Brake HELP!!!
 

So it was finally warm enough to ride today, and all the ice melted. My bike is stored at my friend's. So we drug both mine and my friends R6 out of the garage. Dusted them off and had to give mine a little jump to get her rolling.

Right across the street from his house is a high school, so I was going to practice in the big parking lot. So we gear up and start rolling down his long driveway, and i get to the street doing all of 10mph and pull the front brake lightly and it locked completely. Scared the fuck out of me! But Matt was already pulling away on into the HS, so i decided to gingerly cross the street and use only the rear brake. So i jump off and tell him what happened and ask him to ride mine and check it out. Sure enough he locks up the front too.

We cant figure out what could be wrong. There is basically no feel at all. It's like you get past the initial lever travel, and when you should start to get some feel..... BAM! Completely locked......

thanks...

drain fluid and refill, always good to replace all your fluids after winter

Also check the pads... are there any? :lol:

fluid and pad check.

calipers sticking? i dont know though, thats strange

The pads might be worn.... but that wouldnt explain why there is no pull.

fluids most likely your problem change em and make sure you dont put air bubbles in the line.
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EXTREME VAPORIZER

to me, it sounds like condensation has accumulated in the brake fluid, frozen, and thawed, putting a TON of air in there, only fix is gonna be to pull calipers, drain every bit of fluid, refill, and bleed. its also a good time to get new brake pads and clean your brake caliper pistons as you should do every now and again anyhow. if that doesnt fix it, your master cylinder may need some love.

While you're at it...clean the calipers. Go to trackdaymag.com and look for a quick tutorial...trust me on this...they will feel much better.

Oh...and this completely justifies the PRE RIDE CHECK. Make sure your shit is proper before you go ripping out of the driveway.

I was rolling off throttle at 10 mph, and pulling straight across the street into the parking lot. Hardly ripping out of the driveway.....

This was my first ride on my motorcycle, i was feeling stuff out. For something like this.

The brake fluid resivoir mount is messed up. Its kinda leaning at a 40 degree angle.... which i would fucking fix if i had a damn day off. And i wont for like 11 more days. Would that do anything?

It might but the only sure fire way of avoiding any future trouble is to clean out the entire system with new fluid and no air in the system. Might as well check the pads too.

Especially if you bought this bike and haven't gone over these things, it would be a very wise idea. :dthumb:

I'm with bob... sounds like condensation.


EXACTLY

Don't think Marko was accusing you of that... just his way of saying before you roll out of the driveway... in his own words

Oh hell yea. Like i said, when i finally get a warm day that i have no work or school i'm tearing that fucker apart. On my to do list....

-Fairings competely torn off
-Take apart brakes, new fluid, and a new mounting bracket for the resivoir
-Oil and filter
-Raplace all fairing screws.... this guy lost about half of the fucking fairing screws.
-Low beam bulb is dead
-Maybe a new battery. It was just dead the other day from sitting all winter tho.

Wrench time baby!!!!

Seems like a pretty good main list.

Don't forget chain maintenance and coolant. Always good things to get done so you know that they were done correctly. :rockwoot:


Oh and I would easily give up a lifetime of bars for many perfect days wrenching on stuff. Might be more expensive and rarely gets you laid, but I enjoy it much more then partying.

remember to clean and lube your chain also... check to see if it needs replaced... Personally... if it's really dirty... I'd just replace it and start fresh... but that's easy to say when it's not my money :lol:

run a can of sea foam through it... just to be sure your injectors are clean...ish. it's cheap and easy... and best of all... WORKS.

check your coolant...

and check your brake lines... make sure they're not cracked or rotted(if they're the stock rubber ones)

:lol: beat me too it... :dthumb:

Damn you guys were on the same trane of thought on those posts!

-The chain seems really clean. Maybe some good lube tho?
-Coolant levels were ok.
-My baby is carbed not injected... seafoam anyway?
-Brake lines will be looked at along with pads.

Oh and Quick, im only 20 so bars are usually out of the question. Plus i'd rather spend money on the bike than overpriced alcohol anyway. And im not getting much poon anyway, so maybe the bike will help? :idk:

Ah, I am 24 and it seems like just yesterday I was 21 and learned the joys of drinking life's problems away at a bar. None the less, it was socially cool and I blew a shit ton of money that could have had me on a bike much earlier.

