rear brake failure

[fionn]

Today while driving home, i discovered i had no working rear brake at all
the brake had appeared 'stuck' last week (back wheel was difficult to rotate) but it became free itself and i didn't do any more about it.
I haven't bled the brakes yet but was wondering is there something wrong with the master cylinder - am i right in thinking that this controls the travel of the foot pedal? this now can be depressed fully and doesn't appear to have any effect on the brake at all, will just bleeding the rear brake system solve my problem or do i need to get something done with the master cylinder too?
any advice tips etc. would be appreciated
ta

 

[Timolgra]

Yes it's often the master cylinder at fault.
I had this happen once on a 650, the rear brake was stuck on, heated up which wrecked the pads, disc and melted the piston in the caliper.

 

[VAL. H.]

Two possible causes here:

1, Neglect.

2, Tired seals in either the master cylinder or the caliper, causing said seals to either displace or to crack/split allowing the fluid to escape from the system.

Cure:

Transport the bike (might not be a good idea to ride it) to your local M/c repair shop, with express instruction to fix the bloody thing.






















Val.

 

[fionn]

thanks for the replies! Well the brake only stuck the once and didn't seem to cause any damage and there has been no leakage of fluid, the resevoir is still full.
But i guess i should bring it to a repair shop (as soon as i have funds)
oh i've ridden it since with just the front brake it's fun if somewhat risky but fun all the same!!

 

[Malc6552]

replace

I had the same problem, fitted new master cyclinder £32 and allis well

 

[Spout]

Ditto.
Rear master cylinder is prone to packing up.
New one not too expensive, and easy to replace.

 

[fionn]

thanks - yeah i'm going to try a sealing kit first before i buy the whole lot - the cheapest i saw was in the £63! Anyway hopefully the kit will do the job

 

[brassmonkey001]

Replace the rear master cylinder. They are a known weak point.