"Soggy" rear brake pedal

[Spud]

Rear brake pedal (2013 GS) has had a little bit more travel than I would like for a while. Recently fitted new pads, but still the same.
Tried a friends similar bike and that is much firmer/less travel in comparison.
I have a GS911, is there a recognised method for bleeding the brakes on these, do you need the 911 ?

if anyone knows a good video showing the procedure perhaps ?

Cheers (stay safe out there)

 

[tonytobo]

Rear brake pedal (2013 GS) has had a little bit more travel than I would like for a while. Recently fitted new pads, but still the same.
Tried a friends similar bike and that is much firmer/less travel in comparison.
I have a GS911, is there a recognised method for bleeding the brakes on these, do you need the 911 ?

if anyone knows a good video showing the procedure perhaps ?

Cheers (stay safe out there)

you might have a problem with the rear brake hose if its rubber???

 

[StevenF111]

Keeping an eye on this as I have a lot of rear brake pedal travel too


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[OldSteve]

I've had this or a similar problem with all my GSs - a 1200, a 750 and now a 1250. After a bit of use they all seem to develop a lot of dead movement before activating the brake but they are not spongy. I've gave up and bought a pedal enlarger and made up a spacer to fit underneath it as the main issue I found was the ankle movement required to activate the brake rather than effectiveness once in use. On my 1250 I have now fitted lowered pegs which effectively raises the pedal relative to my boot and just the enlarger does the trick now.

 

[Deleted account 250319001]

Last week I was taking my bike to my dealership for a service. I used the rear brake and it went to the floor.But still applied a very little amount of braking. I wasnt that worried as the dash had red triangles up warning of low tyre pressures ect ...
On collecting I was reassured as now had a hard rear brake with little movement. Must have got air in it . Innit.

 

[Mr Bean]

I've had three and they all develop significant travel - don't be tempted to adjust it out.

 

[GSRiderdotcom]

word to the wise

Guys a word to the wise. But caveat this with the fact I'm not a mechanic.

I noticed some excessive movement in my brake pedal last year before a trip. Albeit the brake applied well, (pads not worn) but it just traveled further. I was nipping to my mechanic anyway over other issues and he looked at it and adjusted it slightly.

All seemed fine. I then headed off to Scotland for a long trip, no problems for the first few days, then on the third day, traveling at slow speed, it locked up completely and I couldn't move the bike. We had to lift it to the side of the road, release it and then it would move. I rode it short distance to the pub where we had a discussion.

The upshot I think happened was that the brake somehow was slightly on once adjusted. However traveling on motorway on a cold day probably caused little issue. The day it happened, was a lot lot warmer, we were riding well, on twisties, and then suddenly at slow speed it grabbed the disc.

The disc was now warped and the pads seemed fried. I took it then for 5 mile test run once it had cooled down and I didn't apply the brake. Got back to the pub and the disc was very hot again.

I made a judgement call as I had planned another 800 miles or so. And I didn't fancy it coming on again in the same manner. So I got it recovered back to BMW, as I had all the cover to do this.

It cost me a new disc, pads and new fluids.

I'd like to know anyone's thoughts on what happened, and whether I did something wrong along the way. (don't let this hijack the thread as someone else needs advice too)
My safety always come first and I always try my best to get the right advice. In this instance it didn't happen that way.

cheers Alistair

 

[Yorkshire Twat]

Ive had my gs1250 back to Jefferies about 3 times with excessive travel.
Been told each time its iinside bmw parameters
Still got lots travel but bought a cymarc pedal extender which has made things more bearable

 

[Pit]

You can switch to a gsa brake lever that has a fold down part that increases the lever height for off road riding, my dealer switched it for me free of charge

 

[chris moore]

When I did my spline service last weekend I changed the rear pads and bled the rear brake in order to lower the fluid level to accommodate the new pads but I still have too much travel. You don’t need any special equipment for this.

 

[Spud]

Guys a word to the wise. But caveat this with the fact I'm not a mechanic.

I noticed some excessive movement in my brake pedal last year before a trip. Albeit the brake applied well, (pads not worn) but it just traveled further. I was nipping to my mechanic anyway over other issues and he looked at it and adjusted it slightly.

All seemed fine. I then headed off to Scotland for a long trip, no problems for the first few days, then on the third day, traveling at slow speed, it locked up completely and I couldn't move the bike. We had to lift it to the side of the road, release it and then it would move. I rode it short distance to the pub where we had a discussion.

The upshot I think happened was that the brake somehow was slightly on once adjusted. However traveling on motorway on a cold day probably caused little issue. The day it happened, was a lot lot warmer, we were riding well, on twisties, and then suddenly at slow speed it grabbed the disc.

The disc was now warped and the pads seemed fried. I took it then for 5 mile test run once it had cooled down and I didn't apply the brake. Got back to the pub and the disc was very hot again.

I made a judgement call as I had planned another 800 miles or so. And I didn't fancy it coming on again in the same manner. So I got it recovered back to BMW, as I had all the cover to do this.

It cost me a new disc, pads and new fluids.

