Front Brake Issues
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Road Master
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,205
Likes: 3
From: Mebane, NC
Front Brake Issues
I went to Cherokee, NC a couple weeks ago and rode over into TN to ride The Tail of the Dragon. About half way through I noticed my front brake lever was compressing more than usual to the point it was almost touching the grip. I thought maybe I was working the brake too hard and they were giving out, although I was really taking it easy and letting the gears work in tandem with the brakes. We stopped about half way and and the caliper was cool to the touch and I could find no obvious problems. We continued on and I mainly used the gears and the rear brake. We finally hit some straight pavement and after about 5-10 miles the brake lever pressure returned to normal and gave no further issues the rest of the trip. When I got back home it seemed my brakes were not quite as good as before and I thought maybe they got too hot and crystalized the pads, again wondering because I had really taking it easy. I was checking on the best replacement pads and in the interim still riding as normal. Yesterday I had to ride to Lowes and took my bike. I got about 3 miles from home and when I applied the front brake it started sticking (compressing the caliper) luckily I was almost there and made it to the parking lot. I thought maybe the pistons needed cleaning although it's only been about 2000 miles since I had my calipers chromed, rebuilt, and installed new fluid. I called my wife to bring some brake cleaner, not wanting to drive with the front caliper staying compressed. I walked out to my bike and all had returned to normal, the caliper had released and I had normal brake lever pressure. It has been that way since. Someone suggested that the fluid had gotten too hot and needed replacing and I'm wondering about the pistons being dirty and sticking. Any suggestions?
Last edited by harleyheaven; Sep 23, 2009 at 11:04 PM. Reason: misspell
Tourer
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 362
Likes: 1
From: New York
what PM calipers, can't see... If cleaning cures the problem, the pistons were probably caked? Not unheard of at 2000-2500 miles. If cleaning doesn't do it, then the rebuild is suspect. There was an argument here about dirty pistons at 2500 miles causing problems..
Last edited by BigJoeNY; Sep 24, 2009 at 05:35 AM.
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Road Master
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,205
Likes: 3
From: Mebane, NC
The calipers were both rebuilt about 2000 miles ago when I had them chromed. I went out riding today and had normal front lever travel and pressure, after ridnig a while the reduced to almost no movement. We stopped for a while and it went back to normal. Any one single issue would point me in a particular direction but the combination of issues and their irratic nature has me con fused. The calipers sticking points to dirty pistons, the irratic lever pressure points to fluid? I think I'll clean the calipers,change the fluid, and change the pads.
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