ABS off indicator (ABS switched off or off-road ABS)
The rider has switched ABS off, fully or on the rear wheel only, or chosen an off-road ABS setting. It is a status you chose, not a fault.
Check your bike's manual — makers differ.
How urgent is it? What each maker says
- Steady, after the rider disabled ABS: Information only. Triumph (Tiger 1200): “ABS is disabled by the rider the warning light will remain illuminated.” The handbook warns that the brake system then “will continue to function as a non-ABS braking system”.
- Flashing slowly: Information only. Triumph (Tiger 1200): “ABS is set to Off-Road – the warning light will flash slowly.”
- REAR ABS OFF on the display: Information only. Royal Enfield (Himalayan 450): Rear ABS can be switched off only with the bike standing still: “ABS ON to OFF is not allowed in dynamic condition considering the safety by norms”, but switching from ABS OFF back to ABS ON is allowed while riding.
What it is for
Off-road riders switch rear ABS off so the back wheel can lock and slide on loose ground. Royal Enfield’s Himalayan 450 offers four ride modes for this: Performance + ABS ON, Performance + Rear ABS OFF, ECO + ABS ON and ECO + Rear ABS OFF. Triumph’s Tiger 1200 lets ABS be set per riding mode to Road, Off-Road or Off.
These pages report what each maker’s owner’s manual says, and quote it wherever safety is involved. They are not a diagnosis and add no riding advice of our own; your own bike’s manual is the authority for your model.
- What it looks like
- On the Triumph Tiger 1200 the ABS lamp itself, lit steadily or flashing slowly; on the Royal Enfield Himalayan 450 the words REAR ABS OFF on the display with the ride mode.
- Colour
- Triumph uses its ABS warning light and the handbook does not state a colour; Royal Enfield shows words on the display.
- Names makers use
- REAR ABS OFF ride mode (Royal Enfield); ABS warning light, steady when disabled, slow flash for Off-Road (Triumph)
Where makes differ
Royal Enfield switches off the rear ABS only, and only when stationary. Triumph can switch ABS fully off or to an off-road setting per riding mode, and shows it on the same lamp that reports ABS faults, steady or slowly flashing. The Yamaha MT-09 and Bajaj Dominar 250 manuals read describe no way for the rider to switch ABS off.
What it does not mean
It does not mean the ABS has a fault. On the Triumph Tiger 1200 the same lamp lit steadily when you have not switched ABS off is the fault warning, described on the ABS light page.
Related
Other symbols with the same shapes
Sources
No standard we could read defines these motorcycle lamps — UN Regulation No. 60 and ISO 2575 cover motorcycle tell-tales, but neither could be read when we checked, so this meaning is taken from 2 makers’ own manuals and support pages, each fetched and read on the date shown:
- Royal Enfield: Himalayan (450) Owner’s Manual, UK English (Part No. RAM00819/B, November 2025, PDF) — Riding mode, pages 30-31: the four modes with ABS ON or Rear ABS OFF; the mode change from ABS ON to OFF is only allowed when stationary; REAR ABS OFF shown on the display. Checked 2026-09-29.
- Triumph: Owner’s Handbook: Tiger 1200 XR, Tiger XC, Tiger 1200 Alpine and Tiger 1200 Desert (November 2019, PDF) — ABS Warning Light, page 64: remains illuminated when ABS is disabled by the rider, flashes slowly when set to Off-Road; Riding Mode Configuration, page 46: ABS Road, Off-Road or Off per mode. Checked 2026-09-29.
Written in our own words; quotations are the makers’ wording.