2013 Bonneville SE The rear brake lever is not returning properly and the brake light remains on. Not sure if the actual brake is staying on as I’ve just noticed it in the garage not while riding. The return spring is touching the exhaust pipe, and the black bit it hooks into is about a mm away from the pipe. Unfortunately I dropped it on that side the other day (side stand was stuck after moving it and I couldn’t get it down, and lost the bike the other way). It left a scuff on the brake lever so I wonder if I’ve bent it in towards the bike, or bent the whole assembly? I’d never looked at it before so I don’t know if it’s any different.
As you can see in the last picture, the lever is not really square to the foot peg. So, I’m not sure if I’ve bent something or if the stuck lever is unrelated?
Joe, I don’t know how far away you are but this a much more simple mechanism than you might think.....as I could show you....... There is a pressure switch at the top of the master cylinder under the side cover. The actuating rod sits hard up against the footpeg bracket and easily fouls it. Likewise the pivots are vulnerable to dirt. Slacken the 2 Allen bolts on the footpeg mount. I bet you find it frees up and you can see what is fouling. The lower pivot point is a bolt. You just need to prise off that black plastic cap. Unscrew it and clean all the links. If necessary carefully bend the actuating rod fractionally outwards to provide clearance. It might have been bent inwards.
Thanks. I think I see the switch at the top of the cylinder - the bit under the rubber cover? How does that come into it? The mount isn’t budging even after removing those Allen bolts but there looks to be another bolt under the sprocket cover. I can’t see the rod fouling anything though. I can certainly clean all the links and see if that helps. Would I be better removing the whole assembly and dismantling it to do that, or just give it as good a clean as I can while it’s in situ?
OK the whole mechanism is a spring loaded rocker. You press down but the rod goes up and pressurises the master cylinder and brake light switch on the top of the ‘line’ with wires attached. It should return under its own steam and with spring assistance. You need to establish where the friction in the mechanism exists. The sprocket cover is not irrelevant. I suspect you are looking at the swingarm pivot bolt retaining nut......remove the sprocket cover and you have access to the pinch bolt. Personally I would strip the lot. You can undo the pivot first then the swingarm nut and the footpeg will swing free to remove clevis etc. The first thing to establish once you have freed off the mechanism is whether the tip over has created an hydraulic lock. If it has, your problem is not in the linkage and you can tighten back up and bleed the system.
Ok thanks, I’ll give it a clean up first then see how it goes. I’ve just noticed that the rear brake fluid level is on the lower line on the reservoir, which I assume increases to some degree the chances of getting air in the system when it tipped?
Joe2020 Don't forget you have adjustment in the arm or rod there. Clean up re bleed adjust and it will possibly be all right. Do not over fill with fluid as that is as bad and leaves the pads rubbing. Which could also be a factor. Make sure you pads are not to worn. Regards Joe.
Good point, the two nuts on the threaded rod allow you to adjust the angle of the brake lever to your personal tastes....