Front brake lever went SQUISH!

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 5:46 pm

So, on my wife's buddy 125, the brake lever went soft on our way to the gym. There's no fluid in the window, but no signs of leaking either.

I'm hoping it just needs a hose...grr.

RoaringTodd · Post by **RoaringTodd** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 5:55 pm

skully93 wrote:So, on my wife's buddy 125, the brake lever went soft on our way to the gym. There's no fluid in the window, but no signs of leaking either.

I'm hoping it just needs a hose...grr.

Frozen Brake Fluid?

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 8:10 pm

no, it wasn't cold until today, and the other 3 bikes are fine, so...

It's just EMPTY. brake light doesn't come on when you squeeze either. Hopefully not too badly damaged. Her bike is about due for a full service and a tire anyway, so I figure I will limp it down to the local shop and have them go over it with a fine-toothed comb.

I know the previous owner, and he was good with maintenance (he's a member here and on MV) so I don't think it would be too serious at only 10k miles. Just means I need to be more pro-active with checking things on a weekly basis.

walke2jd · Post by **walke2jd** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 8:22 pm

When that happened to my Buddy, I just poured some additional brake fluid into the reservoir and its been great ever since. I never did figure out where the fluid went, but unless it happens again (it happened 8 months ago or so), I don't much care.

Disclaimer: I dont know much about engines, brakes, etc, so this could be a bad idea.

BuddyRaton · Post by **BuddyRaton** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 8:37 pm

If the fluid is gone it went somewhere! I would check down by the caliper for a leak. If you do refill it be sure to do it properly and bleed the system.

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 9:44 pm

Dang, skully, when it rains (or blows) it pours!

viney266 · Post by **viney266** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 5:14 am

refill, bleed the air out and see what you get. Clean it real well and make sure you don't have a small leak. The buddy has a VERY small reservoir.

agrogod · Post by **agrogod** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 10:37 am

It has been my experience in the past with brakes that it has two places to go. It has either leaked out some how, or your brakes need to be replaced. When the pads get low the fluid in the reservoir recedes into the brake lines giving the appearance of no brake fluid.

Scooterboi · Post by **Scooterboi** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 2:13 pm

You can also have a nicked piston seal in the master cylinder. It squishes past the piston, doesn't leak, and shows up sporadically.

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 8:55 pm

turns out it was the caliper. At some point before Scooterboi had it, it was probably run dry, and slowly the seals in there ate it. It's limping along for now.

I paid a ton at the shop for a 10k mile overhaul, and when the caliper comes in they'll plop it on. Braking power will be a bit diminished but with incoming weather it's not going to be a lot of miles until the part arrives.

the good news is she is good to go for probably a year after that, and I can easily do the oil changes/brake bleeding from here on out. Learning to bleed the brakes was pretty easy, and I did it on my Helix while I was at it. All the fluids looked like Coke!

DanielPerrin · Post by **DanielPerrin** » Sun Jan 26, 2014 7:14 am

I always get a lot of satisfaction bleeding the brakes, and having it switch from the Coke color to the brand new fluid color. "Well, that was worth doing, and the scooter should be much happier now."

Scooterboi · Post by **Scooterboi** » Mon Jan 27, 2014 9:20 pm

DUDE! Way sorry about that. I had the bike checked by the mechanic when I owned it for routine maint. I specifically had it checked for any belt/drive issues just before I sold it to you! The brakes worked and I just didn't think about them.

I guess there is no substitute for doing it yourself. At least you know it got done.

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 1:26 pm

Not your fault! You sold us a fine scoot in great condition. I put a little too much faith in the other half to monitor a few things, and they weren't done, so...

We'll have to replace the caliper, but overall it was time for it to get some love!

They recommended the valves be checked too, but Wally is going to help me do that the first time. They're so accessible I can't see paying $100 to do it.

agrogod · Post by **agrogod** » Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:17 pm

Just out of curiosity, what do calipers cost these days?

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Wed Jan 29, 2014 1:57 pm

agrogod wrote:Just out of curiosity, what do calipers cost these days?

$100! The mechanic was thinking $60, then he went to Scooterworks (they just buy direct for less) and went "oh..ummm"

It was the combo of the rear tire and labor that did me in. $45 for a good tire and $75 to put it on.

I will be learning to at least remove my own wheels from now on

. They charge $10 to put one on a rim if you bring it in.

Scooterboi · Post by **Scooterboi** » Wed Jan 29, 2014 4:14 pm

I can help you with that.

skully93 · Post by **skully93** » Thu Jan 30, 2014 4:11 pm

Scooterboi wrote:I can help you with that.

Much appreciated!

slowly picking up tools over the next year. If I'm confident from the valve adjustment with Wally, I'm going to do it on Yoda soon too. 11k and they've never been done, unless they did it while it was warm....

Modern Buddy

Front brake lever went SQUISH!

Front brake lever went SQUISH!

Re: Front brake lever went SQUISH!