what should I check to make sure brakes are o.k.

[vic ray]

My wife and I were riding some back roads near our house today. I guess about a 10 mile loop of pretty curvy road.I was riding fairly aggressive but nothing out of the ordinary for that type of riding. As we were almost to the bottom of the mountain the rear brake quit working. I pumped it to try to build pressure and it didn't work. I finally just used the front brake and went to the nearest gas station for gas and to take a quick look. I checked to see if there was a fluid leak and found nothing. I put the bike on the center stand and put the bike in neutral and spun the rear wheel and by that time the brake was working. I left the station and the brake has worked fine ever since.

Do you think maybe I just got the fluid to hot that caused the brakes not to work or is there something I should check. This is the first time anything like this has happened. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jwilly]

Check you brake fluid level. I had a similar thing happen while ridding two-up on rough terrain and it was just a little low.

JW

 

[vic ray]

Check you brake fluid level. I had a similar thing happen while ridding two-up on rough terrain and it was just a little low.
JW

I will do that. I almost bet that is the problem. I didn't get to look at the fluid level.

 

[drjfjr]

Two things.

1) how many miles and has the fluid ever been changed?

2) When was the fluid last changed"

I change my fluid every year. Brake fluid gets water in it and tends to allow brake fade sooner if it has absorbed enough water.

There is also a chance that the rear brake pedal needs lubricating and is not releasing as well as it should thus causing the brakes to overheat quicker and fading due to too much heat.

So If it is a less than one year since brake fluid change I would clean and lube the brake pedal. If it is two years old since change then change the fluid as well as clean and lube the rear brake pedal

 

[03HiYoSilver]

Vic,

Here is a link to the Rear Brake and Fluid Reservoir:

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?s...st&p=215670

 

[vic ray]

It has been two years and 26000 miles with no brake fluid change. I knew it was time I just haven't done it yet. Do I need to bleed the brakes when I change the fluid or can I just suction the old fluid out and put the new in? I think I have seen some posts where people are taking a suction device and getting all of the fluid out of the reservoir and pouring the new in. As usual thanks to all for the info.

Vic,
Here is a link to the Rear Brake and Fluid Reservoir:

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?s...st&p=215670

 

[Fred W]

I know this may not be particularly constructive, or germane to your question, but the first thing that came to my mind when I read your post was, "How did he discover his rear brake was on the fritz."

I generally don't do a lot with my rear brake. Yes I apply them both at the same time but the front is doing all the work and the rear is more of an after-thought. About the only time I am aggressive on the rear is if the road is slippery or I am excessively late in braking into a corner in which case I will favor the rear just in case I get some side slippage.

Were you using those rear brakes really hard?

 

[RTSR1/FJR]

I know this may not be particularly constructive, or germane to your question, but the first thing that came to my mind when I read your post was, "How did he discover his rear brake was on the fritz."
I generally don't do a lot with my rear brake. Yes I apply them both at the same time but the front is doing all the work and the rear is more of an after-thought. About the only time I am aggressive on the rear is if the road is slippery or I am excessively late in braking into a corner in which case I will favor the rear just in case I get some side slippage.

Were you using those rear brakes really hard?

oster_stupid: I'd bet you over heated the rear brake and it faded away. Did it come back after it set for awhile and cooled down? If so, learn to use the fronts more.

 

[vic ray]

Yes, I was using them pretty hard. We were riding some of the local twisties and I was riding fairly aggressive. Not any more than usual when I ride that kind of stuff. I use both front and rear also but if you apply front more than rear where gravel might be present you may end up over the guardrail.

Yo get back to the subject rather than riding styles, is there a post on the forum on how to change the brake fluid?

[quote name='Fred W' date='Jul 28 2008, 06:52 PM' post='459489'

I know this may not be particularly constructive, or germane to your question, but the first thing that came to my mind when I read your post was, "How did he discover his rear brake was on the fritz."

I generally don't do a lot with my rear brake. Yes I apply them both at the same time but the front is doing all the work and the rear is more of an after-thought. About the only time I am aggressive on the rear is if the road is slippery or I am excessively late in braking into a corner in which case I will favor the rear just in case I get some side slippage.

Were you using those rear brakes really hard?

 

[03HiYoSilver]

Here is a good page for bleeding brakes: https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?s...mp;#entry110975

 

[Fred W]

Yes, I was using them pretty hard. We were riding some of the local twisties and I was riding fairly aggressive. Not any more than usual when I ride that kind of stuff. I use both front and rear also but if you apply front more than rear where gravel might be present you may end up over the guardrail.

You make a good point. In limited traction situations, and late braking into corners is an example, it is better to bias the braking toward the rear.

If you had not changed the fluid for a long time your fluid may have been contaminated with water absorption. As you may be aware, brake fluid is hygroscopic, meaning it will suck moisture out of the atmosphere given high enough humidity. The higher the H2O content the greater the possibility that the fluid reached boiling point. But I think you already reached this conclusion when you asked for a reference to brake bleeding.

If you've ever bled breaks on any other vehicle it's really the same deal. I like a vacuum type bleeder (mityMite) for bleeding brakes that don't have any air in them. But you do want to be careful toi keep the reservoir full so you don't introduce any air into the system during bleeding.

For brake systems that already have air contamination in the lines, I think a reverse bleed (bottom up) is the smart(er) way to go. But there aren't any commercially available kits to do that that I am aware of.

 

[Randy]

Short run. 1 line. Pretty simple. No need to suction the old stuff out then put new in - just open the reservoir and keep adding as you pull the old stuff out. If you don't want to go through the old manual method, you can get a mityvac or something as cheap and simple as this at Advance Auto.