Hi guys. I am new to the forum, but not to riding. I have just picked up a 2003 sv1000s with 6500 miles on it. Its never been down and its as clean as it gets. On the ride home, i noticed the rear brake was really weak and then it gave out completely. (40 miles to home). I have since inspected it, and there is break fluid, intact break pads, and its not leaking anywhere. The brake light comes on when pedal is depressed, but the pads dont engage at all. It just sinks all the way to the bottom. I have a feeling it wasnt ridden that much with only 6.5k miles on it. I have searched for the answer through this forum but couldnt seem to find it. I am wondering what to try next?
rear brake not working...could use some advice...
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You could have air in the lines and even though the brake fluid is showing full, the air will still cause the brakes to barely engage, if at all. There was a little air left in my lines after I last bled them and I could stomp on the rear brake and it did nothing, but I had plenty of fluid in the reservoir. So I bled the system a little more and it ta-da, working brakes.
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I've got the same issue. I started a thread asking for advice, and bleeding the brakes was recommended. The reservior looks food,there's no leak anywhere.
I'm not too confident of bleeding the brakes on my own,so I'd rather get it done by a mechanic.
I'm not too confident of bleeding the brakes on my own,so I'd rather get it done by a mechanic.
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5,226 Posts
http://www.bluepoof.com/motorcycles/howto/svs_bleeding_brakes/
You can do it with a tube and a jar but I would highly recommend getting a small hand pump system. They have them at autozone and advance auto for ~$30, just ask for a brake bleeding kit. Made the second time I bled mine so much faster with much better results.
You can do it with a tube and a jar but I would highly recommend getting a small hand pump system. They have them at autozone and advance auto for ~$30, just ask for a brake bleeding kit. Made the second time I bled mine so much faster with much better results.
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306 Posts
My back brake has sucked since I bought my bike. I have changedthe fluid twice so it isn't air or moisture. The petal is firm. I even put on ebc hh's and it still sucks. The caliper and master cylinder seem to work fine so I have no clue what the deal is!
The next logical step would be to disassemble the caliper and thoughly clean it. Reassemble and re-bleed. Rear calipers seem to attract more dirt, and dirty calipers perform poorly.
Just something that's virtually free to do (time and brake fluid), and it can make a huge difference.
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115 Posts
Does anyone have a video of how to properly bleed brakes? I looked it up online,but nothing worthwhile was available.
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Since your front brakes do more tha 75% of the braking rear brakes on most bikes are a joke. It you think about it, during hard braking most of the inertia is thrown foward so the rear end becomes a little lighter and even if you do have great rear brake, all you end up ding islocking up the rear tire and skidding.
Hey SV,
Go to Autozone. Get like a foot and a half of 3/16 tubing, preferably clear. Get a glass jar or something. 8mm socket to loosen the bleed nipple. you will be able to see it in the rear very easily. It has a rubber piece covering the nipple in the back. loosen it and you will see BRAKE fluid start to ooze out. immediately put the tubing over the nipple with the other end in the jar. loosen the nipple a bit more and then push the brake pedal 3 times, on the 4th time hold it down for 3 seconds and with it still depressed in, tighten the nipple all the way before releasing. make sure to keep adding new brake fluid to the reservoir located on the right side of the bike around the seat area.
Keep doing this until you feel the pedal having some resistance. it took me about 15 minutes before I felt it. I think i paid like less than 10$ for this fix. SV, its totally easy and cheap. The only ***** is the proper disposal of brake fluid. PM me if you still have questions.
Go to Autozone. Get like a foot and a half of 3/16 tubing, preferably clear. Get a glass jar or something. 8mm socket to loosen the bleed nipple. you will be able to see it in the rear very easily. It has a rubber piece covering the nipple in the back. loosen it and you will see BRAKE fluid start to ooze out. immediately put the tubing over the nipple with the other end in the jar. loosen the nipple a bit more and then push the brake pedal 3 times, on the 4th time hold it down for 3 seconds and with it still depressed in, tighten the nipple all the way before releasing. make sure to keep adding new brake fluid to the reservoir located on the right side of the bike around the seat area.
Keep doing this until you feel the pedal having some resistance. it took me about 15 minutes before I felt it. I think i paid like less than 10$ for this fix. SV, its totally easy and cheap. The only ***** is the proper disposal of brake fluid. PM me if you still have questions.
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8,480 Posts
air can easily get trapped due to the path of the line from the master to the caliper. Remove the caliper from its mount, and move it down to the front, lowest point of the rotor..and try bleeding again. ((keep as much of the rotor as possible between the pads.....to prevent the piston from coming out of its bore))
You want to make sure the caliper is as low as you can get it, and lower than the bottom of the master itself. Many people think they get all the air out, but do not.
You want to make sure the caliper is as low as you can get it, and lower than the bottom of the master itself. Many people think they get all the air out, but do not.
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