Hi guys, I recently bought a VFR and love the bike, but I'm having an issue with the ABS. When I start the bike, the ABS light comes on as it should, and when I start riding, it goes off, which is also normal. However, the ABS itself doesn't seem to be working. The brakes work perfectly, the brake pads are new, and everything looks good in the calipers. Any suggestions on where to start?
Hi and Welcome to the Madhouse When you get time please swing by the introductions section and say hello to the rest of the folks on here and tell us a bit about you and your ride(s). Add a photo or two of your VFR - its easy click the "add a file" link and follow the prompts - use "More Options" to decide how you want your photo displayed. As for testing the ABS the best answer is to simply ask a garage to check the bike for you if you have any doubts. You do not state whether your 2003 VFR has linked brakes which makes checking ABS a bit more complicated. If you are after a DIY solution - then please beware that you do this "entirely at your own risk" as a bike under severe braking can get very squirrelly and easily throw rider and bike to the ground. Basically ABS should activate if you ever apply the REAR brake VERY agressively (press pedal fully down and then keep it pressed down) whilst travelling at a bit over 20mph on a dry clear road surface. Don't go mad with the speed and obviously only do this in a safe location and ensure there are no vehicles following you. (If you have linked brakes you may have to increase the speed a bit as if you apply heavy rear braking the system will automatically apply the front brakes and as a result may still be capable of stopping the bike without ABS activation. If the ABS system works correctly you should definitely feel the braking effect pulsating. It is possible but much harder to achieve this test by agressively applying the front brake - but this poses an even greater risk of it ending in disaster - as you can suddenly find that you are doing a stoppie - so even if you have frame sliders using the front brake agressively is not a clever idea except if you really need to use the full anchors to avoid a collision - in which case do not hesitate to apply maximum braking force to front and rear brakes and trust the ABS to deliver the best stopping possible (assuming you are not in the same cohort as Rossi et al). Take care ATGATT SkiMad
