2009 HONDA CBR1000RR — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

HELLO, I OWN A 2009 CBR 1000RR ABS. I'VE PUT OVER 40,000 MILES ON THE BIKE SINCE I BOUGHT IT NEW IN APRIL 2011. THE BIKE PERFORMED WELL UNTIL DECEMBER 2013. I EXPERIENCED MY FIRST CRASH ON THAT BIKE. I WAS COMING TO A TRAFFIC LIGHT, IT TURNED YELLOW, I APPLIED THE FRONT BRAKES TO STOP AT THE LIGHT. AS SOON AS I PULLED THE LEVER IN THE FRONT TIRE LOCKED AND FLIPPED THE BIKE FORWARD. I STOOD UP IN SHOCK, RIGHTED THE MOTORCYCLE AND LOOKED DOWN TO SEE THE ABS LIGHT STEADILY FLASHING INDICATING AN ABS FAILURE. ONCE I GOT HOME I GOOGLED "CBR ABS FAILURE" I FOUND CBR OWNERS AROUND THE WORLD ARE EXPERIENCING A LOT OF ABS FAILURES. HONDA HAS NOT ADMITTED THERE IS ANY PROBLEM DESPITE ALL THE ISSUES. COINCIDENTALLY THEY HAVE REPLACED THEIR OLD (2009 ERA) ANTILOCK BRAKE SYSTEM WITH A NEW SYSTEM. *TR

WHEN APPROACHING A SHARP TURN MY ANTI-LOCK BRAKES MALFUNCTIONED. THE BRAKE CALIPER CAME BACK ALMOST TO MY GRIPS AND I WENT PAST MY BRAKING POINT BY SEVERAL FEET. I ENDED UP IN THE SANDY GRAVEL ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I NEVER WRECKED BUT I CAME CLOSE. THE ABS LIGHT WAS FLASHING SO I RESET IT BY TURNING THE IGNITION OFF AND THEN RESTARTING THE BIKE. THE ABS MALFUNCTIONED SEVERAL MORE TIMES THAT DAY AND I ALSO HAD A DEAD BATTERY WHEN I WENT INTO A RESTAURANT TO EAT, CAME OUT AFTER APPROXIMATELY AN HOUR AND MY BATTERY WAS DEAD. THE ABS BRAKES HAVE NOW MALFUNCTIONED MANY MANY TIMES SINCE THAT FIRST DAY. EVERY TIME MY BRAKES MALFUNCTION, I GO PAST MY BRAKING POINT BY SEVERAL FEET. THE BRAKES REVERT TO STANDARD BRAKES AND THERE IS A SLIGHT DELAY WHEN THIS OCCURS CAUSING ME TO MISS MY BRAKING POINT BY SEVERAL FEET. THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS BECAUSE A FEW FEET CAN BE THE DIFFERENCE IN HITTING THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF YOU OR NOT. *TR

WHEN I APPLIED THE BRAKES INCREASED PRESSURE ON THE BRAKE LEVER DIDN'T RESULT IN INCREASED BRAKING FORCE AND THE BIKE WOULDN'T SLOW DOWN THEN SUDDENLY THE BRAKE LEVER CAME BACK TOWARD THE HANDLE BAR AND THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON AND NORMAL BRAKING RESUMED IN FAIL-SAFE MODE. THE DEALER REPLACED THE FRONT POWER UNIT AND BLED THE BRAKE SYSTEM UNDER WARRANTY AND RETURNED THE BIKE WITH 26146 MILES. ON 8/21 AT 26275 MILES I WAS BRAKING FOR TRAFFIC, LET OFF THE BRAKES MOMENTARILY AND THEN WHEN I RESUMED BRAKING THE BRAKE LEVER CAME BACK TO THE HANDLEBAR. ONLY HAPPENED ONCE ON THIS RIDE. ON 8/23 AT 26350 MILES AS I WAS ROLLING BACKWARDS OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY THE BRAKE LEVER CAME ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE HANDLEBAR AND I ROLLED OUT INTO THE STREET WITH NO BRAKES UNTIL I HAD PUMPED UP THE BRAKES. HAD NORMAL BRAKES FOR THE REST OF THE RIDE. ON 8/25 AT 26,435 MILES THE BRAKE LEVER REPEATEDLY CAME BACK TO THE BAR WHILE BRAKING ON THE TRIP TO TAKE THE BIKE BACK TO THE DEALER. *TR

