Creaky Brake Lever

[bwringer]

This is a very, very small annoyance that's very common but incredibly easy to put right. One of those details that separates the men from the boys.

Anyway, when you yank on your bike's front brake lever, is it sort of creaky and notchy-feeling?

All you need is a tiny dab of grease betwixt lever and piston. Just a bit applied with the tip of a small screwdriver or a toothpick. Brake grease resists washing out a bit better (little packets are 99 cents at the counter of any auto parts store), but a dab of ordinary grease will be fine too.

What happens is that the part of the lever that bears on the master cylinder piston needs to slide across the piston a tiny, tiny bit as it pivots. In FAR too many bikes, this area is completely dry, and to there's a tiny creak, a tiny squeak, and your braking feel is... suboptimal.

 

[Killer2600]

With your bike running and a helmet on your head how on earth are you hearing or feeling a creak in the brake lever?

Maybe it's just me but I hardly notice anything with that lever, I rarely use it, too busy on the throttle.

 

[bwringer]

Oh, I'm exaggerating a bit... I can't actually hear anything from the brake lever.

But basically, braking feels very notchy when you have this problem. It can get pretty annoying because it's hard to modulate the brake, but for some reason most people just put up with it.

Also, it's a lot more common on bikes that are ridden in the rain a lot. I just had to do this to my V-Strom's brake lever after weeks of precipitation nearly every day.

 

[koolaid_kid]

The best grease to use is synthetic marine grease. I have seen it in several places, I got mine at Tractor Supply Company (a.k.a. just another guy's toy store) because my TransAm has zerk fittings that I have to periodically lube.

 

[Calvin Blackmore]

The best grease to use is synthetic marine grease. I have seen it in several places, I got mine at Tractor Supply Company (a.k.a. just another guy's toy store) because my TransAm has zerk fittings that I have to periodically lube.

goodness me show us said Trans Am

 

[koolaid_kid]

goodness me show us said Trans Am

It is the first picture in my album. It is a 1997 Pontiac Formula (but no one knows what that is, so I call it a TA). It has a fully forged 355 built for boost and a turbocharger running 14 pounds of boost. It's peppy.