BRAKE QUESTION FOR 1997 VALKYRE

[RED HEAT]

I am not sure if this is the right place to post this question.

Is it common for a rear brake fluid reservoir to go out?
A local dealer claims ours went out and wants about $225.00 to repair it and I am skeptical about this dealer.

Any help would be appreciated and thanks in advance.

[X Ring]

Hi Red Heat and Welcome to the board.  Tech Questions are usually asked on the Tech Board.  Some of the tech guys don't bother playing in the sandbox.  You'll probably get some answers here but your best bet is there.

Marty

[lee]

Post any where you want to.
No its not a common problem.  Usually all that's needed is a KIT and you can get one for less than 30 bucks.
Find another dealer.

[chrise2469]

What lee said.  I was just looking at the parts fiche at  hdlparts.com, a new reservoir is 14.35.  A complete master cylinder asm is 41.18, the piston kit is 28.17.

What exactly is the problem?  Is it poor braking? brake fade etc. Did the dealer happen to find this problem while doing something else?  It sounds like the dealer has his profit at heart more than your bike.

A tip for you red heat, if you put your location in your profile, you can often find people willing to come over and give you a hand.

The best place to post these type of questions is on the tech board as most of the guys there know their stuff pretty good .  If you wanted to do this repair yourself that would be a good place to ask.

Hope this helps you.  Ride safe.

[Big IV]

My 98 tourer has never had the master cylinder rebuilt or replaced. Seems fine so far. Only has 80,000 miles give or take.

The amount of miles would make a difference. However, the lack of miles may also make a difference. If the bike has been parked for most of the years since 97 you may encounter more storage wear and tear on the rubber parts. That could mean rebuilding a few things like the master cylinders. New kits and new fluid.  Cannot see why it would need to be completely replaced. But then I've not seen the condition of your bike.

Best of luck.

[RED HEAT]

We are located in Aurora Co. and I have not met any members close by yet.

We were on a ride yesterday and we noticed that we could smell the brake fluid. The rear brake pedal was soft and I noticed some brake fluid leaking from behind the cover.
Is it possible I got air in the lines? I could not figure out where the leak was coming from.

There is plenty of fluid and the rear brake is working but it feels like there is air in the lines.

Is it difficult to bleed the rear brakes?

Thanks to everyone for your responses.
I am finding out what a great forum this is and I have not been here very long!!!
Thanks guys....

[Chrisj CMA]

Hey, and welcome..........as brake problems are not really common with these bikes, I was wondering.  Do you rely on back brakes too much?  if you are really standing on them in the mountains, and not using fronts 70-80% that could be part of it....

[RED HEAT]

Hey, and welcome..........as brake problems are not really common with these bikes, I was wondering.  Do you rely on back brakes too much?  if you are really standing on them in the mountains, and not using fronts 70-80% that could be part of it....

Thank you
My wife's bike is a trike and we have only had it a few weeks. We have not had a chance to take it up to the mountains for a ride yet so she has been front and rear brakes evenly.
This trike appears to be in great shape so I was surprised that that this happened yesterday.

[Chrisj CMA]

Hey, and welcome..........as brake problems are not really common with these bikes, I was wondering.  Do you rely on back brakes too much?  if you are really standing on them in the mountains, and not using fronts 70-80% that could be part of it....

Thank you
My wife's bike is a trike and we have only had it a few weeks. We have not had a chance to take it up to the mountains for a ride yet so she has been front and rear brakes evenly.
This trike appears to be in great shape so I was surprised that that this happened yesterday.

Hmmm  I am not an expert on trikes and what the differences would be. I also never pondered this before (just thinking out loud)  I wonder if an engineer was designing the complete brake system as it sits on a trike, would that teeny weenie master cylinder pass muster?  I mean it is pushing way more fluid and because of the contact patches of two car tires those rear brakes CAN be relied on much more than on a two wheeler.........I think that thing is inadequate for that application.

I wonder ...if you need to get a new one anyways, is there a better choice to replace for trike use??????  Just my thoughts

[¿spoom]

Like Chris said, trike may be a whole different ball game. I've got 150K+ on the same rear master (on two wheels) and they really don't go out often. If your trike is running the same master and two rear brake units instead of the OEM one, things may be different. Is your master even the original one? Anyway, you may have to do some research and ask the dealer some pointed questions on what they propose to do and what you should expect afterwards-performance-wise AND warranty.

[Ice]

Now you know, there's a Lady here "Tracy" (Lady Draco) that runs a trike and will smoke  most two wheelers without hesitation, she may be the one to ask with regards to teh Master Cylinder, she runs that trike of hers like a Moto GP bike  so if she has the same set up you will know right away that that is not the problem.

Just my thought.