being held slightly on? Check hand guard not fouling front lever and holding it slightly open (switches in this system are connected when not in use so the system can "See" they are there! If it doesn't "see" a switch it fails the ABS self test and blinks the lamp rapidly to warn you )

Why blame a seller NO-One can foresee these failures on these systems

Might I recommend you have a word But do not demand anything You test rode it and rode it away it was almost 80 miles before there was a problem I agree by any means it isn't perfect but the bike is 14 years old No one can expect a brake warranty on one of these systems when BMW turned their noses up on them at 4 years old

Good Luck Fella

Get straight back to the company that sold the bike, Do not try to fix it yourself. They are responsible for the bike and should fix or refund, Fiddling with it yourself just muddies the water. Call them tell them you had a total brake failure and ask them to collect the bike and sort the problem. If in doubt contact your local trading standards for advice.

John

 

[Homer]

The Grey One is spot on.Dont even think about self diagnosis and sorting yourself.Get the seller to recover and repair at no cost or cash returned and source another.simples.

 

[The Grey One]

Sorry to bring the original poster back to earth

If it worked while they had it and when he rode it away with them working (almost 80 miles) then its not their fault.
The ABS warning lamp at the Seller, could just be that the salesman did not know the bike has to turn wheels for them to go out OR it may have been that the brake switches are being held slightly on? Check hand guard not fouling front lever and holding it slightly open (switches in this system are connected when not in use so the system can "See" they are there! If it doesn't "see" a switch it fails the ABS self test and blinks the lamp rapidly to warn you )

Why blame a seller NO-One can foresee these failures on these systems

Might I recommend you have a word But do not demand anything You test rode it and rode it away it was almost 80 miles before there was a problem I agree by any means it isn't perfect but the bike is 14 years old No one can expect a brake warranty on one of these systems when BMW turned their noses up on them at 4 years old

Good Luck Fella

It's not a matter of blame it's a matter of responsibility . The seller is liable under the law. It is a criminal offence for a trader to sell an unroadworthy vehicle, this is one difference between trade or private. Buying privately you have to prove the seller knew of the fault as the offence in that case is knowingly selling an unroadworthy vehicle

Any reputable company would collect the bike and either sort the problem or give a refund. Along with an apology! I repeat do not touch the bike or allow anyone other than the seller to touch it. Call them straight away, explain calmly and ask them to collect the bike. Trading standards are your friend in cases like this. A seller receiving a call from them is likely to respond quickly.

According to your logic if your new TV stopped working you wouldn't get the shop to fix it because they didn't know it was going to fail. Thankfully that is not how consumer protection works

John

 

[JJH]

It's not a matter of blame it's a matter of responsibility . The seller is liable under the law. It is a criminal offence for a trader to sell an unroadworthy vehicle, this is one difference between trade or private. Buying privately you have to prove the seller knew of the fault as the offence in that case is knowingly selling an unroadworthy vehicle

Any reputable company would collect the bike and either sort the problem or give a refund. Along with an apology! I repeat do not touch the bike or allow anyone other than the seller to touch it. Call them straight away, explain calmly and ask them to collect the bike. Trading standards are your friend in cases like this. A seller receiving a call from them is likely to respond quickly.

According to your logic if your new TV stopped working you wouldn't get the shop to fix it because they didn't know it was going to fail. Thankfully that is not how consumer protection works

John

Fuck sake. Servoectomy. Bike is good. Brakes not. Yes MABY you could get your money back. Probably cost you more. They are one of the best bikes ever. Do the brakes. Remember in your post you said you tested the brakes but you couldn't get the abs to cut in? Remember the flashing light? Going anywhere near fixing the servo is a nightmare and costly. And you might have a different problem tomorrow and still no brakes. Yes straight back to dealer with a 2/3/4 year old bike. Get the servo out and enjoy the bike. JJH

 

[JJH]

Bye the way welcome. I don't know exactly but I'd guess there are 1000s of servo BMWs that have undergone a servoectomy. JJH

 

[taminator]

Par for the course, but they are overpriced bags o shite , they handle great ,and carry crap well, and look different, but dont think they do big miles without issues, junk all the abs servo shit and go old school , mines was bought without the abs and no problems, abart from the usual run of the mill wear and tear, but they aint a jap, so expect some oddball repairs, welcome to the camp.

 

[The Grey One]

Fuck sake. Servoectomy. Bike is good. Brakes not. Yes MABY you could get your money back. Probably cost you more. They are one of the best bikes ever. Do the brakes. Remember in your post you said you tested the brakes but you couldn't get the abs to cut in? Remember the flashing light? Going anywhere near fixing the servo is a nightmare and costly. And you might have a different problem tomorrow and still no brakes. Yes straight back to dealer with a 2/3/4 year old bike. Get the servo out and enjoy the bike. JJH

You are letting your prejudices cloud your judgement, It matters not how old the bike is, if it was sold by a trader he is responsible. Any reputable dealer faced with such a failure would either fix the bike or give a refund. If the OP is happy with no servo then the dealer could pay for it to be removed buy he cannot duck his responsibility. Not all servo fault are costly as has been reported here but speculating on this is pointless, Let the dealer take his responsibility, that's one reason people buy from a trader

John

John

 

[JJH]

You are letting your prejudices cloud your judgement, It matters not how old the bike is, if it was sold by a trader he is responsible. Any reputable dealer faced with such a failure would either fix the bike or give a refund. If the OP is happy with no servo then the dealer could pay for it to be removed buy he cannot duck his responsibility. Not all servo fault are costly as has been reported here but speculating on this is pointless, Let the dealer take his responsibility, that's one reason people buy from a trader
You MIGHT be 100% correct. I don't know exactly what way a court would rule given the o/p post that 1/ there was a flashing warning light 2/he states that he could not get the abs to oporate. He bought the bike anyway thinking that by replacing the battery or bulb the problem would be fixed. I don't want to advise anyone to go chaceing a dealer for a problem on a 15 year old bike displaying a problem that he was told about. He bought the bike with his eyes open. I'm not even sure that's the kind of advice he is looking for. As far as I can see he wants to get it sorted. And do what we all love RIDE. I think the advice he is getting from other replies is good. JJH

 

[JonF]

You are letting your prejudices cloud your judgement, It matters not how old the bike is, if it was sold by a trader he is responsible. Any reputable dealer faced with such a failure would either fix the bike or give a refund. If the OP is happy with no servo then the dealer could pay for it to be removed buy he cannot duck his responsibility. Not all servo fault are costly as has been reported here but speculating on this is pointless, Let the dealer take his responsibility, that's one reason people buy from a trader

John

John

Absolutely right in this one and in post 10 earlier in the thread. Whether the OP wants to make the dealer stand up to his responsibility or just get it fettled is his call. Whatever he does, you're completely right about responsibility.