Help! front brakes

Leanne_ · Post by **Leanne_** » Wed May 18, 2005 11:59 am

hey everyone,

i have an L1 model and recently noticed the front brakes has gone off badly the lever travels right back to the handle bars with very little effect! the seals in the calipers have been replaced and the brake pads are fine so im not sure what else it could be? theres goodridge hoses on the bike so might they have stretched? i know theres no air in the system as the brake doesnt pump up,

any help would be much appreciated
thankyou

Leanne

Post by **Jamz** » Wed May 18, 2005 5:52 pm

Are they metal braided brake lines on it?

If so, as far as i know they don't 'go off' or stretch.

If you haven't got metal ones, looks like you're gonna have to get some!!! It's well worth putting some on, anyway.

For a quick (possible) fix, take the lid off the reservoir and then pull the brake lever as far back to the bars as it will go, then clamp it there with some lock-ties or something similar. Simply leave it like this overnight, then untie it, and you SHOULD get better brakes!!!

It's best to leave the top over the reservoir when you've unscrewed it, just to stop any crap dropping into it overnight.

Good luck!!!

RedexRobB · Post by **RedexRobB** » Wed May 18, 2005 6:14 pm

Piston in the master cylinder could have had it, in which case it would give you some braking effort but not as much as what it could. Does the lever come back to the bar when its standing still?? If it does it probably is the master cylinder.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Wed May 18, 2005 8:03 pm

yeh they are metal ones,

For a quick (possible) fix, take the lid off the reservoir and then pull the brake lever as far back to the bars as it will go, then clamp it there with some lock-ties or something similar. Simply leave it like this overnight, then untie it, and you SHOULD get better brakes!!!

thanks for the suggestion i have tried this before but had no luck

Piston in the master cylinder could have had it, in which case it would give you some braking effort but not as much as what it could. Does the lever come back to the bar when its standing still?? If it does it probably is the master cylinder.

yeh it does come back to the bar when its standing still, are the master cylinders expensive/hard to replace do you know?

thankyou for the help

Leanne

techie · Post by **techie** » Wed May 18, 2005 8:38 pm

Should be able to pick a good one up from a breaker alright. Not too sure what sort of price.

make sure that the bango bolts are clean and the washers are in good nick when you replace the cylinder, it really is an easy bolt on replacement and a plug for the front brake switch.

Before spending money on it though, read the manuals from my web site and strip the master cylinder to confirm fault.

http://wwr.dyndns.org

Cheers

fever · Post by **fever** » Wed May 18, 2005 11:08 pm

i have the same problem leanne...notice it takes ages to bleed the system?

ive changed the m/cylinder piston,spring and seals (Â£17.99 m&P) and completely o/hauled the calipers...no joy

i reckon its the spliter...so im changing the hoses for a completely different set up.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu May 19, 2005 11:28 am

i have the same problem leanne...notice it takes ages to bleed the system?

ive changed the m/cylinder piston,spring and seals (Â£17.99 m&P) and completely o/hauled the calipers...no joy

i reckon its the spliter...so im changing the hoses for a completely different set up

yeh it takes ages for mine to i know there no air in them, i payed Â£68 to replace the seals in the caliper still no joy so i might try what you have done, thanks for letting me know you can get it from m&p, what are you going to change the hoses to?are u running goodridge braided hoses now?

thanks for the help guys

Leanne

RedexRobB · Post by **RedexRobB** » Thu May 19, 2005 6:21 pm

fever wrote:i have the same problem leanne...notice it takes ages to bleed the system?

ive changed the m/cylinder piston,spring and seals (Â£17.99 m&P) and completely o/hauled the calipers...no joy

i reckon its the spliter...so im changing the hoses for a completely different set up.

Why would it be the splitter?

If you do go for braided hoses just go for a two line set-up on the front.

Post by **sloweracing** » Thu May 19, 2005 6:34 pm

Good luck please let me know how you get on Leanne

fever · Post by **fever** » Thu May 19, 2005 10:59 pm

RobB wrote: Why would it be the splitter?
If you do go for braided hoses just go for a two line set-up on the front.

the splitter is the only thing i havnt changed in the brake system..if you look inside one you'll see theres a small recess which could harbor tiny air bubbles.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri May 20, 2005 2:05 pm

sloweracing wrote:Good luck please let me know how you get on Leanne

i will do thankyou for your advice and i will let you know asap

thanks again

Leanne

RedexRobB · Post by **RedexRobB** » Fri May 20, 2005 5:01 pm

fever wrote:
RobB wrote: Why would it be the splitter?
If you do go for braided hoses just go for a two line set-up on the front.
the splitter is the only thing i havnt changed in the brake system..if you look inside one you'll see theres a small recess which could harbor tiny air bubbles.

Ahh rite i see, wouldnt it be an idea to undo the splitter from the yoke and move it to a position where the air is likely to move into the fluid flow??

fever · Post by **fever** » Fri May 20, 2005 5:47 pm

we'll find out tomorrow...if this works i will be sending you big hugs...but no kisses thou

hehe

RedexRobB · Post by **RedexRobB** » Fri May 20, 2005 9:03 pm

lol, no probs.

Dont worry im not worried about not getting any kisses