Rear Brake Failure It Happend To Me

[msocko3]

I haven't road my Triglide since the 1st week of September when I come home from a trip to TN with the wife. Today I planned to ride it enough so the fluids would warm up so I could change them before its long winter nap. I fire it up and pulled off the lift, had the brakes then. While backing up in the driveway I stepped on the brakes and the peddle went to the bottom, no rear brakes. I still road it because I needed to get the service done. I can say the font brakes work pretty decent, just have to plan on stopping early. I'm taking it to the dealer for the switch recall tomorrow. I've included a little video of the brake peddle going to the bottom.

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[trikermutha]

Man that is some scary s**t...

 

[eagle1]

maybe HMO will place another heat shield in that area to prevent this problem.

 

[msocko3]

Man that is some scary s**t...

Its strange riding and resisting the urge to step on the rear brakes when coming to a stop.

 

[lzski326]

A month ago when my brakes took a s--t, i had to ride about 5 miles with the front brake. Your right its hard to not touch the rear peddle.

 

[Tony T of I V E]

Harley-Davidson recalls 300,000 motorcycles | TG Daily

 

[msocko3]

A month ago when my brakes took a s--t, i had to ride about 5 miles with the front brake. Your right its hard to not touch the rear peddle.

Was it the switch on yours that failed?

 

[lzski326]

No not the switch yet. Mine was when I let the pads get so bad that it ruined a caliper and locked up a rear wheel.

 

[flynng]

Here is a fun little fact. On my CSC trike, if you leave the bike on a lift and the front is lower, the brake fluid runs back into the master cylinder and leaves a void in the calipers. I had the rear on ramps, front on the ground, working on pipes or something. Got ready to take it of the ramps after two days, no brakes. Seems the master cylinder is low enough that fluid will migrate back if you elevate the rear. Bled both sides to fill the void, no more problems. Weird at best.............

 

[1550vt]

That is a normal situation. The fluid will migrate back into the MC. Anytime the calipers are mounted higher that the MC...a little device they sell as a residual-valve (check valve) can be had and plumbed into the rear brake line to prevent the back-flow. In your case, now that you know it can happen, you likely will be more careful. It usually takes time (as in days) for this to happen if the calipers are mounted above the MC and if you ride often enough, the first time-or-two you use the brake it will push the fluid back into the caliper chambers. I had a situation like this and just every-now-and-then...I would push the brake pedal, because I did not want to fool with the residual valve. The hot rod boys use these valves a lot, because they often find the MC being mounted down under the floor-pan and install these residual valves. There is one for disc that maintains 2-pounds of pressure and another for drums that maintain something like 6-pounds of pressure.

 

[msocko3]

The brake switch has been replaced, only strange happening is the tech said I didn't have rear brakes because they needed adjusted. He adjusted the brakes per the parking brake procedure even though I don't have the cables and handle installed anymore. The kicker was after they were adjusted the peddle still went to the bottom, he said it was because he needed to bleed the brakes from installing the switch. Odd thing is the tech who did the switch replacement on my dads didn't bleed the brakes and his worked fine. Once the tech bleed my brakes they work pretty good now.

Sometime I'm going to have to look deeper into the whole brake adjustment thing, it doesn't add up.

 

[1550vt]

#3...it is possible to remove the switch and replace it without getting any air in the system.....as long as you don't "touch" anything else and take great care. BUT....as a precaution...ain't a bad idea to bleed them either. If the switch is perfectly perpendicular to the fluid level in the line...it's possible.

 

[eighty80]

Question. Would the rear lift kit be enough to change that angle??

 

[1550vt]

You would likely have to have it raised more than an inch or so to really matter. I bet that if you looked at where your MC is now and the height of the rear brake calipers on the trike....they may already be a bit higher than the MC. It depends on the orientation "around the circle" of the rotor. Some calipers are mounted on top, while others can be located to the rear, or front of the rotor. It depends on the manufacturer. BUT, normally this would not happen in a matter of hours, or even days. My calipers were mounted higher and on a larger than stock rotor. The brake would get a little spongy if my trike sat there for weeks at a time. I would simply apply the brakes as I walked by the trike when I thought about it....not a daily thing.

But, if you put it on a lift and jacked it up for some period of time....the back-flow will occur sooner.

I don't think you will have a problem with a lift-kit.