MY FIRST ISSUE WAS ROUGHLY ONE MONTH AGO. THE NEXT RIDE AFTER MY FIRST TRACK DAY AT (THANK GOD NOTHING HAPPENED AT THE HIGH SPEEDS OF THE TRACK WITH OTHER RIDERS ALL AROUND). CAME INTO A CORNER WITH TWO RIDERS FOLLOWING CLOSE BEHIND AND HAD TO TAKE THE TURN HOT WHEN I REALIZED MY BRAKE LEVER WAS AWFULLY SOFT. PULLED TO THE FAR RIGHT, DOWNSHIFTING AND USING THE REAR BRAKE, TO LET THE OTHER RIDERS PASS... SURE ENOUGH PATCH OF SAND IN THE FAR RIGHT OF THAT NEXT CORNER, SWEPT THE BIKE OUT FROM UNDER ME. GET HOME, CLEAN THE DUST OFF AND START CHECKING EVERYTHING ON THE BIKE FIGURING IT WAS STRANGE BUT IT HAD NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE AND RIGHT AFTER THE CRASH, THE BRAKES WERE FINE! NO ABS LIGHT EITHER. BLED THE BRAKES WHEN WE GOT HOME, HAVE BEEN RIDING HER SINCE WITHOUT ISSUE. STARTED BUYING REPLACEMENT PARTS, PUT ON SOME ENGINE SLIDERS AND ORDERED THE NEW CLUTCH SIDE ENGINE CASE ALONG WITH NEW BODYWORK, CLIP ONS, NEW LEVERS, NEW EXHAUST, VESRAH RJL PADS, GALFER ROTORS, BRAIDED BRAKE LINES. NONE OF THESE PARTS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE ENGINE SLIDERS HAVE BEEN INSTALLED ON THE BIKE. YESTERDAY, ON MY WAY IN TO WORK JUST BEFORE THE LAST TWO TURNS MY ABS LIGHT STARTED FLASHING MADLY. TEST THE BRAKES, THEY'RE WORKING... BUT THE FRONT IS SOFT... GET TO THE TURN AND WHADAYA KNOW, NO FRONT BRAKE. COLD-DAMP MORNING, AND MY COMMUTE IS ONLY 6 MILES = COLD TIRES. DOWNSHIFT FROM 3RD TO FIRST, TIRE SLIDES, HIT THE REAR BRAKE TO SCRUB MORE SPEED, TIRE SLIDES AGAIN. NARROWLY MISSED THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME AND BARELY KEPT FROM CROSSING INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. SINCE THIS IS THE SECOND TIME, I JUMPED ONTO THE 1000RR FORUMS AND STARTED READING. (HTTP://WWW.1000RR.NET/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=69868&PAGE=22) NOW I KNOW HONDA KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM, AS THEY HAVE BEEN REPLACING PARTS AND MOTORCYCLES WHILST MAKING OWNERS SIGN NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) *TT

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 HONDA CBR1000RR. WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 100 MPH ON A RACE TRACK, THE THROTTLE DID NOT OPERATE AND THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT DECELERATE WHICH RESULTED IN A CRASH. THE CONTACT WAS INJURED AND THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHO INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THE RETURN CABLE ON THE THROTTLE WAS SEVERED INTERNALLY WHICH MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE THROTTLE TO PROPERLY OPERATE. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 3,000.