R1200RT ABS Start Up Check - Always Fails

[Newt]

New R1200RT. My first BMW. 3,000 miles. I get an ABS failure at start up every time I start the bike. Every time. The message disappears right away once I start rolling. At the 600 mile checkup the dealer told be all RT's give the error at startup and that is normal. Is this true or is it BS? I thought I remember reading that the error message would only pop up on the 1150's if the battery was low.

[BitScribbler]

Perfectly normal. Once you start rolling the computer can confirm that the wheel speed sensors are working correctly and so complete the ABS check.

 

IMHO yhey should really have had a different light to indicate ABS check not completed, rather than scaring us to death with a message like "BRAKE FAILURE!".

[David]

Your dealer is correct.

[Paul Mihalka]

On something like this I REALLY blame the dealer who delivered the new bike. This has to be explained at delivery BEFORE the new owner rides away the bike. It also has to be explained when a prospective customer goes out on a test ride. Reading the owner's manual might help too

[smiller]

IMHO they should really have had a different light to indicate ABS check not completed

 

Actually they shouldn't throw a warning light at all just because the ABS check is not yet completed. No other car or motorcycle I know of does this... all will present an ABS failure indication if a problem is detected with a wheel sensor during normal operation and that's as it should be, but it seems very silly to light an ABS warning light (or two ) every single time you start the bike. Just the usual BMW quirkiness I guess.

[JohnJC]

IMHO yhey should really have had a different light to indicate ABS check not completed, rather than scaring us to death with a message like "BRAKE FAILURE!".

 

It is really kinda stupid that we have to get rolling before we know if there really is an ABS failure. This is training us to ignore the ABS failure light.

 

OK, I'm moving, and yup its a real ABS failure. I have no brakes. Now what?

[Marty Hill]

You still have brakes.

[JohnJC]

I know, hence the

 

Of course, isn't a complete brake system failure noted by the same light we're trained to ignore?

[AndyS]

Hate to be picky, (from an 1150 point of view), but at the point in time that this light is on the Brakes are not working properly and you need to be aware of this. Fustratingly, I wish the full system pressure is there all the time.

Tata

AndyS

[ScottT]

Hate to be picky, (from an 1150 point of view), but at the point in time that this light is on the Brakes are not working properly and you need to be aware of this.

Andy, if the ABS warning comes on ANYTIME after you have driven off after start-up then you must be aware that the system has failed in some manner. It's as simple as that. Trust me, it GETS your attention. I had a 2002 R1150RS that had the rear servo go south and the warning light was very obnoxious. I put electrical tape over the lamp while I waited for the new servo unit and continued riding. Partly because I had the first R1150RS sold here in the States the wait for the unit was a couple of weeks. It had to come directly from Germany. While I waited the front servo continued to work and ABS continued to be available on the front wheel (ABS warning continued to flash). I did not have servo assist on the rear nor did I have ABS on the rear. The module was changed at 980 miles and worked flawlessly for the rest of the time I owned the bike. That was for another 38,000+ miles.

[Johnny_B]

My dealer told me when I picked up the bike. They said that the light goes out after the bike hits 4 MPH.