Bikes help with poon and attention. Half of riding a bike in public is being able to ignore those callings. I took my rear pegs off and kept my cowl on just so I could turn down people for rides all the time. Didn't feel like being responsible for their life and I wasn't into the chicks that woulda put out for a bike.

Sorta regret passing those moments up, but at least I am disease free. :rockwoot:

Cleaning the chain isn't that big of a deal and if you follow recommended maintenance I would assume it is a rather frequent process. I think my Gix is supposed to have it done every 600 miles or something like that.

None the less, wouldn't hurt to get some kerosene and some good lube just to have handy. Trust me when I say kerosene is a much better solution then cleaning spray. The spray works but there just isn't enough of it in a 6-8 dollar can.

Coolant level is fine, but if it wouldn't kill your wallet it to flush it out I would go for it. I am sorta randomly anal about my bike maintenance and when I picked mine up I swapped out all the fluids to make sure I knew exactly what had been done. Only mistake was not doing the brakes and they are on my immediate service list since they have been acting odd.

Seafoam loves all. I have used it on my injected bike and Mustang but have gotten great results out of putting it in the tank of several boats and older trucks. They really love it when you put a bit into the carb, although that might be a big hassle on a bike. Either way, put a can into your tank when you fill the tank up. Make sure your tank is full of gas and you don't over do the ratio.

That is all I got.:dthumb:

Also, if this your first bike or did you just move up to this one?

Thats exactly right. I check my brakes, lights, turns signals, and tires BEFORE EVERY RIDE. It's quick and it's easy and takes literally 30 seconds....and it very well may save your life.

I've been drinking for what seems like forever. I went thru that "college" drinking phase for two and a half years. It was fun for awhile, but now im just sick of the stuff. Plus im the one with the joint/alcohol problems, so it gives me no joy anyway. My bike is my drug, its all i need! And i got it at 20 instead of like 23.... and yes tis bike numero uno! :rockwoot:

A sense of tone is hard to convey over the internet.... It seemed like you were talking down. But i get what you are saying. Will Do.....

he was talking down to you it is what hes good at:deadhorse:
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Grape Ape

Since it is your first bike, may I recommend looking into "Oh Shit" things like frame sliders?

I just ordered a replacement puck for my Woodcraft frame sliders and it had me thinking that I am very glad that I put these on to begin with.

Why they really dont save plastics and if he fucks up the bike that bad it would be cheaper to buy a new one, than to fix it.:dn:
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Dodge colt specifications

http://www.woodcraft-cfm.com/Scripts...dproduct=17758


You will have to cut the hole to fit these, but I wouldn't trust a set of "no cut" sliders.

Woodcraft is top notch and I think most people here would back me up on that.

They were the first mod to my new bike and having recently gone down they instantly paid themselves off.

My friend also went down on his sv650 and it saved him a ton of money.

Just my thoughts.

If you need helping cutting the hole, I can post up how I did mine to make it a bit easier.

The point isn't saving the plastics, its to avoid fucking up the bike worse than minor cosmetic crap.

Thats my point if he destroys the frame, engine covers whatever it most likely not worth fixing.
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Pod

Yes and for 70 bucks he could help AVOID destroying the bike. (Aka saves the engine covers, frame and stuff like that.)

Oh and I should add that after dropping my bike 3 times, my sliders saved me from all cosmetic damage beyond the bar ends having tiny rashes on them.

It was a 20 mph lowside that did rash my sliders up.

Lol you guys are funny...

The bike didn't come with frame sliders. And of course it already has some damage on it. Thats why i got it so cheap. I'll most likely put on frame sliders and ride it all fucked up for awhile. Once i have my bearings i might get some new fairings.

My friend was joking around the other day. He was like you could prolly ride it around for awhile, and then when you wanna upgrade you could actually claim it to wind damage. Honestly...... the bike could be totaled right now because it has flaws on every area. haha but whatever, its a starter bike.

Well starting on beat up bikes are always wise choices.

I bought mine as a wrecked bike and put it back together. So then I was really worry about damaging it again and went straight for the sliders.

My sig link has picture history of the bike.

And yes, it was ironic to put on brand new fairings and then drill 2 inch holes in them. :D

That would be insurance fraud, my friend. Not a good way to start your riding career. Just ride it, fix it or don't fix it, and sell it.

