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ABS / Disconnecting/ ON/OFF switch / Discussion

46K views 61 replies 14 participants last post by  onewizard 
#1 ·
Hi,

does anyone have ABS ON/OFF switch?
 
#6 · (Edited)
I picked up the following on a UK forum (to be confirmed):

To turn off the ABS temporarily, get the rear wheel to spin while front wheel stopped until abs light come on. Then the ABS switches off until the bike is restarted.

a) if you added a centerstand, just roll in the air.
b) otherwise if you're on gravel, do a 'burnout" (discount the tire wear, you're about to do worst I hope)

TO BE CONFIRMED (on every year of the model I guess, for revisions).
 
#7 ·
TonyBKK
12th March 2012 at 6:15 am #127900
Reply To: ABS kill switch for Versys

I’ve tried a few ABS mods on the Versys and think I’ve found the one that works the best for me-

First I pulled the fuse which turns off the ABS. Simple, effective, but I personally am more comfortable with ABS on at the front, even when off pavement.

It’s the ABS on the rear wheel that I find intrusive and sometimes a bit dangerous when your trying to trail brake going down a steep hill and the ABS simply won’t allow you to lock up the rear wheel.

My fix: I simply unplug the ABS sensor for the rear wheel. The ABS still functions normally for the front wheel (I’ve tested it), but with the sensor unplugged the ABS will not function for the rear wheel.

Ride On!

Tony :)

ABS kill switch for Versys | GT-Rider.com
 
#8 ·
My understanding of ABS is the following

Preventing the wheel from locking while breaking
For this, each wheel needs a reference point, the other turning wheel
So, if one wheel is turning faster then the other, the system understand that the other wheel is slipping, releasing a bit of the breaking power to recover same speed has other wheel

By disconnecting one of the 2 sensors, I would think that it compromise the whole system

Finally, I would agree that disconnecting the rear wheel sensor would deactivate the abs on that wheel, that's easily demonstrated for the rear wheel. But I would also think that it would also deactivate the front one, which is another story to demonstrate without taking a major spill while testing

My 2 cents

LOP
 
#14 ·
Original quote from a UK site:
"To turn off the ABS temporarily, get the rear wheel to spin while front wheel stopped until abs light come on. Then the ABS switches off until the bike is restarted."

As far as I can tell from the service manual of the ninja 650r (close sibling), the burnout in the sand will cause service 44 (mismatching speed).
They don't say if the ABS is turned off until next ignition cycle, but that seems a logical action.

Still no one confirmed. Please take a few minutes and go check it and tell us!
 
#21 ·
Update; From the Dealer service department, which was, by the way, very reluctant to offer this conclusion as it is against company policy to dick with the bike as it sits....

If you remove the ABS fuses under the seat, it will disable the ABS feature. HOWEVER, it will also throw a fault code and the ABS will REMAIN disabled, even if you put the fuses back in. The fault code can only be cleared by the dealers ECU reader and, if under warranty, the documented fault code might void any warranty claim having to do with the braking system or service related issues related to the braking system.

So, it still looks like removing the sensors are the right solution although I am not clear on whether that throws a fault code and whether or not the fault light goes out when the sensors are re inserted....
 
#24 ·
I believe the sensor uses magnetic sensing of the alternating metal/air passing by. Placing a thin piece of tin like from a tuna can between the sensor and ABS ring on the wheel should theoretically prevent the sensors from detecting any wheel rotation.

There is a sensor in the transmission somewhere sensing the speed of the output shaft. Idk if a code would be thrown when the system detected no tire rotation when the transmission was turning. If no code would be thrown, this is a pretty simple way to disable the ABS. Slip small tin covers over the ABS sensors. Just be sure they're secured well.
 
#30 · (Edited)
Sensor Connector / Fuse ID

So I had a look, FYI to get at the rear sensor plug, you need to remove the plastic piece on the right, single Allen head cap screw, this screw has a unusually long spacer, what I found was the screw was so tight I thought I was going to round out the Allen key , when it came time to put together I realized the tube spacer is too long, hence the over tightening, I removed it and added a rubber washer and a small amount of loctite.

The fuses are ID as 25 amp ABSMOT which stands for motor and 15 amp ABSVAL which stands for valve relay.

The way I see it, the only way is as Invader suggested , switch the rear sensor. What I have found is the red wire is a positive feed from the ABS system, before I go any further I need a male and female Bosch socket / plug/connector, that matches the sensor. I have several ideas, one on the line of the starter solenoid and high beam light in combination with the emergency flasher.

