How do I know for sure I have functioning ABS & VSS?

[Geep]

Coming home from 2 hr trip at 120km/hr on my 2015 RTS with a flashed ECU and cat deleted pipe, I slowed for a 90 degree stop sign controlled turn and accelerated fast (pinned) in 1st, shifted to 2nd and Check Engine warning came on. I immediately stopped and shut the engine off.

I would not restart meaning turn over. Oil level was good. Nothing leaking on the road. Road home of the back of wife’s RoadStar…. Got a trailer lined up and when back to get the bike. After phoning the closest BRP dealer only to find that their Spyder trained mechanic quit….when pulling up codes I got ABS and VSS codes. So I had power to do this. I disconnected the negative post and let it sit. Reconnected and still would not start. Step on the brake and it turned over a couple of times. I then pumped the brake and be damned if it didn’t start with the Limp Home Mode displayed. Bike sounded normal….so off I rode progressively going faster and faster until I hit 100km/hr.

Bike has ran fine since

HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE FUNCTIONING ABS AND VSS?

I am putting the whole event off as a gremlin but I dont have the same faith in my Spyder as I did before this happened….29k km on the old girl and have never had any issues before

[Arion]

Sounds like you managed to cause Nanny to have a minor stroke. Suspect she wasn't used to a flashed ECU, cat delete pipe and being "pinned." Glad she was able to recover.

[BajaRon]

I would tend to agree with Arion. You did something that the Nanny really didn't like. Sudden, slamming maneuvers are much more likely to get her agitated. Smooth is fast!

[JayBros]

I won't suggest any maneuver to test the VSS for your own safety, but if you want to test the ABS, find a long, straight, smooth stretch of road and run your Spyder up to 110-120KPH. Slam on the brakes as hard as you can and if you feel the ABS pulsing you'll know it works. Before you try this though do some panic stops at slower speeds to be absolutely certain your Spyder stop in a straight line and does not pull in either direction. Be safe!!!

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I won't suggest any maneuver to test the VSS for your own safety, but if you want to test the ABS, find a long, straight, smooth stretch of road and run your Spyder up to 110-120KPH. Slam on the brakes as hard as you can and if you feel the ABS pulsing you'll know it works. Before you try this though do some panic stops at slower speeds to be absolutely certain your Spyder stop in a straight line and does not pull in either direction. Be safe!!!

I think a better way might be to go 30 mph and slam on the brakes .... if nthe tires lock up and you leave Skid marks it's NOT working ..... feeling that " pulsing " might be difficult to identify .... Mike

[OldAge]

Here is a procedure that works but I don't recommend it. Returning from a trip to the Smokies, enter a construction zone where it narrows to one lane.Car on right trys to push ahead, (as usual). Car sees police vehicle, panics and pulls in front of Spyder. Then applies brakes. Spyder pulling Bunkhouse immediately applies full brakes. ABS works flawlessly, hauling down Spyder and camper. Problem avoided. However, it does take a while for butt to release very firm hold on seat.

[Gwolf]

Do the brake testing on a dirt or limerock road. You will not have the tire screeching stops that you get on pavement. The dirt roads will leave definite marks if the brakes lock up so you can go back and see them. It will be less abrasive to the tires and you. The marks left on the hard limerock or dirt will identify which tires locked up without going fast enough to put you in the ditch in a skid.

[Jetfixer]

Check for the possibility that when you hit the brakes that hard, that your battery didn't shift and cause a momentary short. Other than most of the methods mentioned above, the only real way to confirm operation of these protection circuits is with BUDS.

[BertRemington]

After turning the ignition on and while you are reading the safety card, the Spyder's major electronics modules on the CANBUS (there are 11 of them) are performing multiple redundant functional checks and reporting the results to the instrument console. After you start the engine and get out on the road, those functional checks continue. Repetition rates vary but I've observed 16 messages per module per second. An example: if you push the brake pedal a certain distance and the brake pressure, measured by the VSS, doesn't increase a fault is reported. Rider safety was a major factor in BRP's getting approval allowing Spyder riders to use an ordinary (eg no motorcycle endorsement) driver license in many locales. If your Spyder is running straight and smooth like before then all safety functions are operational.

PS as Jetfixer said it would be good to check battery tie-down and maybe other possible loose items since you appear to ride your Spyder pretty hard.

[BertRemington]

While I specifically addressed the question, I didn't address the symptoms: ABS and VSS diagnostic codes.

Because you were braking and accelerating so hard, it's very likely (to 80% probability) you had a transient CANBUS message (not wiring) sequencing error (most messages are serialized). The 2015s had the early CANBUS modules which I think aren't as robust as the later (BUDS2) modules.

Some explanation. CANBUS messages are broadcast by each module according to its own timeline. Each module also listens for specific messages of interest and processes them accordingly. This processing takes time and messages of interest may be missed during that time. Due to sequencing and other redundancy (eg measurement-to-measurement reasonableness) checks an apparent but not actual error might be detected and reported. Some of these errors are stored and some aren't. I also suspect some stored errors are reset after riding a short time without the error occurring again. This has been observed with evaporative system errors.

[BertRemington]

I just realized more explanation was needed. When you are riding your Spyder in a boring manner, which RTs are designed for, the safety processing algorithms are quite simple. The SAS comparison with the YRS is simple and short. And so on and so forth. But when measurements are changing rapidly (during rapid acceleration, deceleration and steering) the algorithms become more complex as determinations for intervention are calculated and coordinated. These multi-module VSS interventions include the Stability Control System, Antilock Braking System, Electronic Brake Distribution and Traction Control System coordinated and performed by the VCM (as well as other modules, eg ECM). This additional complexity and often additional CANBUS traffic of interest, takes time to process and develop a response. During that time window messages of interest can be missed and the message validation algorithm will generate an error code.

So your Spyder was mostly functioning correctly (some interventions are harder to detect than others) but thought it wasn't due to sluggish message processing and therefore raised an error code because...it's a Spyder.

Ride it as usual for several hundred miles and if there aren't any error codes then you had a transient. Most of us who ride even a little bit aggressively will see a light or two flash on the console occasionally. It's a Spyder.