would not move

[littlejimmy12]

strange thing happened today, riding along and pulled into a carpark and dropped down to first gear when the bike started to ride as if my brakes were on. Concequently the bike stalled and I couldn't budge it.

So I put it in neutral with engine off and it still wouldn't budge! I left it a few mins, looked over it to see if anything was out of the ordinary but nothing was, played with levers which moved freely. Ended up pushing it in neutral into a space but it took quite a bit of effort as if I was pushing with the brakes on but not fully.

Then it went away!!

I can't think what it could be, I checked my levels all fine, my brakes were bled only a few weeks ago!

could it be the clutch!! little worried about riding it in case it suddenly happens again

J

[Bodybag]

Has the bike been dropped at all? Check your brake lever to see if its scratched on the end. I had the same problem with my S4 and it required a new brake master cylinder to cure the problem.

[littlejimmy12]

I tapped a car yesterday and but not hard and there's no damage! did knock off my bar end mirror though - maybe thats it, too much of a coincidense me thinks, tar

[Bodybag]

No problem mate. The master cylinder internals are fairly delicate and don't like knocks and scrapes. My master cylinder wouldn't release properly so every time I pulled the brake it would get stiffer and stiffer until the bike became immoveable. I'd have to leave it for about 15 minutes until the pressure released. Never good when you live in central London as I did at the time!! :(

[chris yeatman]

i had the same on mine, as it had been stood up 4 a bit, the rear brake was binding on after a 5mile ride wait 15-20 min then was ok,
changed rear master cyl, rear bake and flexi hose, tho i think it was master cyl that was doing it.
been ok ever since

[Gerry]

I had a similar thing on my old 851 ..... I think the rear brake free play on the rear master cylinder was too close .... the brake must have started to bind and this set off a chain reaction as the fluid heated up and expanded and increased brake pressure.

I was zipping along as normal when the bike started holding back as if engine prob ... this got worse until I eventually stopped.

I saw the rear disc .. now blue and smoking with brake fluid seeping out of the rear master cylinder.

I re-built the master cylinder with new seals and re-surfaced the disc and set it all up with correct free play on the linkage and all was fine after that.

I never found out how this started off as I had not touched the rear brake linkage. Is it possible you knocked the rear brake lever and closed up the free play?

[littlejimmy12]

it is possible it got knocked when I clipped the car, I'll have to check it tomorrow - if it is whats the solution?

[simons]

First try to determine whats binding front or rear wheel. Shouldnt be the clutch if it was hard to push when in neutral

[RODUC]

Had The Same Thing Happen To Me This Weekend, Right In Front Of Buckingham Palace Of All Places.
15 Min Later All Was Ok , Been Riding It Since Rear Brake Hasn't Played Up Again

[Gerry]

You need to see if the rear brake is binding by getting the rear wheel of the ground and seeing if the wheel turns freely.

Also check to see if there is a little free play the rear brake lever just a few mill you need to find out the correct gap ... I can't find it in the manual ...before it starts to push the master cylinder rod. You could have bent the lever and this is binding the rear brake.

Thing is littlejimmy we are talking brakes here and if you are not 100% up to checking and adjusting take it to a mechanic. You might have bashed something and it needs to be checked out. If you find it hard to push the bike around in neutral then something is binding.

This also could be a front brake binding for some reason. See if you can turn the front wheel.

[littlejimmy12]

cheers guys, I'll pop it down to the mechanics tomorrow - don't think its a rear break issue, just had a look and there't not a mark on my lever so it didn't take a hit and there's no play in it at all. It must be front, I did notice that when I pushed it the forks depressed. I think the knock which took off my bar end mirror must have done something.

[M900nsterold]

I tried adjusting the (non adjustable) front brake lever on my Mk1 ST4 a few years ago. I did it by inserting a piece of alloy in the lever joint so the lever at rest was a little nearer the bar. I adjusted the adjuster screw so that the master cylinder pushrod so that it was in what looked like the right place. When out riding the same thing happened to me as you experienced. I stopped at a road junction and the brake stayed on. The bike could hardly move, the front brake was on so hard. I took off my mod (read: bodge) and all was well again. The moral of this story is that these brake master cylinders are set to fairly fine tolerances and that if anything gets 'adjusted' or bent some of the bleed valves in the cylinder don't sit under the piston quite right. Then the brake doesn't de-pressurise when you let off the lever pressure. It sounds like yours got bent or misaligned and will need looking at by someone who knows how to re-set it. Hopefully that can be done as a new master cylinder is expensive.

