Help with brakes

[Bryan]

Towards the end of the season a buddy and i took a few hour ride. About halfway to our destination my rear brakes went out. We pulled into a restaurant so i could check things out and saw a lot of brake dust and the rear pads were wasted. While we were eating i ordered new pads and didnt sweat it. To my eternal shame life got in the way and i didnt get around to changing them until yesterday. I changed the pads no problem but when i went to pump the brakes to set them i got no response from the caliper. I tried bleeding them and never got a drop of fluid out of the bleeder. I checked the master cylinder and its full. i pulled everything apart a second time to look again but cant seem to find anything wrong. The plungers are all the way in but will not move. Im completley stumped on where to go next with this, any help is greatly appreciated. The bike is an 09 standard.

 

[idk]

The master cylinder is quite easy to pull apart and clean, and put back together. However, one thing to note is that there is a little hole that allows fluid to return. If this is blocked then you will have all sorts of problems. It can be blocked with a little dirt that may be in the fluid. If the fluid hasn't been changed in a while then that is possible. Also, if the brake pedal returns too high then it can be blocked because of poor adjustment.

If you take the master cylinder apart and clean it, then I recommend that you bleed the system with a vacuum bleeder as it is much easier. These are available from HarborFreight (and probably a lot of other places) quite cheaply.

Of course, the problem could be that the slave cylinders are stuck. If that is the case then take them apart and clean them as well.

 

[warp9.9]

I just looked at the manual and I would guess if your not getting the fluid your master cylinder piston must not be moving or the seals are totally gone. Hard to believe the second so I would verify. I am not sure but if the piston is frozen or in a bind the spring might not be strong enough to push by it. That being said when you tried bleeding them you could not get fluid? Did you vacuum bleed them or are you trying the old pump and crack? Harbor freight has a good cheap vacuum bleeder you might want to get one.

Is the pedal still moving up and down or is it staying down? I know there is a spring the returns the pedal which should be plenty strong enough whether the piston spring returns the piston or not. Before you tear her down you just might want to try Vacuum bleeding first. It just hooks up at the caliper on the bleeder and you keep the master cylinder full. Maybe she just needs to be burped to get the air out

 

[Bryan]

the pedal still moves up and down but it feels like its stopping earlier than whats normal. there is only 8000 miles on it so it really shouldnt be the seals, but anything is possible. ive just been doing the pump and crack method, sounds like im gonna need to invest in a vacuum bleeder.

 

[Bedifferent]

I did a lot of reading about motorcycle brakes after several posts in the past. It is very important to flush your brake fluid every year or two or you will be asking for trouble from moisture. It causes a lot of problems.

 

[Jag]

I did a lot of reading about motorcycle brakes after several posts in the past. It is very important to flush your brake fluid every year or two or you will be asking for trouble from moisture. It causes a lot of problems.

I agree with @Bedifferent 1 or 2 years or as soon as the fluid turns Amber color you should change it and always use a new sealed bottle. I just installed speed bleeders and a new vacuum pump with the dual caliper set up and it's the way to go. One man job. Takes longer to set up and clean up, then it does to flush the entire system.

 

[warp9.9]

Something like this

Brake Bleeder and Vacuum Pump Kit

 

[scot in exile]

Something like this

Brake Bleeder and Vacuum Pump Kit

My two bobs worth that kit from Harbor freight is sh*t sure it is cheap around 25bucks but you get what you pay for.

 

[skydog1000]

so what do you suggest @scot in exile

 

[Rick Morris]

Towards the end of the season a buddy and i took a few hour ride. About halfway to our destination my rear brakes went out. We pulled into a restaurant so i could check things out and saw a lot of brake dust and the rear pads were wasted. While we were eating i ordered new pads and didnt sweat it. To my eternal shame life got in the way and i didnt get around to changing them until yesterday. I changed the pads no problem but when i went to pump the brakes to set them i got no response from the caliper. I tried bleeding them and never got a drop of fluid out of the bleeder. I checked the master cylinder and its full. i pulled everything apart a second time to look again but cant seem to find anything wrong. The plungers are all the way in but will not move. Im completley stumped on where to go next with this, any help is greatly appreciated. The bike is an 09 standard.

Have you removed the brake line off of the caliper? Try this, disconnect the brake line at the caliper and push the brake lever down slowly. Keep the fluid from getting on any thing (brake fluid will remove paint) but slowly move the lever down and check for a strong fluid flow. If you are getting fluid at the brake line you may have a seized piston in the caliper. Not a huge problem most of the time. Sometimes moisture can get into your fluid over a period of time. The calipers are cast aluminum with a forged piston so oxidization can sometimes occur. Take the caliper off the bike and use some air pressure to release the piston, do this slowly as well. There are only 3 parts to a caliper and if you do not tear the dust boot you should be able to use all the original parts, use the air to get the piston out, use some emery cloth or a gray scuff pad to clean the piston and reassemble it. Bleed the brakes and you should be good. Keep things clean and keep some clean water around in the event brake fluid gets on the paint. It is good practice to flush your brakes system every couple of years. It is easy and cheap insurance for a good brake system. If this doesn't work it may be the master. If so disassemble, clean and reassemble. Good Luck.