Bypass 1250 Bandit ABS with braided hoses

HobbyMachinist said:

I'm thinking about shaving some more weight off of mine. Been thinking about removing the ABS like you have. Were there any issues involved in doing so?

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I thought it might be useful if I started this reply as a new thread.

The following information has been copied from a thread I started in another forum. As I progressively removed the ABS system over a period of time, I'll post each of the original updates as a separate message ... hopefully it will make more sense that way. Some of the original messages were written in the present or even future tense (and will be copied without editing to save time), but in fact it is now all in the past

Hello all,

I'm thinking about fitting a "full race" braided brake line kit to the front of my 1250 Bandit ABS. This uses only two brake lines, direct from master cylinder to calipers, so it would bypass the front ABS.

Reasons for:

2 line kit means direct fluid transfer from lever to calipers, so more powerful braking?
The bike came with ABS but I didn't want it in the first place so I don't mind losing it
Saves a fortune on the replacement 5 line front kit

Reasons against:

Easier to keep the ABS and buy 5 braided lines instead of 2 (apart from the cost)
I'd have to tell the insurance company
No idea what effect it would have on the rear ABS (or warning lights)
I might wish I’d left the ABS connected if the worst happens!

Quick update: I've already disconnected the ABS electrically to test it (easy job, remove the 2 ABS fuses and unplug the main ABS connector). I've been riding like this for about a month now, so effectively I have non ABS brakes, but they are still physically connected via the ABS unit under the tank. Now it's an easy job to remove all the old hoses and the ABS gubbins, then fit new hoses front & back.

Insurance company has approved the ABS bypass!

The only slight issue is that the red ABS fault light stays on. I haven't worked out how to trick it into thinking that the ABS is ok yet.

Something went wrong here ... I'll tidy it up later

I have now disabled my ABS system.

I know most of you will not agree with this modification so before I continue, can I just say I am not posting this because I think I am better than ABS. I just thought the information below might be useful to someone. For example, if your ABS control unit has failed and you are faced with a huge dealer repair bill, you could use this information to just upgrade the brake hoses and not repair the ABS.

Read on … if I haven’t offended you already

I fitted braided hoses because I wanted more powerful brakes on my 1250 Bandit. However, fitting braided hoses to an ABS Bandit is very expensive, as follows:

£230: Goodridge full ABS hose kit, front & rear (8 hoses?)
£120: Dealer fitting charges (estimated) - bleeding the ABS is not a DIY job

£350: Total (probably more?)

Therefore I decided to fit non-ABS braided hoses and bypass the ABS system. Cost as follows:

£20: Front braided hoses *
£5: Brake fluid

£25: Total

* My stainless braided race hoses were on special offer but £50 is a more typical price

If anyone is still reading this here is how I did it:

Remove both ABS fuses (under the seat)
Remove LH side panel, unbolt fuse box to access ABS control unit electric connector and unplug it. Wrap connector with lots of tape / old inner tube etc, to protect it from the elements / vibration, or in case you want to reconnect it. It can be placed back in its original position in the bottom of the plastic tray but left disconnected.

You now have (effectively) a non-ABS brake system, except that all the brake hoses still physically go into and out of the ABS control unit under the seat. As there is no power to the control unit, this is now just inert plumbing.

The only slight downside is that the ABS warning light in the clocks will now stay on. I have a bit of neatly cut black tape over it for now, until I can work out how to switch it off. I never see the red light while I’m riding, so I’ll probably just leave the tape on.

Something else to be aware of: According to the Haynes manual, there is a wire running from the ABS connector to the ECU. Disconnecting the ABS electrically has had no impact on my engine at all, so I assume that the wire is for the ECU to tell the ABS that the engine is running, not for the ABS to tell the ECU that there’s an ABS problem.

Before you continue, I would suggest a test ride to make sure that the bike is not affected by your ABS “electrical power failure”. I rode it like this for about 2 months.

