brake job By sncshiner (Read 783 times)

[sncshiner]

my roketa 54-250 is slow to stop. only have 84 miles on it. Back brakes do very little but i can feel a drag when applied. handle is firm on both front and rear. took the caliper off to look at pads. not really glazed but found small holes (like breaks in the pad) I have a lot of hills here in the mountains of NC and am concerned with stopping power on the downhill slopes. With the bike up on the center stand if i turn the back tire it turns if i apply the brakes and turn the brakes hold. This may be normal but i really have to pull hard to stop on a downhill grade.

[Barnie]

The brake fluid that the Chinese use is of poor quality. If you have not already done so, replace the brake fluid in both the front and rear brakes. Put new dot3 or dot4 brake fluid in. you will have to bleed the brakes to do so but that is not a difficult job just make sure you get all the old fluid out and new in. Your brakes should work much better. Barnie

[sncshiner]

i would assume the best way to drain the lines is to open the bleed screw and pump?

[Luke]

if you disassembled the brakes and the caliper etc, you should also see if the piston moves in and out freely, and if the rubber bilet(shoe) is still intact,this bilet prevents dust and sand to get inside the piston./ and or the oil seal is still intact. they normally use double lip type oil seal, i dunno maybe chinese used only one lip...better get dipper into the problem., you'll learn along the way...good luck!!!

[Barnie]

Snchiner, you are somewhat correct on fluid change. turn the handle bars so the top of master cylinder is level. Remove the 2 screws holding the top on. carefully remove the top and the rubber boot under the top. Be very careful to not spill any brake fluid as it will ruin the paint etc that it touches. Put a small short clear pc of hose on the brake bleader and put other end in a container. pump the lever several times and hold brake on and while you have brakes applied open the bleeder and the pressure will force the fluid out but don't release brake lever until u close the bleeder. Then repeat the process until you get new clear fluid running thru the hose. Pump the master cylinder down low but not below the 2 small holes u will see in the bottom of it or u will pump air in to that line. Just keep adding new fluid as you go. One u have clear fluid you are good to go. Top off master cylinder leaving it low enough that the boot will fit back in and put top on and you got it.Back brake takes longer as the hose is much longer. I usually have my wife work the lever and I do the bleeder. Just be sure to close the bleeder B-4 you let the lever back on each time to prevent air from being sucked back in. Let us know if you need more help or have a question. We will be glad to help u out. Barnie

[sncshiner]

[replyingto=barnie]Barnie[/replyingto]bleed the front brakes. Big difference. Trying to do the back and get one screw out of the reservoir, the other screw is so tight im afraid i will strip it any suggestions.

[Barnie]

I had the same exact problem on my rear master cylinder. One screw came out good and the other I did strip the Phillips head out. I just used a small metal chisel and small hammer on the edge of the screw and just tapped the chisel till it caught enough and it did loosen screw. I replaced with a new screw (it is metric in size) but the one I had was a bit to long so I just screwed a nut on it up tight against the head to shorten the thread part enough to work good. You may as a last resort drill the head off the existing screw enough to get cap off and take the rest of screw out with pliers. I did not anchor the screw real tite when I put them back in. You will notice a world of difference in how good the back brake will work after u change the fluid. Let us know how you do. Barnie