Front Brake is 'crunchy'

[diffluere]

So..I had new front brakes put on in March. Sometime about two weeks ago I noticed that my brake lever would occasionally feel harder to pull. Now, it feels REALLY weird. If you lightly grab it, nothing happens. If you pull at it a bit harder, it 'crunches' and then the brake feels similar to slamming them in a car. Also, when it is released it returns to about 3/4 of the way out, then has a hard time making the final move. The brakes don't feel like they are dragging though.

I'm having a friend check it out when he gets off work since the feeling is hard to describe, but I was just wondering if any of you have experienced something similar. =)

[alantf]

Could possibly be a frayed inner brake cable.

[Easy Rider]

Could possibly be a frayed inner brake cable.

Front brake; no cable. :whistle: :biggrin:

Sounds like a master cylinder problem to me.....especially the "not returning to a normal position" part.

If you didn't have fresh fluid installed with the pads, that would probably be the first thing to do.

[Sarris]

:plus1:

Master cylinder.

:cry:

[alantf]

Front brake; no cable. :whistle: :biggrin:



Whoops .... brainfart! Old man shuffles off, muttering to himself, yet again. :cuss:

[diffluere]

gah.....that's what I was afraid of after reading GZ250's posts. From the service manual it sounds like a really big pain in the ass. *pout*

[Easy Rider]

gah.....that's what I was afraid of after reading GZ250's posts. From the service manual it sounds like a really big pain in the ass. *pout*

Well no, not really.
It is fairly simple to replace.......just quite expensive, IIRC.

I still suggest a flushing with new fluid.....which will be fairly cheap even if you have a shop do it because there could be just be some "crud" stuck in the piston.

Who did the brakes ??

[diffluere]

The guy that I always take my bike to - Sanderson Cycle. I think I might ride by there tomorrow and ask him to just take a look at it. Problem is that I work tomorrow from 10-4 and I have school on Wednesday. And I can't skip because its a condensed summer semester. And I have to ride my bike because they don't let off-campus people have car decals.

As you can tell I'm very frustrated. It seems like every 3 months there is something new to spend money on. Oh well, at least I *HAVE* a motorcycle, right?...... :cry:

[Sarris]

A replacement front master cylinder goes for $72 and a rebuild kit is $16. Master Cylinder (http://fiche.ronayers.com/Index.cfm/Module/Main/TypeID/26/Type/Motorcycle/MakeID/2/Make/Suzuki/YearID/43/Year/2002/ModelID/6305/Model/GZ250/GroupID/258815/Group/FRONT_MASTER_CYLINDER)

A replacement front caliper is $160 and a rebuild kit is $5. Front Caliper (http://fiche.ronayers.com/Index.cfm/Module/Main/TypeID/26/Type/Motorcycle/MakeID/2/Make/Suzuki/YearID/43/Year/2002/ModelID/6305/Model/GZ250/GroupID/258814/Group/FRONT_CLAIPER)

You'll have to figure out which part is bad. It could be some junk in the pads. It's a little hard to diagnose over the internet. :??:

These prices are from, and the links are to Ron Ayers.

Good Luck. :)

[diffluere]

Thanks Sarris. I had found the rebuild kit on bikebandit for $17. I really hope either that or the $5 kit will do the trick. *fingers crossed*

[GZ250]

If nothing else, it could simply the piston inside the master cylinder, you only need to open the cylinder and remove the piston. adding fresh brake fluid when replacing the brake pads is not required, the rubber in the piston is the problem. read the posts below.

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2443 (http://www.gz250bike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2443)


viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2413 (http://www.gz250bike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2413)
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2411 (http://www.gz250bike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2411)

[diffluere]

Thanks everyone. I took it up to the shop and the guy changed the fluid. The screws that hold the cap on were rusty and he thinks some may have gotten into the fluid. It works a whole lot better now.

Of course, now that my bike is fixed something is wrong with my Jeep. I thought it was just a dead battery but I had a big truck jump it, no luck. Luckily, my mom's boyfriend is a mechanic and he's going to look at it for me. =)

I have bad vehicle karma or something...maybe in a past life I wrecked cars all the time.

[Water Warrior 2]

The ticket is to outlive the bad Karma. It takes about 35 years IIRC.

[5th_bike]

I have bad vehicle karma or something...
Nah, it's not you - misery likes to come in groups of several at a time, or right after another.