Pulling fuses isn't a option, as I want the front ABS working. Also no taping into anything, no male and female connectors ==hands off!

Below are pictures of the connectors that say Bosch on them
 

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#33 ·
ABS Disable Rear Only

I see your solution, you are assuming the rating of the emergency flasher is 15 amp. Your circuit disables the whole ABS system.

I already have a plan, using relay logic, two SP relays to trigger the disable rear sensor relay, using the right and left turn signals as a "AND" gated switch. A double pole double throw relay used to disable the rear sensor, reset using the high beam headlight . The disable relay coil ground is connected to the positive terminal of the high beam headlight, one NO contact is a latch circuit once triggered, the instant the high beam comes on the relay drops out, the N.C. contact of one pole is what is connected in series to the rear sensor.
I have the Newark part numbers, altogether $20.

I still need those male and female connectors.
 
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#34 ·
I see your solution, you are assuming the rating of the emergency flasher is 15 amp. Your circuit disables the whole ABS system.

I already have a plan, using relay logic, two SP relays to trigger the disable rear sensor relay, using the right and left turn signals as a "AND" gated switch. A double pole double throw relay used to disable the rear sensor, reset using the high beam headlight . The disable relay coil ground is connected to the positive terminal of the high beam headlight, one NO contact is a latch circuit once triggered, the instant the high beam comes on the relay drops out, the N.C. contact of one pole is what is connected in series to the rear sensor.
I have the Newark part numbers, altogether $20.

I still need those male and female connectors.
Excellent point regarding rating of flasher. I'm now thinking about wiring the hazard light switch to a pair of rigid industries DOT fog lights with 2.29 amp draw. Do you think that is safe enough? What do you need for connectors? One Headlight and two turn signal pairs? I am looking forward to understanding your wizard plan.
 
#41 ·
Abs

Thank You
ABS has been around a long time, a good driver can get by 90% without it, however on black ice and you can't see it, a whole different story. First time I drove a ABS fitted service truck I almost piled into a conveyor in a gravel pit. I had several wheel sensors fail and a complete ABS module, all $$$$$$$$.
So before I do anything I plan on riding it and finding out for myself. Normally with ABS and ice, you hit the brakes as hard as possible to stop fast. On gravel or sand you sure don't want to do that and I see there should be a simple override .
I am pretty sure I can use my original idea but apply it to the ABS solenoid fuse.
 
#44 ·
Gravel

- you just GOTTA get out there, OFF the pavement...!

:wink2:
Second day on bike= 20 KM of gravel0:)--my GPS said turn right, turn left, go straight, go steep downhill across bridge , look out for piles of loose gravel, hell the tires need breaking in not braking in, this ABS ???? I need to see this for myself, right now, I see no need to do anything with the ABS, I did read that it doesn't function below 5 KM/HR, Great, I can walk faster than that
.
 
#45 ·
ABS is staying Untouched for now

Well I did some more gravel today, this time my choice not the GPS, i tried locking up the rear brake, used some engine braking and purposely jamming the rear brake, I know I need to adjust the suspension as it is a little stiff, a little blip of the ABS, worked flawlessly, first the only time I would be concerned about the ABS is if I was descending on a mountain trail with shear cliff drop offs, again the rear brake is a last ditch effort as all the weight is on the front suspension. For now I ain't touching the ABS.
If you are descending that steep a incline and going that fast the combined engine braking and rear braking/ light front braking isn't sufficient to slow you down and you are blaming the ABS for your problems, from what I have experienced so far, I would say you are riding the wrong bike if you need to disable the ABS.
 
#56 ·
I need to add: with street tires in dirt, you don't get much benefit from disabling abs, at least not as much as with knobbies. But spinning the rear with knobbies has 2 problems:

1/ you could dig a hole that you have to get yourself out of (don't ask...)

2/ it wears the tire; I probably ate up 300km worth of rubber in 10 seconds due to poor location.

So, REALLY try to find slippery surface like grass...
 