Bleed the front brake system dry and remove the 3 front hoses, ie:

1. Master cylinder to hose joint under bottom yoke
2. From hose joint to calliper 1
3. From calliper 1 (over mudguard) to calliper 2

I also removed the front and rear ABS wheel sensors for neatness (see photo). The wires are easily traced back and disconnected at snap-connectors under the seat & tank

My original intention was to remove the ABS control unit completely, saving a big chunk of metal and fluid weight. However, you would never be able to extract all the plumbing under the tank and seat without cutting it into small pieces … a bit of a problem if you later change your mind. I also now know that the front ABS circuit is completely separate from the rear ABS circuit, ie the fluid is not shared inside the ABS control unit. Therefore (for now at least) I have just left the physical ABS control unit and the entire rear brake system untouched (See photo - much easier, no fluid mess, and simple to reconnect if I ever want to switch the ABS back on). I don’t think the rear really needs braided hoses anyway.

If you leave the ABS unit in place as I did, you now have the problem of the two front brake hose ends that run under the tank to the ABS control unit - these will be hanging free under the bottom yoke. Time for a clever bodge: Assuming that your new hoses come with new banjo bolts, then you will have two of the old “single banjo” bolts spare. Use these to bolt the “under tank” hose ends back onto the hose joint under the bottom yoke (see photos - rubber bolt cap & zip ties are temporary). There will be virtually no fluid in the pipes and no fluid pressure, so the old banjo washers should be ok to reuse if you haven’t got any new ones (mine don’t leak)

You are now at the darkest hour. You have no front brakes, no ABS system, and you can’t put it back together yourself because you can’t bleed the ABS without a special vacuum pump

Fit the new “direct” front hoses, prime and bleed as usual and the job is finished. A solid feel at the lever and a much more positive and powerful response from the callipers.


Fantastic

I finally decided to remove the ABS pump and all the plumbing. If you want to do the same, this is how I did it. The various metal ABS pipes will be bent and mangled by the time you’ve finished, so the process is not reversible.

Remove tank, seat, side panels, battery and battery tray to expose the ABS control unit and pipes (see photo). I also removed the right footrest plate and the rear master cylinder / header tank / link pipe.

It’s easier to remove the rear brake pipes first, so there is more room to bend the front pipes around the pump. One of them comes out intact with a bit of wriggling but the other needs bending to remove it. Cover the open pump ports with tape to keep dirt out (see photo).

Then remove the front pipes. I can now confirm that it is possible to remove the metal ABS pipes that run under the tank (from the bottom yoke to the ABS unit). It’s not easy though - you will have to bend the pipes all over the place to get them out, but I didn’t need to cut them. See photo with both pipes half way out (the bars are only hanging on bungee cords as the yokes have been out). There are some plastic clips that hold the pipes against the frame. These are difficult to reach, so just push an old screwdriver between the clips and the frame, then hit the screwdriver with a hammer and you’ll snap the clips off. By the time you’ve straightened the pipes to get them out through the front of the frame, they will be 1.5 metres long! (see photo on workshop floor). Just a word of warning, there are three metal hydraulic pipes under the tank - don’t go for the clutch pipe

The ABS unit can now be unbolted and removed - and you have just lightened your bike by 1.5 kg. If you want to lose some more weight, you can also remove the large metal bracket that supports the ABS plastic tray (another 0.7 kg). The ABS tray stays fastened to the rear mudguard but you will need to drill some small holes in the front of the empty tray and zip tie it to the frame on each side. This isn’t a problem as the tray now weighs almost nothing.

Fit a single rear braided hose and bleed as usual. The hose banjo can be fastened to the master cylinder pointing forwards (ie correctly against the banjo stops), then it loops back towards the calliper. See photo - it’s a tight bend but if you have a look at a non ABS 1250 Bandit, the routing is exactly the same.

The ABS stickers on the front mudguard easily peel off and the job is complete

Removing the whole ABS system has lightened my bike by 3.7 Kg.

Nice job guy. Glad mine '07 was without the ABS.

achesley said:

Nice job guy. Glad mine '07 was without the ABS.

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Thanks achesley

Just a bit of follow up information. I now have a hugger fitted, so i have removed the ABS plastic tray completely - it wasn't easy to keep it in place with zip ties. You can leave the steel ABS support bracket in place and then you wouldn't need any zip yies. Removing the ABS tray does expose the the shock to muck thrown off the back wheel ... unless you fit a hugger like I did.

Once the ABS tray is removed, access to the shock is easy