Lost front brakes - questions

[V8Bikers]

Preface, up till today the front brakes were perfect. Although a few days ago I thought the front brake lever had a lot of play in it but the front brakes felt fine, so I did not give it another thought. We went for a 20 mile ride today, stopped for about an hour and left for home. About 3 miles in doing 60, I started to smell brake pads cooking. Sue also noticed that my brake lights came on and off 3 times within the 3 miles of riding but I never touched the brakes. The bike felt fine so I was thinking it may be the car in front. Decided to try the front brake and the lever was locked up, I could not pull it back at all. Rears were normal.

I stopped and let it cool off for 10 mins. Rotors were hot but not glowing or smoking. After the cool off there was no lever at all, pulled all the way to the grip with no resistance. There are no leaks and the pads have plenty of life left. The bike rolled easily in neutral so I rode her home using my rear brakes only. Once home the front rotors were cool and very little to no pressure in the lever.

Given these symptoms, does anyone have any idea what the issue might be? To me it seems as though the culprit could be the m/c needing a rebuild, although I have read a little about brake fluid going bad. Could it be a simple fluid flush?

Thanks

[petitemoose]

It's not a fluid flush. I would recommend by starting with taking the front calipers off and making sure the pistons are not sticking. When I read the post again you have issues pointing to the master cylinder as well. The brake lights are on a switch located by the master cylinder on the bars. If those are coming on that points directly to the master cylinder.

You may want to look for a parking brake device that lock the front brakes. Not everybody likes the rear "parking brake" idea

[hogv8]

I can't explain why but if it were me I would rebuilt both front calipers and the front master cylinder and of course flush all the front brake lines .

[V8Bikers]

Update: opened up the m/c and had debris on the bottom and fluid was mostly clear with a slight hint of yellow. Cleaned it out and put in dot 5 and attempted to bleed. After some strokin', black crap started to come up from the two holes in the bottom of the cylinder. It must be from the seals on the piston. Also, when pumping the lever with top off, there was no fluid movement at all, just the black stuff bubbling up.

Ordered a rebuild kit from Joker Machine. According to them, they do not use third party vendors for these parts used on Boss Hoss'es so you have to buy from them. They are the same price ($24.95) as J&P for the same size piston (confirmed with Boss Hoss factory that all the Joker front's are 11/16).

[petitemoose]

Glad you found it!

[hogv8]

Bill , of course your going to flush the calipers also right ?

I use a MITY VAC and connect the MITY VAC hose to each caliper bleeder and while keeping the master cylinder full suck clean fresh dot 5 thru each caliper and out the bleeder . This also sucks out all air bubbles .

Jack
HOGV8

[V8Bikers]

Jack, yes, will definitely bleed the whole front system. I have a Mity Vac but have never used to bleed with that method. Will give it a try. Thanks.

[Elvis]

If after using the Mity Vac on your brakes, if they stay hard for more than 4 hrs seek immediate medical attention

[V8Bikers]

Elvis, will do . I put in the new kit, fluid, and did a traditional bleed. Could not find the Mity Vac . Went for a ride and they are back to normal.

[hogv8]

The real beauty of a Mity-vac is you can connect it to a bleeder valve and suck all of the old brake fluid and air entirely from the system . www.mityvac.con

[tjy]

Has anybody had this prob. with a v8 chopper trike? Sounds very similar to one I having now. I don't want to haul back to Ok.

[Buck]

Tom, we will be in Daytona next week so maybe I can assist. We had the same problem and bled the front brakes and now they better than ever. Simple job. Give me a call and we'll work something out.
Buck

[V8Bikers]

Tom and Buck - I can also help and if you need a garage/tools you are welcome to come to my home in DeLand.

[Buck]

thanks, have not heard back from Tom but I will only need to carry 3 small tools to do the job. We can do it at Tom's place which is only a hop-skip-and jump from where we stay.

[tjy]

Tom, we will be in Daytona next week so maybe I can assist. We had the same problem and bled the front brakes and now they better than ever. Simple job. Give me a call and we'll work something out.
Buck

Buck Thank you my Friend, Someplace in the caliper there is a leak as the fluid leaked all over the wheel and body while riding. I have a can of dot 5 here also Tom

[Buck]

that is something that I can not repair; I had the identical issue and it was a bad seal in the caliber. I can almost assure you that Stan will cover the cost if done locally. Call him and have him either send you the correct rebuild kit or give you the info so you may have a local shop order and install it.
You have an American Suspension B-17P dual Phantom Caliber System:

http://americansuspension.com/forks/mot ... -tech.html

use that info to order parts.

BTW, don't forget my advise as to the Eldebrock heat insulating gasket.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-9265/overview/

Buck

[tjy]

Buck Red Embers on Ballou st said he would tackle it with stans permission, We bought acouple bikes from him. I wonder if stan might be open tomorrow? prob. not Thanks again! I took it for a ride this aft. good time!

[Buck]

a suggestion, click on the brake schematic that is on the web page I sent and print it out,. it will make the rebuild job much easier for the bike wrench, also, when talking w/ Stan, get him to tell you the correct way to take the front axle out and also relay that info to the mechanic. Some folks have had a problem with the axle removal and have screwed it up completely, the cost of that error will come out of your wallet. If Stan is not available then Rhonda can transfer you to either Chris or Tom for removal info.
If we have time next week we'll drop by and say hello.
Buck

[petitemoose]

... when talking w/ Stan, get him to tell you the correct way to take the front axel out and also relay that info to the mechanic. Some folks have had a problem with the axel removal and have screwed it up completely, the cost of that error will come out of your wallet....

Those instructions / steps would make an awesome addition to the tech section for future V8 Chopper do it your selfers ... Just sayin