Re: [ST] was damnitalltoheck, now how's the beemer

[Matthew Heyer <matthewheyer@xxxxxxxxx>]

That sounds also, and would make me nervous everytime out on the bike.  I would agree with someone else's comments that the failure of the ABS system should at worst lead to a standard non-ABS brake - not no brakes!!  This is an extreme liability on BMW's part.  This could happen at the extreme worst time with no warning, and then you're dead.
 
Matt Heyer


----- Original Message ----
From: MFay@xxxxxxxxx
To: st@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2006 3:52:18 AM
Subject: Re: [ST] was damnitalltoheck, now how's the beemer


<<So all's pretty good in the BMW camp.
Except of course for the complete failure of the braking system in rush hour
morning traffic!!!
Thankfully I had an escape route available and the presence of mind to a use
it.

The scenario was as follows.....
Small village road leading onto a main national route into Dublin.
There was a 90 degree right turn at a junction and as I took the turn a bus
pulled out from a stop into my expected path. No biggie as there was plenty
of space so I applied the brakes to be greeted by rapidly flashing warning
lights and no braking effort. Luckily there was a housing estate to my left
which I could turn into and use engine braking to stop. 

An electronic unit which BMW call a modulator had failed. This unit takes
the signals from the ABS sensors and applies the servos as necessary. When
it failed the servos on 'BOTH' braking circuits weren't activated and I was
left with only residual mechanical braking  (negligible). This all happened
two weeks ago. At the time I told my colleagues about the incident and one
of them who rides a R1100RT said that he had a similar failure about a year
ago. Yesterday he dropped in to my office to tell me that the module had
failed yet again on his bike. So that's three brake failures on BMW ABS
bikes that I know of without doing any real digging.

So, in summary....
Fantastic bike let down only by a ridiculous design that results in a single
point of failure for critical safety systems.
Oh, and the useless screen and leaky panniers. ;O)

Martin (Howlin' Dawg) Fay
Ireland

'06 BMW K1200S
'00 Moto Guzzi California EV Touring
'75 Honda GL1000 Goldwing



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