• There has been a recent cluster of spammers accessing BARFer accounts and posting spam. To safeguard your account, please consider changing your password. It would be even better to take the additional step of enabling 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on your BARF account. Read more here.

front brake locking up

Toast said:
Do you have aftermarket levers? I've heard of the cheap knockoffs not being machined well enough and putting pressure on the brakes, eventually causing them to lock up. That's usually on the track though...
Click to expand...


There's a ton of these reports from street riders.
In fact, all the reports I've read, on ZX-10R.net, are street.

And..The Ebay Chinese knock offs.
 
Last edited:
On DRZ's you can adjust the little pivot thing that pushes the piston on the master cylinder. I adjusted it too close once and had the brakes slowly
lock onto the front rotor. Luckily I was close to home and just loosened the adjuster and let it cool down. Put a new set of pads on and I was good to go.

It happened slowly though, so it felt like the engine was losing power and I just pulled off to the side of the road with the bike not wanting to move.

Anyway get a set of stock levers, they aren't even that much at the dealer or online.

The flaming.. it's more of an amazement thing that anyone would put exposed knives on their motorcycle. Kind of like decorating the dashboard of your car with spikes, or replacing your front lawn with thorn bushes.

Also, any company that would sell knife shaped objects for your motorcycle doesn't really care about tolerances or safety so it's extremely likely they caused the failure.

Looking at the picture, you're lucky you didn't lose fingers when you crashed.

41V%2B6zDEsSL.jpg
 
Last edited:
Oh my gawd! Only an i%*¥€£ would put those on their bike.
 
I think they might add to the aerodynamics of the bike..... I kid, those are the trashiest looking pieces of kit I've ever seen. :barf

And the person who put them on needs meds. Or stop taking illegal meds, one of the two.
 
I think those levers are actually pretty cool for a show bike. But I would never ride with them.
 
Those levers are so Florida. I could see them on a Busa with a 5 foot stretched swing arm.
 
Last edited:
Makes me think of the time I low sided and got my fingers stuck under the brake lever and dragged along with the bike. Hurt bad enough with nice round levers.

So the brakes locked up while the bike was in the truck? Not while you where riding? That is very strange.
 
bpw said:
Makes me think of the time I low sided and got my fingers stuck under the brake lever and dragged along with the bike. Hurt bad enough with nice round levers.

So the brakes locked up while the bike was in the truck? Not while you where riding? That is very strange.
Click to expand...

Anti release brakes? A dyslexic engineer came up with this one.
 
ALANRIDER7 said:
Some MotoGP bikes use special Brembo levers with relief holes because the wind at the speeds they reach actually presses on the lever with enough force to drag the front brake.
Click to expand...

I don't know.
If you look at a lot of newer BMW levers, there are small divits near the ball ends of the levers so that if the bike falls over, the lever breaks off there, and you can still use the brake/clutch with the remaining stub.
I think Brembo has the same idea.
 
Tri750 said:
I don't know.
If you look at a lot of newer BMW levers, there are small divits near the ball ends of the levers so that if the bike falls over, the lever breaks off there, and you can still use the brake/clutch with the remaining stub.
I think Brembo has the same idea.
Click to expand...

Brembo isn't going to leave a fondue fork hanging out in the breeze.

If the point was to have a breakaway tip, they would cast in a simple slot halfway on the backside of the lever that acts as a fracture point.
 
Since I brake and clutch with my middle fingers, I don't think I would be riding very long with these. The only two things that I can think were as crazy was a OCC bike with the sissy bar spikes facing the rider/pillion and another with an axe blade for a triple facing the rider.

These are really masochistic weirdness. Who would even think of such a thing, let alone use them? Sorry o.p., but jeezbus. :wow

aram said:
Looking at the picture, you're lucky you didn't lose fingers when you crashed.

41V%2B6zDEsSL.jpg
Click to expand...
 
I was one of many who had problems with aftermarket levers.

I bought a set of CRG knock-offs from Cyclegear. I pulled a very scary stoppy 1/4 from my house on a test ride - and pushed the bike back home after waiting 30 min for the pressure to bleed down.

The problem is insufficient clearance between the lever and the end of the rod that actuates the piston in the MC. It stops piston from completely returning when you get off the brakes.

Each application of the front brake pumps up the brakes a little bit more, so they lock up sooner or later.

I fixed it by drilling the recess in the lever 2mm deeper. Its been fine for >1000 miles.

I got a very disappointing and half asse'd response from Cycle Gear.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top