Not QUITE as lucky as I thought...

[BorgBiker]

After my 'incident' last Friday, I've been driving the car everyday, allowing my right foot/ankle/leg to heal. Last night I was able to do a thorough inspection of the bike, and had planned on riding to work today. But it seems that the Max didn't go unscathed - my rear brake doesn't work.

The lever/pedal was VERY firm. With a bit more force I made it move, but there's no braking force to go with the movement. It appears as though the master cylinder's shaft connecting to the brake lever is a bit diagonal compared to the master cylinder's orientation... so I'm thinking that I need a new master cylinder, right?

Today was 78 degrees and no clouds! I could kick myself for not checking it out sooner!

 

[spursmech]

After my 'incident' last Friday, I've been driving the car everyday, allowing my right foot/ankle/leg to heal. Last night I was able to do a thorough inspection of the bike, and had planned on riding to work today. But it seems that the Max didn't go unscathed - my rear brake doesn't work.

The lever/pedal was VERY firm. With a bit more force I made it move, but there's no braking force to go with the movement. It appears as though the master cylinder's shaft connecting to the brake lever is a bit diagonal compared to the master cylinder's orientation... so I'm thinking that I need a new master cylinder, right?

Today was 78 degrees and no clouds! I could kick myself for not checking it out sooner!

unk: Who uses a rear brake, I never have. Ride it and have fun. Spurs

 

[PDWeyand]

brakes..... you have brakes......... wtf I knew something was missing lol. Get it fix and back on the road. Be safe

 

[bazwell]

Ouch. That's what springs to mind!

I'd say where the brake lever mounts up is bent.
You could persuade/fix it with a knockometer. :biglaugh:

(The other option is that the m/cyl mounting point is bent. That would definitely be OUCH. Unless you got a smashed ankle, I think it would be the brake lever mounting.)

 

[KosRider]

You could persuade/fix it with a knockometer. :biglaugh:
QUOTE]

Love it !! :clapping:

 

[firefly]

After my 'incident' last Friday, I've been driving the car everyday, allowing my right foot/ankle/leg to heal. Last night I was able to do a thorough inspection of the bike, and had planned on riding to work today. But it seems that the Max didn't go unscathed - my rear brake doesn't work.

The lever/pedal was VERY firm. With a bit more force I made it move, but there's no braking force to go with the movement. It appears as though the master cylinder's shaft connecting to the brake lever is a bit diagonal compared to the master cylinder's orientation... so I'm thinking that I need a new master cylinder, right?

Today was 78 degrees and no clouds! I could kick myself for not checking it out sooner!

can you post a photo of the master cylinder?

 

[deekjx]

My front brake went out on me about two weeks ago. The shop just got the part in and will be replacing it by Saturday.

You should get it taken care of and hopefully a technical tap will do it for ya. The front brake is about 70-75% of your braking force so short rides are possible. I wouldn't do it to often if I were you. If your front brake fails like mine did, you'll really be SOL.

 

[Fire-medic]

My front brake went out on me about two weeks ago. The shop just got the part in and will be replacing it by Saturday.

You should get it taken care of and hopefully a technical tap will do it for ya. The front brake is about 70-75% of your braking force so short rides are possible. I wouldn't do it to often if I were you. If your front brake fails like mine did, you'll really be SOL.

I would be interested to find-out what part(s) 'went-out.'

Since you can brake hard-enough to lift the rear wheel off the pavement (a 'stoppie') your % of braking from the front wheel in those conditions is 100%. Average braking is more-along the lines of 60/40 f/r. The advantage of a VMax's long wheelbase is that it prevents the extreme weight transfer which a high-peg, short wheelbase sportbike has. Your rear wheel therefore plays more of a part in providing you with a short stopping distance.

Though you can ride using the front brake only, I would never suggest doing that. In traffic and with the hazards of what you can encounter on the roadways, you need "all systems GO," as they used to say during the space shots.

 

[Fire-medic]

What you need to do is to disassemble each component of the rear brake system to see what part(s) is/are binding. The stub for the pivoting function of the rear footbrake could be tweaked, the brake lever could itself be crushed, it could be bent into the frame tab, the connecting linkage from the master cyl to the rear brake pedal could be bent, the master cyl could be crushed (though that would probably leak, I would think), preventing free-movement of the piston inside; the only way you are going to know is to disassemble it so you can check ea. part in-turn, from the foot pedal, to its linkage, to the master. Don't think just because you found one reason that is the only reason. You may have more than one thing defective.

 

[deekjx]

I would be interested to find-out what part(s) 'went-out.