 

[trikermutha]

The brake switch has been replaced, only strange happening is the tech said I didn't have rear brakes because they needed adjusted. He adjusted the brakes per the parking brake procedure even though I don't have the cables and handle installed anymore. The kicker was after they were adjusted the peddle still went to the bottom, he said it was because he needed to bleed the brakes from installing the switch. Odd thing is the tech who did the switch replacement on my dads didn't bleed the brakes and his worked fine. Once the tech bleed my brakes they work pretty good now.

Sometime I'm going to have to look deeper into the whole brake adjustment thing, it doesn't add up.

sounds like you got air in the lines. did you lose brake fluids at some point thru that switch??

 

[427dave]

Harley-Davidson recalls 300,000 motorcycles | TG Daily

Was at the dealer today and mentioned the recall, they said they had the parts and they would fix me up right away, it took about 35 minutes. They did my buddies also. They replaced the stop light switch.

 

[eighty80]

You would likely have to have it raised more than an inch or so to really matter. I bet that if you looked at where your MC is now and the height of the rear brake calipers on the trike....they may already be a bit higher than the MC. It depends on the orientation "around the circle" of the rotor. Some calipers are mounted on top, while others can be located to the rear, or front of the rotor. It depends on the manufacturer. BUT, normally this would not happen in a matter of hours, or even days. My calipers were mounted higher and on a larger than stock rotor. The brake would get a little spongy if my trike sat there for weeks at a time. I would simply apply the brakes as I walked by the trike when I thought about it....not a daily thing.

But, if you put it on a lift and jacked it up for some period of time....the back-flow will occur sooner.

I don't think you will have a problem with a lift-kit.

Thank's for the answer 1550vt.ThumbUp

 

[Hoghead]

Its strange riding and resisting the urge to step on the rear brakes when coming to a stop.

Was there fluid loss when the brakes went away?

 

[msocko3]

Was there fluid loss when the brakes went away?

No fluid loss.

 

[msocko3]

You would likely have to have it raised more than an inch or so to really matter. I bet that if you looked at where your MC is now and the height of the rear brake calipers on the trike....they may already be a bit higher than the MC. It depends on the orientation "around the circle" of the rotor. Some calipers are mounted on top, while others can be located to the rear, or front of the rotor. It depends on the manufacturer. BUT, normally this would not happen in a matter of hours, or even days. My calipers were mounted higher and on a larger than stock rotor. The brake would get a little spongy if my trike sat there for weeks at a time. I would simply apply the brakes as I walked by the trike when I thought about it....not a daily thing.

But, if you put it on a lift and jacked it up for some period of time....the back-flow will occur sooner.

I don't think you will have a problem with a lift-kit.

Mine sat parked on the lift since the 1st week of September, but then mine also sat for several weeks on the lift like this, with no brake problems afterward.

I hope it was just the switch, only time will tell.

 

[msocko3]

sounds like you got air in the lines. did you lose brake fluids at some point thru that switch??

Never saw any leaking fluid.

 

[trikermutha]

Never saw any leaking fluid.

well if the switch opened up somehow and let air into the system then I could see this happening. well lets hope all it ok now and be careful,,still would scare the s**t out of me...

 

[1550vt]

I think we have at least two subjects going on here at the same time, which is normal. This is meant for the folks concerned about fluid back-flow.

If your MC is already slap-full of fluid....then no fluid can migrate back into it. It's a sealed system. If your MC happens to be a bit low....some fluid could back-flow into it. That is likely the reason why some folks have had them lifted from the rear for a while and had no issues, while others may have. As the pads wear, the level of fluid in the MC lowers to a point in which it could have relaxed the bladder enough that back-flow can occur. If you keep it topped-off....no fluid can run back into it creating a void in the lines or calipers.

 

[Gorilla]

I think we have at least two subjects going on here at the same time, which is normal. This is meant for the folks concerned about fluid back-flow.

If your MC is already slap-full of fluid....then no fluid can migrate back into it. It's a sealed system. If your MC happens to be a bit low....some fluid could back-flow into it. That is likely the reason why some folks have had them lifted from the rear for a while and had no issues, while others may have. As the pads wear, the level of fluid in the MC lowers to a point in which it could have relaxed the bladder enough that back-flow can occur. If you keep it topped-off....no fluid can run back into it creating a void in the lines or calipers.

Good point VT