| Author | Message | ||
     Portero72 |
Howdy all. I am looking for suggestions to reduce the amount of travel in the front lever it takes to enact the brake. FWIW, the pads are EBC HH and new, rotor is EBC and new, and the system has been recently bled. System stops much better with the new hardware now that the pulsing is gone, but the lever travels an inch or more before the brakes start to bite (and did the same prior to the pad/rotor switch). The lever is also adjusted out as far as possible. Any ideas? Also, I may just be comparing apples to oranges, but the bite on the lever from my Tiger 800 is almost immediate. | ||
| Steveford |
Remove the brake caliper, remove the reservoir cover, place a damp rag around the reservoir, gently pump the pads shut, clean the pistons with brake cleaner, slowly lever the pads fully open with a clean screw driver, repeat two or three times, reinstall caliper, pump pads until contact, add brake fluid, replace reservoir cap. | ||
| Tootal |
And if that doesn't work...in fact try this first. This is Harley experience but should work on the Buell. The banjo bolt on the reservoir will trap air occasionally. Tie a rag around the brake line and crack the banjo bolt loose and squeeze the brake lever until fluid is oozing out. Tighten the banjo bolt while holding the brake lever. Try it now, if you still have too much movement then do what Steve said. Mine has a 1/2" of free play. | ||
| Arry |
I think a lot of motorcycles are difficult to get all of the air out (as Tootal points out). I've heard of pressure bleeding. Forcing fluid in at the bottom, with a syringe type tool, so it pushes back to the reservoir (you need to have room in the reservoir). I haven't tried it myself. | ||
| Mark_weiss |
Take a careful look at your brake line positioning. If there area any areas where the line is routed upward, then down, it is possible for an air bubble to be trapped in the arch. This would create a spongy feel at the lever and also the longer travel that you note. If the issue is travel only and feel is fine, the issue is more likely to be in the master cylinder itself. A worn brake piston cup will require more travel to build pressure than a new piston cup. | ||
| Portero72 |
Mark, The issue is only travel. Once the brakes bite, they bite hard. | ||
| Portero72 |
I might mention that the bike is an 08 with 21k on it, and I have similar issues with my 08SS with 10k miles. | ||
| Steveford |
The old Useless will hit 111,111 miles during tomorrow's commute and there is minimal lever travel. Original master cylinder, original caliper, no replaced parts other than brake pads and an annual fluid change. In addition to the above suggestions you might want to take a look at the brake pad pin and give it a clean and a light coat of anti seize and check for rotor run-out. If your rotor is wobbling it'll push the pistons back in too far and will cause high lever travel. (Message edited by SteveFord on November 28, 2017) | ||
| Ourdee |
One thing I do power wash on my bike is the mount points for the front rotor. | ||
| Mark_weiss |
The brake lever has (should have) a bushing where it pivots at the master cylinder. It does not take much wear at the pivot end to produce added travel at the finger end. |