I despise insurance companies, but that is just bad karma. No different than stealing, in my opinion. Think about what you said the next time you wonder why bike insurance is so damn high.

Lol, i said my friend mentioned it.... and hes already commited insurance fraud on his first bike. He makes poor choices in working the system...

Sounds like you need a new friend.

Yarz.

Eh, hes a good guy. He is just stupid, and thinks hes untouchable.

He went out and bought a ZZR and wadded it a coupe days after he bought it... before he could insure it. Well.... you can figure out the rest.


On a side note... its not insurance fraud if i drop it too..... damages are damages as long as im paying for services.

Yeah! I could rent Erik to you for a while to do some work on it since he isn't working right now.

Do you charge for his renting? lol

Cause experienced hands would be appreciated for my clunker....

Don't forget, the rest of us are paying too. :panic:

Just making a point. Wouldnt do it to my baby! :panic:

and once you hit 25 insurance isn't that much... just checked for the 08 CBR600rr with full coverage and personal injury ($250 deductable for everything) $45 a month. :D

Lucky mo fo....

Us youngins wallet's get butt raped..... but i dont blame them.

Holy Shit.

I am suddenly counting the days till my 25th in December. :D

Im 22 and I pay like 55 a month for full coverage.

State farm FTMFW

state farm here too... course I do also have a totaled bike on my record :lol:

I have traffic vialotions...Not like Alot but enough to get noticed.

Just do some reasearch Insurance isnt that bad on bikes.

Maybe I will look into switching over to Statefarm.

I am paying like 90 a month with Allstate and that is comprehensive.

When I pick up my truck I will look into insuring both with various companies.

I also have 3 tickets that dropped off my record in the past 4 month. :sorry:

True...but I wouldn't make dropping it a goal. :lol:



For you other fuckers...I gotta look into State Farm. I'm paying just shy of 100 bucks a month for Full coverage.

On a side note i ran into a law classmate today in the parking lot. He has an XB12R.... the royal blue one with orange details/windscreen. He let me sit on it and start it up. He kept telling me to rev it up, but i dont do that to other peoples bikes. The thing was way nice..... and he got it for like 6,000 under msrp. Marco, he is 23 and goes thru Geico. Supprisingly he only pays $35 a month, i think he said full coverage! Interesting.

http://www.mcnews.com.au/Wallpaper/B...R_LHF_Blue.jpg

ya know... the buell's are kinda grow'n on me... but fuck that one is HIDIOUS :panic:

They are really growing on me too. The picture definately doesnt do the bike any justice. The color was really nice in person.

I.... just.... cant.... take a liking the Vtwin yet. I dont know what it is... maybe im such an I4 fan?

A law class mate? You in lawschool!?!?

Business School. Its a Business Law class..... sorry to make myself sound smarter than i really am. lol :lol:

Oh man, I was like WTF. Hahah, its cool though.

I always called my class business law. Still sounded bad ass while degrading myself away from the wine drinking law people. :whistle:

I pay $24.58/month for full coverage on the 1125...

Dairyland and living in BFE FTMFW!!! :rockout:

I wouldn't charge for renting him out. Though he might charge for the labor and obviously for the parts.

I pay $19.63/mo on the '04 ZX-6RR and $30.45 for Erik's '07 ZX-10 with State Farm.

Lol.... maybe if i ever get a day off! How far are you from columbus again? Maybe me and my friend will truck my bike. It needs a good multi person effort.

Lucky.... :panic:

Hey depending on what help you are needing odds are high I will be up in Dayton OH in the next couple of weeks.

If I am on my way to Alaska then I will have all my tools and stands with me so I would be willing to lend a hand if you aren't too far away from there.

State Farm is the way to go. Ive got at least 2 speeding tickets from the last year or two, about to turn 23 and I pay $37 a month for full coverage.

Mainly... brake work. And im a bit south of Columbus, so its just about an hour car ride to the DYT.... less by bike :dthumb:!

That would be awsome! :rockwoot: Any experienced help i can get would be great. And seeing the work you did to yours!

Well hey man, I will be sure to let you know how it goes. I am still looking into buying a truck and stuff like that, but who knows I may head up there on the bike.

