2003 1150GS - Need help on removing Servos and ABS

  • Thread starter Thread starter RidingTheGlobe
  • Start date Start date
Carl said:
the self diagnosis (for the servos) is different to pull away test (ABS) and happens as soon as you turn on the ignition and completes without the wheels needing to be rotated....

RTFM :augie
Click to expand...

I am RTFM

and it says

"Warning:

When the ignition is off, before and during self diagnosis or if the BMW Integral ABS fails, only RESIDUAL BRAKING FUNCTION is active"
 
DaveGSCymro said:
I am RTFM

and it says

"Warning:

When the ignition is off, before and during self diagnosis or if the BMW Integral ABS fails, only RESIDUAL BRAKING FUNCTION is active"
Click to expand...

you are not reading what I said before... the self diagnosis happens first when you turn on the ignition and hear the servo noise, the ABS light flashes quickly, and the general warning light is on ... and after the self diagnosis has completed (bike stationary) the abs light flashes slowly and the genaral warning light goes out... then the self diagnosis has completed! Page 84 :thumb now the servos are fully operational...

then you start the engine and ride off and the abs pull away test completes... page 85 and the abs light stops flashing
 
if you use the brakes or start the engine before the self diagnosis has completed then you will only have residual braking...

dont confuse the self diagnostic and pull away test...
 
Hey way to hijack my thread with stuff that has nothing to do with actually removing the servo and ABS!!!!!!!!
 
Just a bit of extra info for anyone contemplating a servoectomy. I did mine over the weekend. Steptoe's wiring instructions were spot on but I found the following:

1. The switches I bought from the dealer fitted fine from a 'mechanical' point of view but the plugs on both were completely different. Maybe something to do with my bike being a 2002 model. Anyway, I cut them off and soldered on the original ones - wire colour codes are the same.

2. You WILL get brake fluid everywhere and if the brake unions are apart you don't want to be dousing the bike with water - take precautions to avoid paint damage.

3. Other parts you will need - 6 copper washers. In my case 2 new banjo bolts (one because I rounded off the socket head on the rear one, the other because one of the banjo bolts on the front 'splitter' was a 17mm hex head with a 4mm (?) socket head bolt in the centre and a tapered end, for reasons that I don't understand. Anyway, it wouldn't fit in the new junction piece partly because it was too long (I could have cut it) and partly because the hex head interferred with the 'tag' on the junction piece (which I could have cut off but didn't want to). Oh, and brake fluid of course.

4. Brake bleed nipples. Very fragile and rust-prone. Best to replace them if they look iffy. My rear one sheared with almost no force applied but surprisingly the rear brake is very effective without bleeding so no panic there - I'll replace the nipple at my leisure.

That's about it - vast improvement in braking feel and progression and the wife's a lot happier on the back as a result because I can brake more smoothly. Big lump of (fully functioning) metal sat in the garage and going on eBay tonight - I wonder if there's demand for them? Cost of parts around £75 as predicted.
 
I have got used to the servo brakes on mine and don't find them a problem. I like the idea of a lot of braking for little effort, with the ABS to back it up. BUT...... I have had problems with the system playing up and reverting to residual only and although it is now working perfectly I can see that sooner or later I will have to scrap the servo. The question is, what are the brakes like for feel, power, etc after the conversion? I once road a loan bike with no servo and didn't like it much, requiring more effort and concentration.:rolleyes:
 
Speedy said:
The question is, what are the brakes like for feel, power, etc after the conversion? I once road a loan bike with no servo and didn't like it much, requiring more effort and concentration.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

They're like normal brakes.......because they ARE normal brakes! Take the servo and assocated stuff away and it's no different from riding a bike that came from the factory without servo/abs. There is plenty of feel and power. Sure, you have to pull the lever a bit harder but I find I requires less concentration because you don't have to worry about being head-butted by your pillion if you pull the lever half a millimetre too much........

Braking on my bike is now a completely natural process - it's the way brakes should be. Servos on bikes are not necessary.

Maybe you had to concentrate because you were used to your servo, but it doesn't take long (about half a mile....) to get used to a normal system again.
 
rockchunk said:
last 2 mot's brakes were tested without the engine running therefore no servo :nenau
Click to expand...

Which just goes to show how much relevance the MoT test itself has to real ridng conditions. How can you adequately test servo/abs brakes when neither the servo nor the abs systems are operating? :confused:
 
Stoopid question

If you remove the servo as suggested is a massive heave on the lever required to get any stopping power.

Surely if the servo is removed then all that is left is residual braking.
 
stolzy said:
If you remove the servo as suggested is a massive heave on the lever required to get any stopping power.

Surely if the servo is removed then all that is left is residual braking.
Click to expand...

No and no. Without the servo it's just a normal bike. Do you need a massive heave on the lever on any other bike that doesn't have a servo? No. Do you need a massive heave on the lever on a non-servo 1150? No! The master cylinders and calipers are the same as a non-servo bike.

Residual braking is what you have WITH a servo fitted but without it working. Normal braking is what you have on a bike WITHOUT a servo. They are very, very different. If you doubt me, go and beg a ride on a non-servo GS.
 
Maybe I'm biassed, but I can't imagine why anyone would prefer servo brakes over normal brakes (abs aside) once they'd had a chance to try both. Quite why BMW ever went down that route I don't know - it must have cost them a fortune in warranty claims for replacement servos......
 
RIDINGTHEGLOBE

Did you do it, if so, can you update this thread on how it went and how you think the bike performs please? Im watching with interest.
 
sproggy said:
Maybe I'm biassed, but I can't imagine why anyone would prefer servo brakes over normal brakes (abs aside) once they'd had a chance to try both. Quite why BMW ever went down that route I don't know - it must have cost them a fortune in warranty claims for replacement servos......
Click to expand...

nonsense the servo is an awesome piece of kit i love my servo wouldn't be without it worth it just for the noise it makes makes me feel like robo cop :D
 
So upon further research I found out that when the alternator belt starts to wear your servo breaks don't work.
The servo's draw a large amount of power and if the alternator belt is worn or not tight it will not produce enough power to operate the servos.
After learning this I changed my belt and my brakes instantly started working again.
So I have decided to leave the Servo System on for now. I dislike the system, I don't like the fact that if I loose an alternator belt I loose brakes.....
But for now I will keep it and next time I get fed up with it I will remove them.
While the German Engineering frustrates me to no end I do have say that the GS is a much easier bike to work on the my Japanese bikes.
 
Steptoe said:
Rear light wiring - open the fuse box, and add a link between the grey/white (from the rear light) with the grey/black output wire from fuse number 2 .

To wire the brake lights - On the servo plug ( now redundant) from the loom, cut back the sheathing and link the green( iginition live), white/blue, yellow/green all together - and the grey/yellow, yellow/black, white/yellow together. ignore all the other wires.
So you now have two seperate circuits, one for the rear brake light and one for the front brake light .
Click to expand...

Just done this job, thanks to Steptoe for the wiring info. :thumb

On my bike, 2005 Adventure, I linked the two rear light wires (both grey/black) together at the servo plug, same as with the brake light wires. No need to do anything in the fuse box. Also, I had to cut the plugs off the old switches and refit them to the new ones as they were different.
 
Number 6 said:
On my bike, 2005 Adventure, I linked the two rear light wires (both grey/black) together at the servo plug, same as with the brake light wires. No need to do anything in the fuse box.
Click to expand...

Good luck should you ever want your rear parking light to work :aidan

There is a reason for Fuse 1 and Fuse 2 being separate they become live at different settings on the ignition :)
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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