2017 HONDA VFR1200X — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

Repeated front brake failure, motorcycle is available for inspection. Front brake failure is an unsafe riding situation, prevents the motorcycle from stopping and exposes the rider, passenger and drivers of other vehicles and pedestrians to potential serious injury or death through loss of braking and loss of control of vehicle. Problem was confirmed by independant service dealer. Many reports of similar problems have been reported in the USA, Australia and Europe since 2012 and for model years up to 2017. Common cause is faulty ABS and/or it's related control components/modules. Motorcycle has approx 2500 miles from new. Brake service perfomed according to manufacturers recommendations by qualified service dealer. Motorcycle has not been in a collision or crash. No modifications to brake system, electronics, sensors etc. Motorcycle has not been raced, abused, used for hire etc. Riding at posted freeway speed (55-65mph) I applied the front brake in preparation for a curve, front brake lever would not move. Applied rear linked brake which did work. 3 times within less than 10 miles of travel at posted freeway speeds the front brake lever would not move when trying the front brake. Exited the freeway and while on a straight portion of road at approximately 35 mph in tried to apply the front brake. The lever would not move. On the second attempt the front brake lever pulled toward the handlebar but the brake did not release when the lever was released. The front brake then applied maximum braking without applying any pressure to the brake lever. Traffic to the rear was closing very quickly so I applied throttle to increase speed. The engine power was able to overcome the braking effect. I pulled into a fueling station after which the front brake released. I was able to stop the motorcycle using the linked rear brake although with reduced braking performance. Many publically reported ABS module failure affecting the front brake on the VFR1200X and VFR1200.

Front brake failure without warning. Periodically the front brake lever is immobile and will not engage the front brake under normal operation. After releasing and reapplying (squeezing the front brake lever with high force) one or more times it will function. It generally brakes very hard once it re-engages. (If you increase the pressure on the brake lever enough it will give in and apply the brakes, but doing this almost locks the front wheel). This doesn’t usually happen in city riding. When the front brake does fail it is usually after riding on the highway without applying the brakes for 20+ minutes. First happened when the motorcycle had around 4000 miles on the odometer, 4 months after purchasing the motorcycle new. This has happened about 30 times in five months, 8000 miles (between 4000 and 12000 miles) since the first occurrence. Dealer feedback. Took motorcycle to the local Honda dealership while the motorcycle was (still is) under warranty. A service technician took a short ride and didn't duplicate the issue. The service manager stated that he called Honda and was told they would not pay for diagnostics since they didn't duplicate the issue.