Ceesie76
Active member
I noticed about a year ago that my left brake handle started feeling 'notchy' meaning that, when applying force to brake, it was no longer possible to do it in a linear, smooth fashion, but rather it would 'jump' in small increments, especially towards 'the end'. Making smooth braking much more difficult. I thought perhaps the dealer had spilt some brake fluid when they did the front brake hoses recall just before. I dismantled the handle from the cylinder -takes an 8 and a 10 mm wrench, very simple- and have found it best to thoroughly clean all the contact and friction surfaces (including the bolt and hole in the handle that it goes through) with brake cleaner or similar - no lubricant of any kind. Yesterday I had to give the same treatment to the right side handle as well, as that had started the same behavior. Now braking is much smoother, and also lighter, as my hands don't have to overcome whatever friction was causing the 'notchiness' while at the same time modulating how much force to apply.
This may well be caused by the (salty) air/pollution here in oceanside Marina del Rey where the bike is always parked outside, but I thought I would report my experience in case anyone else has the same issue (and may actually think it's normal). The fix takes all of 5 minutes.
This may well be caused by the (salty) air/pollution here in oceanside Marina del Rey where the bike is always parked outside, but I thought I would report my experience in case anyone else has the same issue (and may actually think it's normal). The fix takes all of 5 minutes.