brake lever travel

[ophic]

Hi all. I'm having some trouble with my front brake lever coming too far back. It used to be much better, as I've 2-finger braked ever since having the bike, and now I tend to trap my other fingers under heavy braking.

Now, it has an adjuster but thats already set as far out as possible. It doesn't feel like there's air in the system as it does pull up fairly solid, but just too far back for my liking. I've changed pads, bled the brakes from the caliper nipples and the top banjo bolt, and the bleeding may have got rid of a very slight sponginess, but hasn't affected the lever travel.

So what's my next move? Should I get some braided lines? Overhaul the master cylinder? Overhaul the calipers? Advice needed please!

You'd probably want a full brake service to be sure, besides it only takes an hour or two.. get some braided lines (will make a difference).. and make your sure bleed them bloody well!

[ophic]

i'm pretty sure there's no air in the system now, judging by the feel. Braided hoses I was intending to fit at some point but i'd rather put that one off for now cos I'm skint. So... master cylinder overhaul was my next logical step.

Sometimes a bit of air gets trapped at the top by the lever banjo bolt...did you try undoing this and bleeding it from there? I used to get the same problem; braded hoses helped to an extent, but a full caliper overhaul (its actualy not that hard to do) really sorted my brakes out.

[ophic]

yup did that. If I drain the system to fit braided hoses, i'll probably do a full overhaul of everything whilst its empty. But I was trying to avoid all that cost right at the moment.

Originally Posted by alpinestarhero

Sometimes a bit of air gets trapped at the top by the lever banjo bolt...did you try undoing this and bleeding it from there? I used to get the same problem; braded hoses helped to an extent, but a full caliper overhaul (its actualy not that hard to do) really sorted my brakes out.

[Bibio]

pull the lever in and cable tie over night...

if that dont sort it out then you might have a seized calliper.

[Biker Biggles]

I find it helps to look at the system as a whole and bear in mind that air bubbles rise.I bleed it out as normal and gently tap the calipers with a hammer to move thigs on,then position the bike and bars so that there is no high point for the bubbles to get stuck(often at the top banjo as stated above)
This usually means I remove the master cylinder from the bar to ensure everything points straight up,and theres a slightly different technique for the naked sv with a remote reservoir.When Im happy its all in line I leave it overnight,and sometimes it helps to cable tie the brke lever on.
That usually sorts any sponginess in mine.

[ophic]

Originally Posted by Bibio

pull the lever in and cable tie over night...

if that dont sort it out then you might have a seized calliper.

Done that - and checked that the calipers weren't seized when i changed the pads.

Originally Posted by Biker Biggles

I find it helps to look at the system as a whole and bear in mind that air bubbles rise.I bleed it out as normal and gently tap the calipers with a hammer to move thigs on,then position the bike and bars so that there is no high point for the bubbles to get stuck(often at the top banjo as stated above)
This usually means I remove the master cylinder from the bar to ensure everything points straight up,and theres a slightly different technique for the naked sv with a remote reservoir.When Im happy its all in line I leave it overnight,and sometimes it helps to cable tie the brke lever on.
That usually sorts any sponginess in mine.

Ok I haven't gone as far as removing the master cylinder but I've done a similar thing, positioning the bars and pointing the bike downhill so that the top banjo bolt isn't the highest point in the system. I've tapped all the lines and the calipers. And the brakes aren't spongy - they just bite after too much lever travel.

Any more ideas? Keep 'em coming - might find something i haven't tried yet

when was the last time you changed the brake fluid, if its not been done in a while i'd suggest changing it as it absorbs moisture and can make the fluid itself spongey, worth a try for a tenners of brake fluid, but then you'll probs want to overhaul the master cyclinder and calipers whilst the system is drained

[ophic]

Originally Posted by dual-power sv

when was the last time you changed the brake fluid, if its not been done in a while i'd suggest changing it as it absorbs moisture and can make the fluid itself spongey, worth a try for a tenners of brake fluid, but then you'll probs want to overhaul the master cyclinder and calipers whilst the system is drained

i've bled out all the old fluid. Didn't drain the system but bled through until the new fluid came out.