Sticking rear brake lever

Does anyone else have problems with their rear brake sticking? The lever gets sticky and then stops releasing the brake, causing the light to remain on and, when it's really bad, the brake to also be on slightly.

The last time I ended up disconnecting the brake cylinder so the lever could be moved freely and using masses of GT85. In the end it was fairly free-moving but still felt a bit stiff at points, almost as if bent but I don't believe this is the cause since the bike's never been down...

If anyone's any ideas, I'd be pleased to hear 'em.

Cheers.

[BillyC]

Take off the rearset and lever.... get some degreasing products and give the whole thing a good clean.

Then put some fresh grease in there, and reassemble. Should then be free as Willy!

[Viney]

Originally Posted by BillyC

free as my Willy!

I had this problem yesterday. I hadn't noticed it myself as I don't use the back brake much, or follow myself. But the chap in the tyre shop noticed it. It just need stripping down, and regreasing. Working fine now.

There are two allen bolts that hold the brake/footrest assembly to the bike, undo these. There are two springs on the rear of the assembly, one for the return of the brake leaver, one for the brake light. You will have to unhook these. There is then another allen bolt that goes through the brake lever and into the foot rest. Depending how tight this is you may be able to undo it in situ, otherwise, you may have to disconnect the brake cylinder and put the assembly in a vice/workmate, like I had to. Undo the allen bolt and the whole assembly comes apart. Just clean and regrease, and assemble in the reverse order.

Really simple.

Ian

Noticed mine sticking this morning, lever stays depressed and doesn't return. Will be cleaning and degreasing this weekend as per Iffy's instructions - price for winter riding I guess?!

Cheers for info fellow SVers

Tony

Aren't forums great a mystery solved!!!

Got back from work yesterday and found that while the front disks were stone cold the back was hot, which puzzled me as I'd re-built the rear brakes.

Time to check if the lever is moving freely

Cheers All!!

Another tip to ther rear brake saga, make sure he return spring is not bound by rust this will also produce a stiff lever action - just bend the spring about a bit and lube - problem solved.

Well, after an enjoyable(?) 30 minutes, my rear brake is now free willy

Took the rear set off but failed at getting the actual peg off due to the tight allen bolt and lack of anything to hold. Instead, just used lots of oil and movement, which did the trick

[Sid Squid]

If the problem returns have a look behind the bush in the lever, it's common for the lever to corrode a little on it's inner circumference, this corrosion expands a bit and squeezes the bush on to the pivot, in bad cases no amount of lubing solves the problem as the lever grips the pivot so tight. The bush is split, if you're careful you can roll it out, clean the corrosion off and refit the bush, if you smear a little grease on the inner of the lever before fitting the bush it won't happen again so quickly.

Cheers Iffy.

Followed your instructions to the letter - rear brake no longer sticking. Even used it twice this morning!

SV650 site wins again!!!

Tony