2009 Electra Glide Front Brakes

[Mark James]

Asking for a friend……..This is a non ABS bike. He came out to find the front brakes were locked up. This is while the bike is parked in his garage. He has bled the brakes and all seems to be ok. Then come out a while later, and they are again locked up.

any ideas?

 

[joel]

Start with opening the bleder to see if the wheel spins freely.
If not the caliper is sticking.
If it spins freely apply the brakes until it aticks again and whilre using towels under the connection, loosen the line at the master cylinder, if it spins freely I would lean towards the master cylinder being at fault.
The seals can swell do to contaminated fluid, or wrong type of fluid being used.

 

[Mark James]

Start with opening the bleder to see if the wheel spins freely.
If not the caliper is sticking.
If it spins freely apply the brakes until it aticks again and whilre using towels under the connection, loosen the line at the master cylinder, if it spins freely I would lean towards the master cylinder being at fault.
The seals can swell do to contaminated fluid, or wrong type of fluid being used.

Funny thing is……this happens without being ridden or even moved. It moves freely after bleeding, but shortly afterwards locks up again.

I hadn’t thought about the type of fluid he used or that the master cylinder could be the issue, but the swelling of seals is definitely a possibility.

 

[Frenchie]

Bike should have dot-4 fluid and it should be flushed max every two years are dot-4 as it is hydroscopic meaning that it absorbs any moisture over time wether it is garage kept in a controlled environment or stored outside. The fluid is clear when fresh and over time it turns a brownish color ad fluid get contaminated. From the symptoms stated if you bleed the brakes and wheel turns freely, that indicates that the brake master cylinder is not releasing the pressure when brakes are not applied causing there to be pressure to the brake caliper. In any case in my humble opinion I would rebuild both the master brake cylinder and the brake caliper. Then flush and bleed the brake system. Make sure you clean bores on master cylinder, brake caliper and also remove any build up on brake caliper piston area. The parts are readily available through J&P clucked or DennisKirk and are not very expensive. The fist year are introduced the and system they went with dot-4 fluid in all there bike regardless if your model did or did not and to eliminate any confusion on the brake fluid required the fluid requirement is stated on the reservoir cover. If aftermarket covers were installed refer to the shop manual. Hope this helps

 

[Mark James]

He did use Dot 4 fluid. He is now rebuilding the calipers and hoping that this resolves his issue, but I’m in agreement with the master cylinder being the culprit.
Thanks for the input.