| | Review | | I wrote a review several weeks ago for my R1150R(abs), the review was written shortly after the servo on the abs failed which could have quite easily have been curtains for my pillion and myself.
The bike has great handling and comfort but the reliabilaty of the brakes/servos made me mark this bike down so badly.
At the end of my last review for this bike I had so little trust in the integral abs that I was either going to replace the abs unit and sell it at a cost of £1109 for the abs unit itself, or remove the abs unit and convert it to a non abs bike.
Reading several forums about the failures of the integral abs and reading one unit didnt last a year I finally removed the problematic abs unit, ordered Hell brake pipes front/rear brake switches (abs switches are normaly closed) and the distrubution piece to disconnect the front pipes from the rear, a small bit of wiring to the abs plug to get the rear lights working and hey presto a non abs R1150R.
The first thing that you notice is the power of the brakes is still there but with a lot more progressive feel. The first drive without the servos was strange - driving slowly through traffic was now a pleasant experience with non of the servo snatch on the abs version.
The handling is still spot-on, on faster twisty roads the difference between the abs and non abs becomes more apparent. Now you can feather the brakes when you need them instead of the on or off feel of the servo brakes.
The buzz word amongst most BMW dealers is to go for abs, even BMW riders seem to jump on their high horses when they speak of their abs bikes and how powerful the brakes are but abs itself can only take the brakes off if you are too savage on them and if you have a BMW with servos then you will need abs as everytime you brake its far more savage than the feel of the non abs version.
So as I have found out, don't be put off by a non abs R1150, take it for a test drive - you may just find it was the one thing that was spoiling the package.
| | | Submitted by | | Andyroo on 08/07/2008 | | | This ad has been viewed 42503 times | | | Write a review for BMW R1150 | | | See more reviews for BMW R1150 |
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