R1100S Integral ABS/Servo query
Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 5:34 pm
Had the R1100S a year now, having been using a K bike for the previous 10 years or so, and its really nice to get back to twin cylinder motorcycling.
Thanks for the forum - it’s very useful with lots of knowledgable people having contributed over the years (and some not so ...) - thanks.
Anyway, there are things to do before the spring which includes a service and a new back tyre; I’m not a mechanic but fairly technically minded having done most service and repair jobs on my airhead and K bikes for the past 30 odd years.
Prior to my last/late autumn run, I decided to treat the R1100S to a wash and coat of Scottoiler FS365; this last run was a work related run of 70 miles each way and involved maximum dual carriageway speeds as well as some town driving on arrival. I had followed Dellboy’s Garage Youtube method for applying the FS365, and all seemed well - loved the smell!
No problems on startup, all ‘check lights’ operated and extinguished as they should and the 70 mile outward run, which included a fuel stop (something I’m becoming accustomed to on the R1100S!) went fine.
However, on re-starting at my destination after a couple of hours, and on the run to my 2nd visit of the day, the bike developed an ABS fault (4 times per second blink ABS light plus general light on) and the bike went into ‘residual’ braking mode with only the front brake available (It’s a 2005 model with integral ABS/Servo); as I was aware that I had a front brake, I carried on the 15 miles or so to my 2nd destination.
Switching off and restarting the bike seemed to clear the fault, but only temporarily, as after a few miles of riding, the same fault recurred. Consequently, the 70 mile ride home had to be undertaken with front brake only.
Conclusions that I’d come to during the afternoon was:
1. It could be low voltage/battery issue (bike has heated grips/constant on lights etc) - but battery is just 12 months old genuine BMW part and the bike is hooked up in the garage to an optimiser/charger?
2. It could be that brake fluid level is low in the integral unit - how do you check?
3. It could be that the electrics (which I’ve found not to be up to the usual German standard and indeed to consist of crumbling outer sheathing) may have created/contributed to a false reading, possibly in the ‘interesting’ rear light set up?
4. Since, the bike has been housed back in the garage and I’m assuming that the FS365 has dried out, and also it’s been hooked up back to the optimiser; I’ve not had a chance to ‘run the bike’, but the ABS sequence lights all seem to be performing ok on static start up.
I guess that I know what I need to do, in that the ABS Codes can be read and interpreted by a BMW main dealer, which would identify fairly quickly the fault, but that’s going to have to be a post-Xmas expense now.
I realise that there are a number of variables at play, but wondered if anyone had experienced any ‘intermittent’ faults with the integral ABS/Servo (I’ve read all the negative stuff about this system, but I quite like it now that I’ve become used to it), particularly in damp/wet conditions or having (winter) treated the bike with a ‘penetrating’ treatment such as WD40 or FS365?
Thanks.
Thanks for the forum - it’s very useful with lots of knowledgable people having contributed over the years (and some not so ...) - thanks.
Anyway, there are things to do before the spring which includes a service and a new back tyre; I’m not a mechanic but fairly technically minded having done most service and repair jobs on my airhead and K bikes for the past 30 odd years.
Prior to my last/late autumn run, I decided to treat the R1100S to a wash and coat of Scottoiler FS365; this last run was a work related run of 70 miles each way and involved maximum dual carriageway speeds as well as some town driving on arrival. I had followed Dellboy’s Garage Youtube method for applying the FS365, and all seemed well - loved the smell!
No problems on startup, all ‘check lights’ operated and extinguished as they should and the 70 mile outward run, which included a fuel stop (something I’m becoming accustomed to on the R1100S!) went fine.
However, on re-starting at my destination after a couple of hours, and on the run to my 2nd visit of the day, the bike developed an ABS fault (4 times per second blink ABS light plus general light on) and the bike went into ‘residual’ braking mode with only the front brake available (It’s a 2005 model with integral ABS/Servo); as I was aware that I had a front brake, I carried on the 15 miles or so to my 2nd destination.
Switching off and restarting the bike seemed to clear the fault, but only temporarily, as after a few miles of riding, the same fault recurred. Consequently, the 70 mile ride home had to be undertaken with front brake only.
Conclusions that I’d come to during the afternoon was:
1. It could be low voltage/battery issue (bike has heated grips/constant on lights etc) - but battery is just 12 months old genuine BMW part and the bike is hooked up in the garage to an optimiser/charger?
2. It could be that brake fluid level is low in the integral unit - how do you check?
3. It could be that the electrics (which I’ve found not to be up to the usual German standard and indeed to consist of crumbling outer sheathing) may have created/contributed to a false reading, possibly in the ‘interesting’ rear light set up?
4. Since, the bike has been housed back in the garage and I’m assuming that the FS365 has dried out, and also it’s been hooked up back to the optimiser; I’ve not had a chance to ‘run the bike’, but the ABS sequence lights all seem to be performing ok on static start up.
I guess that I know what I need to do, in that the ABS Codes can be read and interpreted by a BMW main dealer, which would identify fairly quickly the fault, but that’s going to have to be a post-Xmas expense now.
I realise that there are a number of variables at play, but wondered if anyone had experienced any ‘intermittent’ faults with the integral ABS/Servo (I’ve read all the negative stuff about this system, but I quite like it now that I’ve become used to it), particularly in damp/wet conditions or having (winter) treated the bike with a ‘penetrating’ treatment such as WD40 or FS365?
Thanks.