[littlejimmy12]

I reakon its the master that got a knock

[BluprintZ]

A similar thing happened to mine, not long after i bought it.
Three or four miles down the road and the bike would start slowing down.
In my case, the rear brake pads needed replacing, they were quite badly worn.
As a result, the pistons were coming out too far and jamming with the heat from the pads, after ten mins, it was ok to ride again as long as you didn't use the rear brake (i know...who uses the rear brake anyway..blah, blah!).
New pads, coppaslip and a clean-up of the pistons did the trick.

G : )

[binky]

Hi listen to this story and then worry about your binding brakes:-

About 5 years ago I went out with some friends on my last monster

About 1.5 miles down the road the bike in front of me (R1 Yam) suddenly flipped side ways, i steer right, rider is high sided in front of me, i run him over, crash my bike, rider of R1 in intensive care for three days, scared the **** out of me.
Any way after a lot of sorting out his front brake had jammed on locked the front wheel causing the crash. Seemed a wrong part was fitted.

Moral :- If a brake is sticking on there is something wrong with it

SORT OUT BEFORE IT KILLS YOU.

[Gerry]

Oh yes Binky ..... could not agree more .... ouch ....!!!

[littlejimmy12]

it was the rear brake, after about 5 mins of riding today (on the way to mechanic) it started to bind, the disc was super hot. They adjusted it but I am not too confident with it. I will be taking it to my ducati dealership and I'll ask them to troubleshoot it to see if there's a problem. I won't be riding it until its looked at.

I will put it up on my stand some time this week to see if there's still contact, but this seems to be someting that was getting progressively worse when the back brake was applie, like it wouldn't decompress if that makes any sense. After adjustment I rode for 15 mins and then felt the rear disc it was not only mildly warm - a good sign????? I presume yes

[Gerry]

This is only my theory and I could be wrong ... please don't shoot !!

If there is not enough clearance or slack in the push rod it can bind and heat up the fluid which increases the binding which increases the brake pressure etc etc ... until the brake is well on and overheating.

I'm sure this is what happened to the 851. Might be wrong as I said.

Good that you are getting it checked out.

There can be a small bit of binding on the pads which could cause a bit of heat.

Anyway you are doing the right thing and getting it checked out.

[littlejimmy12]

Garage took some length of the push rod and initially it worked, I had free play in the rear brake and all is good. Until today, riding for 10 mins and was using the back brake when it started to bind again. Brake disc is super hot and I have to leave it to stand for about 10 mins before I can ride home just using the front brake. What the hell is going on.

On the invoice from the garage they have listed a replacement part - pressure swich bolt - what is this ?

I want to go back but with some knowledge so I can argue my case anyone have any suggestions

[simons]

pressure switch banjo bolt is used to switch on your brake light when foot brake is applied. aftermarket rearsets usually dont have a facility for placing a normal brake switch so a pressure switch is put on the cylinder.
i still think brake problem is something to do with the new rearsets not being adjusted properly, but cant be sure till i have a look

[littlejimmy12]

pressure switch banjo bolt is used to switch on your brake light when foot brake is applied. aftermarket rearsets usually dont have a facility for placing a normal brake switch so a pressure switch is put on the cylinder.
i still think brake problem is something to do with the new rearsets not being adjusted properly, but cant be sure till i have a look

if I get time tomorrow I will take off the caliper as suggeted and ride over

[willspeed2]

I'ts a very common fault with brembo rear master cylinders,best to replace it for how much it costs

[Spike]

If you have free play in the linkage check the condition of the pistons if they are dirty they will not be returning into the caliper, this will then cause your brakes to start binding.

[littlejimmy12]

bled, cleaned and the master has failed, not to bad only £45 to replace, thanks for the help guys

J