I don't believe they did that level of troubleshooting. Perhaps I should have attempted to repair it myself but my wife was pretty adamant a professional should fix the most important thing on the bike. They ordered a whole master cylinder kit and are charging me 240 for the entire brake job.

They also quoted me 980 total for the 16k service and the brake job which I accepted. I hear good things about them.


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[BorgBiker]

Unless you got a smashed ankle, I think it would be the brake lever mounting.

Well, it's not smashed, but it's still bruised 6 days later and it is still just a bit swollen. The way it felt, I thought it was smashed, flattened, or crushed. But I can walk on it okay (with gel-soled shoes).

Looking at the way the Master Cylinder is now, I'm not sure of the way it was. But it seems like the M/C casing is fine, and maybe the tabs that it bolts to are bent back a bit?

can you post a photo of the master cylinder?

I took some with my phone camera. Not the best contrast, but maybe some of you brake gurus might be find them helpful (let's see if I can post the pics :Wink2.

Hey, It works! :eusa_dance:

 

[bazwell]

Looking at the way the Master Cylinder is now, I'm not sure of the way it was. But it seems like the M/C casing is fine, and maybe the tabs that it bolts to are bent back a bit?

They sure are bent! :surprise:


The tabs should point directly forwards. In the same line/plane as the clutch gasket. Straight from back to front.
The brake light switch has had a nudge too.

 

[95spfldmax]

Today was 78 degrees and no clouds! I could kick myself for not checking it out sooner!

can you post a photo of the master cylinder?

....Can you post a pic of what sunny and 78 degrees looks like??.....:eusa_dance:

 

[Fire-medic]

I agree w/'Bazwell,' the mount tabs are bent. You should closely examine the frame cradle at whatever points of attachment to other frame members to see if there is any evidence of peeling paint, flaking paint, 'stretching' of the steel, ripples in it, cracked welds, or the like. Your bike took a harder hit than you initially suspected. The master cyl position looks to be pushed towards the longitudinal center of the bike by about 3/4-1" so it would need to be restored to the proper position for the brake linkage to work correctly. No-wonder it's binding! And as I posted before, the entire ass'y. has to be removed and inspected to i.d. all affected parts. I think you need to heat the tabs and use a hammer or pipe wrench to re-align the mounting tabs for the master cyl. If you do it by the 'cold-set' method, you will weaken the metal, so here heat is your friend. After doing the realignment, you need to re-examine the frame on that side again to see if any points of failure in the metal are evident, especially cracks or failed welds. Better safe than sorry.

 

[bazwell]

Remember I commented on your ankle before?
I was hinting that if the m/cyl mounting is bent like that, it could be your ankle that hit it. :-(

So if there is no surface damage on the frame or m/cyl, like paint scratches, that might be why.

That's taking protecting your bike to a new level!!! OUCH!

 

[BorgBiker]

Remember I commented on your ankle before?
I was hinting that if the m/cyl mounting is bent like that, it could be your ankle that hit it. :-(

So if there is no surface damage on the frame or m/cyl, like paint scratches, that might be why.

That's taking protecting your bike to a new level!!! OUCH!

Ahh... the written often leaves out the subtleties that I would have picked up in audio.

I'm actually very surprised that it's bent that much. The peg only has a slight malformation on the rubber, and my boot is just a slight bit scuffed... I guess the force of the impact carried mostly through the boot to the M/C. Enough force to bend steel ought to be enough to do a serious number on my ankle.

Looks like Max might be down a while longer than I thought...

 

[CaptainKyle]

Ahh... the written often leaves out the subtleties that I would have picked up in audio.

I'm actually very surprised that it's bent that much. The peg only has a slight malformation on the rubber, and my boot is just a slight bit scuffed... I guess the force of the impact carried mostly through the boot to the M/C. Enough force to bend steel ought to be enough to do a serious number on my ankle.

Looks like Max might be down a while longer than I thought...

Good luck with your ankle, I have one thats been giving me crap for almost 3 years now ( I never went to the doctor) On second not I probably have a few good used units for sale.

 

[bazwell]

What's a used ankle worth Kyle?

My ankle's not too bad, but my right foot and knee are pretty ruined. If you've got a right leg that hasn't been in a wreck I'd look at getting it off you. :rofl_200:

On a serious note BorgBiker, straighten out the mounting tabs and it will probably be all good. FM is correct about cold bending causing weakness. I don't have welding gear and it's not a structural point, so I would just bend it with an 18" adjustable wrench and wear the consequences of my actions. We all take different risks.

And get the x-rays done, if you haven't already. Experience tells me that if there is a minor fracture, your can turn it into a major pain in the ass by doing the wrong thing.