Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech no brakes... master cylinder?

i was out for a ride and found i had no rear brakes... turned around and brought the bike to my mechanic.

there are no triumph dealers near me, so i bring it to a local shop. the guy has little triumph experience but is incredibly knowledgable with bikes!

he found that he can not get any pressure in the brakes... he is afraid that i may need a new master cylinder... any idea where i can get one... how much will it cost? as stated, my mechanic is not a triumph guy, so doesn't know where to get the part. any ideas for what else to look at.

Call Joe at Second wind BMW Triumph (tell him you saw it here and get a discount)Tell him what you need...also ask to speak with Nichole (head wrench...and dammm good to) and ask for her opinion...

www.secondwindbmw.com

When I changed out the brake fluid in my rear brakes a few years ago, I must have pumped those suckers for about three hours and couldn't get any pressure at all. Took it down to my car guy, George,who bled it with his vacuum bleeder and it was all good within five minutes. Bob's your uncle!!!

Is yours an early bike? If so, has the rear reservoir relocation been done? If not, has the bike been on its side? The reservoir was relocated higher about 2004 because in its original position it could get air in the lines if the bike was laid over which could cause rear brake failure. There was a recall done on it - if yours hasn't had it you should be able to get a dealer to fit the new bracket free.

i have done some research and agree with your theory sandman.

my speedmaster is an '03. the dealer i bought it at shut down soon after. it has not been to a real triumph dealer in years!

on may 22, i was parking it in my garage and as i rode through the back yard, i got caught going slowly on wet grass on a side hill. i tipped the bike. it was a fairly comical slow fall with me trying to keep the bike from falling. i righted the bike and put it away.

on may 24, i tried to go for a ride and that is when i discovered the issue.

can anyone post before/after photos of the relocation so that my mechanic can try it without bringing it to a dealer. the closest dealer is about 100 miles. and i have no trailer to get it there.

All the recall consists of is a short "bracket" that raises the reservoir about 3 inches or so. It could easily be done with a piece of flat stock.

can you put in a photo of where the new location should be?

thats the best I can do, hope it helps.

thanks
i'll bring that to my mechanic

What Sandman said is correct, and more than likely you have air in the Master Cylinder. You can relocate the reservoir, but it isn't really necessary. After bleeding the brake line just top off the reservoir every 3 or 6 months. If there is no air in the reservoir it won't matter where it is located.

Tom

thanks for everybody's help... i love these forums

Original location

Relocated location

Bleed the brakes, bleed the brakes, bleed the brakes, bleed.......did i say bleed the brakes.....

As already mentioned, these bikes are not easy to bleed. The rear master cylinder has limited capacity. I just flushed my brakes and it took forever with the master cylinder to cycle the old fluid through. Suggest you use a pressure or vacuum bleed system. Your mechanic friend should know what to use. Good luck.