ABS in the Red, along with my wallet

I rode my brand new 08A away from the dealer yesterday a very happy man indeed. The fact that it was snowing (Seattle) made the event that much more exciting. The beast is free!

Anyway, turns out the ABS light blinks for a bit and then settles on red. Not a happy color as the manual says I gots to bring it back to the dealer. I don't want to go back to the dealer. I don't even want to go in that particular direction...

Soooo, I have a couple more farkles (yami heated grips and throttle meister) that the dealer should be getting next week. The question is, dare I ride with red light shining until then? I think yes. No ABS, no huge deal for a couple days.

What say you? Yay or nay.

tnx in advance,

rp

The search nazis will chime in soon. Otherwise, make sure yer rear brake pedal ain't sticking down a bit. They need to get lubed once in a while.

Ride it. Brakes will work, JUST no ABS.

If brakes feel normal, not soft. Lever and pedal firm should be fine. Check fluid levels for proper amount, if good ride it.

My $.02

Ripkid said:

I rode my brand new 08A away from the dealer yesterday a very happy man indeed. The fact that it was snowing (Seattle) made the event that much more exciting. The beast is free!
Anyway, turns out the ABS light blinks for a bit and then settles on red.

Click to expand...

Ride it, just stay out of the snow until you get the ABS issue resolved..... :blink:

I say ride just remember that you don't have ABS. The brakes will still work fine.

Very good. Support is appreciated. Brakes working just fine as far as I can tell. Frickin' hale started coming down as I prepared for the after work ride. I barely have 100 miles on the bike from the weekend! Where is Spring?

tnx again...

rp

Afast03nNJ said:

Ride it, just stay out of the snow until you get the ABS issue resolved..... :blink:

Click to expand...

Really? I say, stay out of the snow w/ an FJR no matter what.

Check everything, if you're inclined to. Bike comes without front wheel, and chances are the front ABS sensor wasn't installed correctly. I understand '08s have different wheels than '07s, which were prone to bad sensor installations, but check them anyway. Also check your calipers and axle were properly tightened. You'll be surprised how many nuts and bolts are not properly tightened during assembly. And yes, check all fluid levels, etc. Good luck.

JC

Tnx all. I am bringing in the bike today as I am now having problems upshifting from 2nd and 4th. No fun.

odot said:

The search nazis will chime in soon. Otherwise, make sure yer rear brake pedal ain't sticking down a bit. They need to get lubed once in a while.

Click to expand...

I'll repeat what ODOT said - good call. I had to give my rear brake lever a little massage with the WD40 recently - it was sticking and caused the ABS light to blink / hold steady.

Also - when I biought my 06, the gear shifting was noisier than I thought it would be - after a few thousand klicks, it became smooth and very quiet. Maybe your bike needs a little time to settle in? I also did a little searching here and found out about 'pre-weighting' the pedal prior to changing gears. That was a new idea to me that I"d never done before and it made quite a difference to smoother, quieter gear changes.

Check out the bin-o-facts for new riders (if this is your first FJR, there's some great info on checking - then double checking - dealer prep details like loc-tite on the bag locks etc....)

good luck and happy riding!

Did you get the ABS fixed?

I don't think we'll get any more snow, but the day before you picked up your bike I had to scrape a 1/2 inch of snow off my bike at SEATAC airport before riding home. Luckily my ABS is working fine and luckily there was only a little wet slush in the parking lot (main roads were just wet).

I also had my ABS light come on when my bike was new and it was a improperly adjusted rear brake light switch. If the brake light stays on, it'll trigger the ABS warning.