| Author | Message | ||
     Sneth |
I cannot get the front brake to release. It's got a death grip on the front wheel. If I open the bleed line, will that release it? Something is clearly stuck somewhere, but I need to move the bike to work on it. Brakes are not something I've played with much. | ||
| Greg_e |
It might release the pressure if that is really what is hold the pads against the rotor. Normally it is the piston in the caliper that get stuck and you will need to fit a way to force them open. You might want to put the front end up and remove the wheel (if possible) or you can try to remove the pads or swing the caliper out of the way. If it is really clamped, there may not be much you can do to free it easily. | ||
| Syonyk |
There are a few options. Step 1, try popping the bleeder. If that works, you've most likely got a problem either in the master cylinder or the lines. If that doesn't work, you've got a mechanical issue in the front caliper that will need working out. Try loosening it and wiggling. Worst case, you might try removing the rotor mounting bolts with the front end up. I have no idea if it's possible or not, but if you unbolt the caliper and the rotor, you may be able to get the wheel off and then get the rotor/caliper off to work on them. If you need to move the bike with the brake locked, get some friends & shove. It should slide if you lift the front a bit (it doesn't need to be off the ground, just lightened a bit). What was the last thing that happened with the bike? It was apparently rolling into it's current spot, from the sounds of it. | ||
| Greg_e |
Could the pads have rusted to the rotor? | ||
| Illbuell |
Did you recently change your brake lever? If so it could be pressing the master cylinder in a bit. I had this happen once. change the lever,bleeding it wont help. | ||
| Nillaice |
yeah, a guy i rode with put the wrong ASV brake lever on and it locked up on him (would not relieve pressure back to the master cylinder) he'd wrangle it over to the side of the road, and pop the bleeder scew, then get back on and take off like nothing happened. the next month he put hte stocker back on and didn't have any more lock-ups does this sound like your sypmtoms? | ||
| Nillaice |
no; he wasn't the brightest person i've ever met, but was cool to party with. | ||
| Sneth |
I did change the levers. And they are much worse than stock. I have re ordered some stock ones. I just found it weird that I was able to walk it to this spot, but now it's forced down. Anyhoo. Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try to update with what I find. | ||
| Froggy |
Be glad it didn't happen when you were underway, there was a guy on the 1125board that wrecked last fall when his cheapo Chinese levers locked up his front while riding. | ||
| Greg_e |
The cheap levers are fine if you take the time to check and modify them so that they are definitely the stock dimensions. Since you think the lever is the issue, then just remove the lever pivot bolt and the lever, your front brake will again be free. Stick the pivot bolt through the stock lever and the other lever and see if all the surfaces line up correctly, if not you need to fix them or trash the other lever. | ||
| Deanh8 |
what do you mean he put the wrong ASV levers? | ||
| Illbuell |
"what do you mean he put the wrong ASV levers?" Like they dont fit right. Most will bolt on but will push on the master cylinder piston slightly and lock your brakes up. I had it happen to a couple of my bikes when the wrong lever was shipped to me.. | ||
| Mtch |
i had the same happen when i put a pattern yamaha brake lever in. it locked up within a few yards i did this as a couple of years ago i dropped my xb and at the time i also had a yamaha. the lever fitted perfectly, so i bought a couple of pattern ones for spares. they fit ok, but need a bit of filing on the area that pushes the piston | ||
| Greg_e |
It is more than a small bit of filing. It is around .050 or maybe more off the flat side, and then a bunch of the side that pushes the piston. This is for the GSXR levers. | ||
| Sneth |
Well the cheap thing snapped in two when i was removing it anyways. It also locked up on me while driving i think. I couldn't tell what was going on. I've purchased a couple cheap chinese parts for my bikes and they've all turned out to be junk. The only one that was reasonable has been the bar end mirrors, but they are in no way comparable to my rizoma's. |
