Trike sitting for awhile (brakes)

[CapeTeddy]

Hi everyone, due to health reasons my 2016 Freewheeler has sat since December after the Toys for Tots run. Last week I was finally able to climb back on it and went for a short ride. Right away I noticed my rear brakes kinda felt like there was no fluid and had to rely more on the front brake. As I went it did seem to get better and I hope to try and ride a bit farther this week and see if it's just dry pads from sitting or something like that. Everything else is working just fine. Any suggestions?

 

[Gorilla]

Maybe the rotors surface rusted a bit? Was the pedal hard even though the braking power seamed weak?

 

[CapeTeddy]

Maybe the rotors surface rusted a bit? Was the pedal hard even though the braking power seamed weak?

No, the pedal depresses easier than before but goes down farther. It's like there's low pressure or hydraulics. But it did feel like it was going back to normal as I road. Had I stayed out longer it might have gone back to normal.

Since I posted this, I read online to try tying the brake pedal down and leave it for awhile or overnite. It will allow the seals to get wet again in case they dried out from sitting so long. I used a bungee cord and strapped the brake pedal down and tomorrow I'm going to take it for a ride and see if that fixes it. Have you ever heard of doing this?

 

[Gorilla]

Test and it does work if the issue is moving the fluid past the master cylinder.

 

[Papa Zook]

No, the pedal depresses easier than before but goes down farther. It's like there's low pressure or hydraulics. But it did feel like it was going back to normal as I road. Had I stayed out longer it might have gone back to normal.

Since I posted this, I read online to try tying the brake pedal down and leave it for awhile or overnite. It will allow the seals to get wet again in case they dried out from sitting so long. I used a bungee cord and strapped the brake pedal down and tomorrow I'm going to take it for a ride and see if that fixes it. Have you ever heard of doing this?

This typically cures the problem.

 

[CapeTeddy]

That seemed to do it. I have tension in my rear brake again and it's stopping like it's suppose to. Thanks Gorilla and Papa Zook for your help.