#52 ·
Reason to Disable ABS

As a matter of curiosity , I have going on 7000 KM on my 2015, most of my braking involves engine braking and front rear combinations. I have had the rear ABS fire several times and the front once,90% of those occurrences were cases of accelerating and not being able to use the front brake or engine brake due to unusual stupid drivers-----yes suppose to be in control at all times, and I will explain one, which still leaves me wondering what was going through the drivers brain****if anything.
I am in a downtown city street at rush hour, in a left hand turn lane with one car in front of me, people at the cross walk waiting for the light to change, inches from the roadway. Building on the left has a large parking lot accessible from the street I am on and also from the street I am turning onto. So we get the advanced green, I am keeping a eye on the pedestrians as they are inches from stepping onto the road, I am 10 feet from the woman in front of me, when she slams on her brakes, I barely had gotten my foot up onto the foot peg, one hand on the throttle and one on the clutch, she couldn't turn left into the parking lot because of through traffic waiting for the stop light. So my only choice was to pull in the clutch, hit the rear brake and maneuver around her and the pedestrians, ABS fired luckily or I might have skidded into the pedestrians, I did manage to lay on the horn.

So why she didn't turn into the parking lot from the left hand turn lane and instead go through the light and try from a busy main street is beyond me, traffic on the main street was at least 20 cars waiting for the light, so someone would have needed to let this stupid person turn once the light for through traffic changed to green, as there wasn't enough space between the cars to get a pedestrian through.

So my question that has never been answered is why do you need to disable the ABS?
 
#53 ·
They say on dirt you're better off without ABS. I'm not sure I buy into that, and I was one of the people back in the late 70's and early 80's who decried ABS on cars!

I've found that at very low speeds the rear ABS doesn't fire. If I'm going very slowly and hit the rear brake on a dirt surface it will lock up. I'm talking speeds at say 2mph.

On dirt roads the front ABS works just the way I want it to. It will skid a tiny bit then regain traction. I'm not trying to skid the front wheel because that would lead to a fall on dirt. Straight ahead stopping or gentle braking in a turn is all I want out of the front brake on dirt, and the ABS seems to be just fine.

The rear ABS does inhibit the ability to do long rear wheel skids or those cool skidding turns and stops. I used to do those by the thousands on my bicycle as a kid in our gravel driveway. Honestly, on a 500 pound motorcycle with a seat as high as the Versys there doesn't seem to me to be much utility for such maneuvers.

I find the rear ABS does a good job in the dirt when descending slowly down something steep or when making a max effort stop. So far I've not found any situation where I want the ABS off. I'm not very experienced on the dirt, so my opinion isn't worth all that much, so you're getting what you paid for.
 
#54 ·
I have been riding dirt road and some trails lately.
Basically never been in a slope so steep that this would have helped.
And it's not like I didn't test the braking limit in the steeper slopes.
I did check how much abs breaking gives me.

However, this entire notion of blocking the rear to help slow down starts to make sense when you have knobbies first, to pile up dirt in front of tire. A slick tire does not benefit from locking.


It makes sense further in low traction surface, like loose gravel, mud and sand.
But when you think about it, I have not seen much slopes with mud; mud holes are always flat.
Sand is moved around by rain on slopes. So, that's the one case to worry about.

So, turning ABS off is mostly for fun, or for knobbies.
 
#55 ·
FWIW - I rode quite a few 'gnarly' dirt trails near an area ski hill this morning on my '15 650LT and ABS. LOTS of loose gravel, so I made a point of using LOTS of rear brakes on the down-hills...!

The wheel 'locked-up' just FINE, and slid when I wanted it to, FULLY in control.

:thumb: - :thumb:
 
#57 ·
Rear brake ABS disconnect?

Hi-

Just wondering if anyone has figured out a way of turning off ABS on the rear brake only? I'd love to be able to disconnect just the rear for riding on dirt/gravel. I'm surprised that there's no aftermarket mod to do this yet.

And on a related note, has anyone tried the technique of just pulling the fuse for the ABS out temporarily? Obviously, that will remove the front ABS also. Not real desirable in my book, but does it have any other side-effects (like upsetting the onboard computers?)

Thanks

-dm
 
#58 ·
Legitimate request.

non-matching but valuable reminders:
-you can disable all abs by stationary spinning the rear wheel in second gear; reset by cycling ignition off/on.
-if abs off needed, it's usually contemplating a steep downhill and I simply turn off ignition.

Most anomalies with abs will be recorded with a code.
See https://www.kawasakiversys.com/foru...-reconnect-rear-abs-my-2011-versys-650-a.html
This guy might be the only one with rear abs off that I know of, and it was because the pump failed.

Watching this thread with interest.
 
#61 ·
#62 ·
Duplicate Post

So I moved the existing thread as this has been discussed to death, someone find the connectors real cheap and then we got something.
 
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