I'd like to know anyone's thoughts on what happened, and whether I did something wrong along the way. (don't let this hijack the thread as someone else needs advice too)
My safety always come first and I always try my best to get the right advice. In this instance it didn't happen that way.

cheers Alistair

This has happened to me once. I was told by the BMW mechanic they have to have a 1mm (I think I remember correctly) gap between the top of the pedal and the "Stop" on the frame, (which obviously, isn't a stop").
Anything less than this for some reason causes the brake to bind, then overheat. I've no idea why it would do this, and I've got to be honest, having a brake pedal that's non adjustable seems a backward step to me. There must be some logic to it, but I've never managed to work it out as yet !!!

 

[tonytobo]

This has happened to me once. I was told by the BMW mechanic they have to have a 1mm (I think I remember correctly) gap between the top of the pedal and the "Stop" on the frame, (which obviously, isn't a stop").
Anything less than this for some reason causes the brake to bind, then overheat. I've no idea why it would do this, and I've got to be honest, having a brake pedal that's non adjustable seems a backward step to me. There must be some logic to it, but I've never managed to work it out as yet !!!

in any hydraulic brake master cylinder there must be some play between the push rod and linkage to relax the system otherwise you will just pump up the system with every application until solid.

 

[Mr Bean]

in any hydraulic brake master cylinder there must be some play between the push rod and linkage to relax the system otherwise you will just pump up the system with every application until solid.

I also tried to adjust it out and left a small amount of play and it ended up still binding to the point of where I could smell the pads. I backed it off a few more times and each time you could still feel the disc getting hot without using the brake - in the end I had it back to where I started and loads of play.

Just accept it and get used to it.

 

[spoonz]

This has happened to me once. I was told by the BMW mechanic they have to have a 1mm (I think I remember correctly) gap between the top of the pedal and the "Stop" on the frame, (which obviously, isn't a stop").
Anything less than this for some reason causes the brake to bind, then overheat. I've no idea why it would do this, and I've got to be honest, having a brake pedal that's non adjustable seems a backward step to me. There must be some logic to it, but I've never managed to work it out as yet !!!

Several possible reasons

Given that the gs is a big lump, potentially carrying 2 people and luggage down steep mountain roads in hot weather, I suspect the free play is too allow for significant disc expansion. If you never ride in those scenarios the free play might be a pain but maybe it’s s engineered for worst case scenario.

Plus a problem I see a fair bit on the road and I have a friend that does it constantly on various bikes is he rests his foot on the rear brake because he adjusts for min travel. Meaning his brake flashes on every time he hits a bump or he moves his foot. I suspect it would cause bigger problems should he ever be in that mountain scenario.

I have a Brembo service doc for the rear m/c fitted to my Aprilia. ( same as many Ducati etc ) and it states the free play on the pushrod must not be less than 5mm to avoid binding in high Brake load conditions. 5 mm at the pushrod translates to several cm at the brake pedal.

 

[beaver]

just bleed the brake like you would a normal one, it takes it out as you get the new fluid in there.. should bring the pedal back up again...

 

[CPJS]

I bought one of these, the toe pad sit about 10mm higher than std. Makes a big difference.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Adjustab...140450?hash=item2cffbd0be2:g:Qh4AAOSwEhleAIDQ

 

[een705]

This from my mates who has had a soggy pedal from when he bought it compared to mine (r1200gs lc 2014) it had been to BMW who changed fluid and checked them a couple of years ago. It first went after a steep downhill and I thought he had rested his foot on brake pedal and the brake was locked on and really hot. We let it rest for 45mins and all was well again. It happened again on a long European trip cost to replace everything from BMW apart from master cylinder was over £500 and he has since altered the shape of the brake pedal and replaced master cylinder. So far all is well. Pictures are the brakes taken out and the heat also melted part of the rear mudguard where it bolts on. I would not go higher on the pedal and he was using lowered pegs. Still not 100% what caused it.

 

[stick]

This from my mates who has had a soggy pedal from when he bought it compared to mine (r1200gs lc 2014) it had been to BMW who changed fluid and checked them a couple of years ago. It first went after a steep downhill and I thought he had rested his foot on brake pedal and the brake was locked on and really hot. We let it rest for 45mins and all was well again. It happened again on a long European trip cost to replace everything from BMW apart from master cylinder was over £500 and he has since altered the shape of the brake pedal and replaced master cylinder. So far all is well. Pictures are the brakes taken out and the heat also melted part of the rear mudguard where it bolts on. I would not go higher on the pedal and he was using lowered pegs. Still not 100% what caused it.

By the look of that Napalm .I over adjusted the rear on my Multistrada as the rear was crap , it got hot and eventually over about 2 miles just stopped the bike dead , to the point I thought I had run out of fuel , cooled down , re adjusted and then all good .. that's a mess but nothing like that …...

 

[ChazzyB]

Excessive brake pedal travel as has been a problem on both my GSs, and for many of my GS-riding chums. I've not ridden it yet, but an old-fashioned brake bleeding session last weekend on my GS has restored the pedal. Quite a lot of air came out fairly quickly.

 

[sven]

Ive had my gs1250 back to Jefferies about 3 times with excessive travel.
Been told each time its iinside bmw parameters
Still got lots travel but bought a cymarc pedal extender which has made things more bearable

Both my GS LC’s have suffered this. My 1250 went into Jefferies to fix an oil leak (seeping from a crush washer) and have the software updated and they said they’d bled the rear brake as well as the pedal travel was excessive. The excess travel is returning, but they all do that.