My sister lives in Dayton so I will be visiting her for sure. Either on my bike, or in a truck with my bike in the back. :D

I will be sure to let you know.

when are you think'n you'll be leaving Quick?

Well, I just talked my Dad into co-signing a loan so that I can start my truck shopping. Either way I was hoping to leave on the grand trip to Alaska by the 3rd week of March maybe?

With the truck being my main transport I was going to keep putting miles on the bike while I have all this time on my hands.

We are about 1-1/2 hours from you, if you are on the south side of Columbus. Not too terribly far.

After thinking about this, you should stay and do the work. Erik can supervisor you, then you wouldn't have to pay for his labor and you learn about doing stuff.

I do my own work, with a some exceptions. I did the front brakes last year. Erik had to help since I have the stupid kind - one pad per piston and it was a bitch to get them in. I made him bleed my lines because I didn't feel comfortable doing that.

Just let us know when!

That's a fuck'n awesome opportunity... :dthumb:

I'll do anything myself if I've got someone who knows how to do it is watch'n me... make'n sure I don't fuck it up... once through I'm usually good to go doing it myself from then on out...

I'm with Geico too. I'll have to look into switch my car and homeowners to SF...see what kind of deal they can work out.

Have you rode a vtwin yet, Porkchop? And what exactly is it that you dont like about them?

Actually no i havnt gotten a chance to ride a buell yet. If i waited longer to buy a bike i really wanted to do some testing on a XB9R.

To be completely honest with you....... its a sound thing. I just love the scream of an I4.

Alright, quick update..... thanks to everybody that helped!

So we finally got a sunny day in the 60's here in ohio. So i went over to matt's house and pulled both of the bikes out. I pulled all of the fairings off of my bike (except the front). It looks so gnarley, but i like it. I might ride with just the front and tail for awhile until i get new mid-fairings. A sort of faux-FZ6 per se.

Before i even went to refill/bleed the front lines we decided to do some checks on the system.... and we found the problem! Apparently the aftermarket levers that came with the bike were "catching" on the assembly, and whenever they would stick they would lock up the brakes. So we loosened the screw a quarter turn, and WD-40'd the inside of the assembly, and the catching stopped. So did the lock ups.

And I got to ride it for the first time today. :rockwoot: Felt so good. Even though it was only in his neighborhood. No plates or ins....

But we did find another new problem. I already knew the hi-beam bulb was missing. So I bought new bulbs for both sides last week. Well it turns out that not only the bulb is missing, but also the socket! MOTHER F!

Glad to see you figured out some of the brake issues but that totally blows about the socket. Is the socket just missing from the line or can you not find the corresponding wire anywhere?

No the wire is hanging there. thank god....

Good work on the fix. But it would be prudent to change the fluid anyway...along with the engine coolant and oil if you haven't done so. It's the proper thing to do on a used bike when you get it. Then you can rest assured that your shit is proper.

For sure. I ran out of time before i had to go to work yesterday. The brake fluid will get done when my new resivoir comes in.

Well thats good news then.

Glad to hear you are getting things fixed up.

My offer still stands, if you ever need any help, you are more than welcome to come up here. Erik and I will do what we can to help.

Since this is Porkchop's thread for everything, how was the UFC fight last night? :dthumb:

Spring break is approaching.... if i dont end up going to florida, then maybe we can work out a day! And i think florida may not happen, we suck at planning. Oh, and the being poor college kids thing. :whistle:

Lol, trip needs a rename of this thread. Porkchop's Corner.

But the fight was sweet. Seats were soso. The arena was pure electric. Alot of entertaining early KO's. Still cant believe Gabe got knocked out. :panic: My roommate from two years back grew up next to Matt Hammill in Cincinnati. It was really cool to see him and his crew come out in Ohio State jerseys to "Hang on Sloopy". And when he kicked that dude out in the head, the place exploded.

This is the assembly. I need #3 and maybe the end of #6? #3 looks cheap online, like 20 bucks. Although it says #6 is like $120... on sale for $80! WTF? $120 for a wire?

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...all52/0044.png

What kind of bulb do you have?

You should be able to get the connector for it for super cheap just by asking around for it. I am sure someone will have an old harness or something where you could have them cut it off and send it to you. Thats what I would do before paying a shit ton of money for it.

