Brake Problems

[MarshMan]

Fired up the ST this morning for the ride to work. It's been pouring rain for 10 days straight--I really needed this. It was not to be: steady red warning light, rapidly blinking "brake failure" light. Manual sez I'm down to residual braking system, no ABS. Bike is rideable, but not for the 500-miler I had planned for this weekend. ARRRRGGHH! Doubly frustrating considering how I have babied this bike. Is there no avoiding a hellish trip to the dealer?

[Woodie]

This is quite possibly caused by a low battery at startup. I've had this happen on mine as well, after it's sat for a bit.

 

Start the bike, ride for ~20 minutes (enough to top up the battery charge). Then stop, turn off the ignition, wait a few seconds, then restart. If it's just the battery, then the ABS warning lights should behave normally. One time, I rode all the way to work, still had the lights. Came out in the afternoon, and the brakes/warning lights had returned to normal.

 

Finally, a nice day! (Yes, I got to ride in today!)

[Albert]

Also check the small abs wire running down the left fork leg to the caliper (assuming the ST is like the RT). I read (and found on mine) that the wire can be positioned so it rubs the rotor and would, presumably, wear through at some point. I found mine was barely touching and slid things further up in the wire retainer. If's your's has worn through it's probably a quick fix for the dealer anyway. Good luck.

[hophead]

I ride my ST every day and sometimes this still happens! It is the one legitimate gripe I have with the bike. There is a totally different feel to the brakes when you have only residual power as opposed to normal power. Be very careful!

Why should you put up with a battery that loses significant power from sitting for only 10 days on a $16000 plus motorcycle? You aren't also grabbing the brake handle on startup are you?

[MarshMan]

I've only had the bike for 14 months...kept the battery topped up with the special extra-expensive BMW canbus charger all winter. Probably but 2,000 miles on it so far this spring with no problems. If it's simply a battery problem I guess I should be happy. I will keep you all posted.

[hophead]

This does not sound like a battery problem to me. Are you saying the failure mode persists and will not clear itself upon cool down and restart?

[MarshMan]

Opted not to take the bike to work so further testing will have to wait until tonight.