Anti Lock Brake Failure

[K12Rick]

I have been riding most of the summer without my anti lock brakes. I had the problem diagnosed at the dealer, and the Hydro Unit part# 34512333232 has failed. I have registered with the Boneyard and no luck. I was not too concerned until my recent trip to Vermont. I had a car pull out, when I got on the brakes I locked the rear causing me to get a bit sideways. I was fortunate to avoid a crash, but I may not get that lucky again. I wanted to know if anyone has an alternate source for these units? This is a 1999 LT dealer cost for the part is $1900.00 Thanks for any input.

[grahamw]

Rick

Motorworks in the UK have one for 380GBP (abt 800 dollars)

http://www.bmwandguzzispares.co.uk/bmw/products/product.php?f=i&code=BA_10_32_IA_80&shnew=Used&model=Secondhand+K1200+RS%2FGT%2FLT+%28flat+four%29&shnewcode=10&part=Brakes&sub_part=Abs&modelcode=32&partcode=IA&source_code=BA_10_32_IA_80

try them direct or PM me with more details and I will call them.

Regards

[JATownsend]

You might give these folks a shout...

CyclesRecycled (http://www.cyclesrecycled.com/)

I believe cccpastorjack recommended them a while back.

[K12Rick]

Thanks for the leads I'll make some calls today.

Rick

[danbrown]

www.cyclesrecycled.com or phone (828)433-1067 the mans name is Fred Rowland

[stevie1]

Ref Graham W comments.
Motorworks are very good to deal with, but us brits apreciate that UK prices are higher.

[Caper11]

I have been riding most of the summer without my anti lock brakes. I had the problem diagnosed at the dealer, and the Hydro Unit part# 34512333232 has failed. I have registered with the Boneyard and no luck. I was not too concerned until my recent trip to Vermont. I had a car pull out, when I got on the brakes I locked the rear causing me to get a bit sideways. I was fortunate to avoid a crash, but I may not get that lucky again. I wanted to know if anyone has an alternate source for these units? This is a 1999 LT dealer cost for the part is $1900.00 Thanks for any input.

Did you try power flushing the whole brake system including the modualtor?
I Have a 2000LT that was doing the same thing diagnosed as the modulator having to be replaced. After doing some research I instructed the dealer to flush the system and then reset the computor. My brakes have been working fine ever since after 10,000 mi. Cost me 3.5 hrs labour. :D

[coug66]

Just a note on brake lockup. I had an Elk pull out with its calf in front of me and I did not feel comfortable with the ABS cutting out the brakes on me. On dry pavement I like my breaks to give me full power. Now if the roads were wet I would need the ABS but on dry pavement I prefer non ABS brakes.

The response from the ABS were no brakes for a short period of time which seemed like an eternity when you are trying for an emergency stop.

Just my 2 cents.

Ian

[K12Rick]

I flushed the system prior to taking the bike to the dealer per previous posts that I had read on this site. I had hoped that once the fault had been cleared that it would be O.K. It lasted for about an hour, then when I applied the brake it made a loud clank and the fault lights came on again. The dealer had said after the fault was reset that the piston in the unit was at fault, after hearing the noise I would tend to agree. I have serviced the brake system regularly prior to this failure. I do appreciate any and all suggestions. As for being better off without abs I always thought that my rear brake was not working very well, until I found out how easily it locked up. I feel the system is allowing maximum braking up to lock up. Once the rear begins to slide, without abs, maximum breaking is lost, and worse yet you cannot take evasive action. This situation scared myself and my wife, thank goodness we did'nt have an incident. For me I think abs is a good system, for others it may not.(I need to practice my emergency braking!) Thanks for all the advice I do appreciate it.
Rick

[alindsay]

You can get the unit at Chicago BMW for 20% off - $1520.

I'm in the same boat as my ABS is currently out. Back in July while on a trip the ABS threw the slow wag fault. I found that the rear reservoir was almost, but not completely, empty. I topped off and returned home. When home I found the rear brake pads were almostly completely worn away hence the low fluid level (I swear I had checked them not long before and there was plenty of pad left). Threw in a new set of pads, flushed the rear brake portion and made arrangements to have the fault cleared.

The tech said the unit reported a piston fault but when he cycled the ABS with the computer that it sounded OK. He cleared the fault and I went on my merry way. Over the next month the unit worked fine and I even wailed on the ABS a couple of times to make sure it was working. Finally one day, just as the first time, I was out running some errands and had made a number of stops. As I pulled out after one stop and the system did its set, it threw the slow wag fault again.

I did not flush the front part of the system the first time as the pads and fluid were OK and the fluid was still relatively fresh from the last time I changed it. I'm not sure if it is worth it to flush the front and get them to clear the fault again to see if it will stay fixed this time or just bite the bullet and replace the unit. Even at 20% off, that is a lot of money. Decisions, decisions ... .

That gives me two of the common failures, final drive and now the ABS.

[jac]

my 99 LT got the same problem, first time dealer reset it for free. after couple of days riding, the lights come on again. dealer refuse to do any thing beside replace the pump which is $1900 for parts, puls labor and so on.
I found the parts from ebay and took whole day to do installation. after that have the dealer to reset the code. then it's OK.
During the replacement, the most difficult part is to removed the old parts, beside that every thing are smooth. good luck.

[meese]

Just a note on brake lockup. I had an Elk pull out with its calf in front of me and I did not feel comfortable with the ABS cutting out the brakes on me. On dry pavement I like my breaks to give me full power. Now if the roads were wet I would need the ABS but on dry pavement I prefer non ABS brakes.Ian, you misunderstand how ABS works. The ABS system monitors wheel rotation, and will only kick in when one wheel begins to lock up and slip (wheel rotation stops). Once a wheel begins to slip it has much less friction with the ground, so stopping distances are increased (and the vehicle is harder to control). This works exactly the same in the wet or dry, though obviously the friction limit is less when wet and so the total stopping power available is also less. And even a "dry" road has varying friction available, as there may be differences in the asphalt, oil or antifreeze on the road surface, or leaves, gravel or other debris that you may not be able to see and adjust for in time.

So if you are able to brake hard enough to be just before the friction limit but not surpass it, you would stop in the shortest distance available. The fact that your ABS engaged proves that you were past the maximum braking power available at that instant and would have locked up a wheel and slid if ABS wasn't functioning. So not only would your stopping distance have increased, but you would have had a much higher chance of the bike sliding out from under you.

Simply put, ABS won't kick in unless it is needed, and at that point it will provide you with the maximum braking available at that instant, while still allowing control of the bike.

It would be interesting to note whether it was the rear wheel ABS kicking in, or the front, or both. Even on a bike as heavy as the LT it is possible to lock the rear wheel while using less than maximum braking power on the front. And if it was the front ABS that kicked in, then you almost certainly would have gone down if the ABS hadn't been doing its job. It may feel like the ABS is letting go and increasing your stopping distance, but in fact it is giving you the maximum braking available while maintaining control of the vehicle.

My new GT has ABS and ASC (traction control). 99% of the time I don't need either. But in that split second that one or the other kicks in, I know that it will do the best job it can with the actual traction available at that instant. In this case, a properly programmed computer can simply react faster than a human, while taking many more variables into account.