If the bike is anything like my gix then the connector is very simple and #3 is probably a black rubber gasket that helps keep moisture out. Also might be found online in the classified section.


Glad to hear the fight went well. I was at a bar in Atlanta and people definitely went nuts when Matt kicked that dude. He seems like a genuine good guy too. Even more props for over coming his disability to fight.

I would really like to go to one of these fights some time but the tickets are always ridiculous and when I go to sporting events, I don't believe in being far away. Which means I would need big bucks, which is precisely why I haven't gone yet. :D

I've had condensation in the brake lines cause one of the following:

1) very spongy response time on the brake
2) no response and then BAM, piston moves and locks the brake up

Now I change the fluid at the beginning and end of each season.

why at the end, if you are going to change it right away when you start riding again anyway?

I swap out the fluid I used over the summer so water can't sit in the lines... then, because it sits over the winter, I swap out the fluid to remove any crap that may have collected from sitting. I also change the oil before I put it away for the winter and again before I take it out in the spring...

ic.

I just change stuff in the spring before I start riding again.

I tend to be super careful with things like brakes, tires, etc... anything that I rely on for my safety.

Hmmmmm.... i've yet to do my fluid. I will do it before i start "riding". The current fluid seems rather dark tho.

To be honest, i really dont know what im doing. I have an idea but.......

IMO anything that will come out in the fall will come out in the spring too, along with anything else that appeared.

But I do check out the brakes/tires etc before riding. And very carefully in the spring before/on the first ride.

:whistle:.... the frame.....

Get a shop manual. It'll walk you through it step by step. And try not to keep putting it off. Pretty soon it'll be warm and you'll just wanna be out riding, not wrenching.

I have spring break starting next wednesday.... plenty of time to do it! :whistle:

that's the "etc" part. :nee:

since when does spring break start in the middle of the week?

I have classes Monday/Wednesday. My last midterm is wednesday afternoon. So I actually have an exta half week of spring break compared to ppl with classes on thursday and friday. :rockwoot:

Now if i could only be heading down to florida. At least I'll be on my bike as much as humanly possible for that week.

Or a Haynes manual will work if you cant find a shop manual (which for some reason I couldnt) and I got mine for only $30.

Right....I meant those anyway. I had a Hayes I think for the Zuk.

I'm guessing spring break is this week. I'll PM you my number if you want to call. We can probably get something arranged for you to come up and get your bike taken care of.

There is a salvage place up in Akron that we can call for parts, if necessary.

Sounds like racedoll can lend you a hand with the brake system.

But as you know you can always post up a thread here and people are happy to help. I pretty much start a thread for every choice I make just to get extra opinions or answer questions I don't know. I knew I liked this site when everyone was very cool about it.

Well, technically it is next week. But my last final is wednesday, so yay extra spring break! :rockwoot:

But yea, i'll give you a call once my work scedule is set!

Yea, this place is great. I come from a family of no riders. So other than rudimentary checks, it will be nice to be taught real maintinance(aka brake fluid). Is your trip still on schedule?

My trip is out of hand lol! I wanted to leave a couple days ago but I don't have a truck and my family is begging me not to take the bike. So I pushed everything back a couple of weeks and then I will make a haul ass run towards Alaska.

I ended up doing a 2 night trip in Ohio a while ago but that was because I knew I wouldn't have time to visit again. I literally spent as much time as possible with my sister and my niece and nephew so running out to meet you/lend you a hand was impossible.

There is a small chance I may head back up to go on a boy scout trip with my nephew since his father is deployed in Afganistan. If I do make it up there again I will be sure to let you know.

Oh and I also come from a family of 0 Mechanics. No one drives enthusiastically (see fast on tracks and around town) or riders (see:Dad would kill anyone who bought a bike.). So when I started out like 8 years ago at 16 I had nothing but time and the internet. Over the course of high school and college I learned everything about cars by either modifying something or fucking it up big time. Moving over to bikes was easy since I knew how it all worked but the maintenance portion was new to me. Either way, you are at the right forum and you seem to know when to ask for help so major props there!

No problem. Can you PM the details of your bike - what needs done, etc so we know what exactly to expect or know what we need for you?

I'm fortunate to have been raised around cars and MC, helping my Dads (step & real) with each. And now to have Erik that knows about them too, just better with the newer stuff.