Advice please on a sticking brake pedal ??

[GregM.]

Hi, My 26 year old 850G has a sticking rear brake pedal. I can press the pedal down fine, and it slows the bike down normally. But when I lift my toe from the rear brake, it doesn't really come up... it stays most the way down that I just pressed it... and the bike is now reluctant to roll. However, I CAN lift the pedal up to it's normal position... and then it's back to easy rolling.

Any thoughts or advice?? I'm a rookie mechanic - I don't know if this is something basic... or complicated.

Additional possible info in random order:
It has 23K miles, all stock with single rear disc brake - I think it's lived for the most part in the Pacific N.W. but has probably been taken care of and always been garaged, she doesn't have any major rust issues - I've had it 1 1/2 years, and have only ridden it occassionally, till the last couple months, now it's been much more regular - my last ride was a week ago - I've had no braking, or pedal return problems (that I noticed) till TODAY -the weather today is COLD (for Seattle) 31-38 degrees - I had the brake fluid changed with other maintenance 2 months ago - While wiping the bike down a month ago, I noticed that the rear disc was warm to hot... the fronts were cold... I usually use front and rear together - But now, today, this is the first time she was hard to roll. Well........ Thanks for listening...... and I'd sure appreciate your 2 cents

[sharpy]

brake

The pivot point for the brake pedal is siezed/dirty or the return sping is broken/missing. Easy fix as you just have to pull apart and clean. About 60-90 min job.

[txironhead]

If the spring is broken, you can probably pick one up at a hardware store a lot cheaper than the dealership...sometimes a throttle return spring from a car/truck will work, and those are about $5 at an auto parts store.

[snark]

I've had this on every bike I've worked on. Get a BIG can of WD40 and pull the pedal off. Next, spray the crap out of the pivot. It gets rusty and dirty from years of use and/or sitting. Use the pedal to work the WD40 in. It doesn't take long and you'll be amazed at how much crap will literally pour out.

[GregM.]

Thanks for the tips today... Your time and experience is SO valuable.

OK - So, I think the spring looks fine. It must be the pivot point.

I'm relieved you all don't think it's some kind of caliper or hydraulic problem. Any tips to taking the pivot point apart? Is it pretty straight-forward? Then just clean and lube it.... OK

As I'm always trying to learn why these things are happening...
I'm wondering a couple things : It seemed to come on so suddenly today, and was very obvious. This was the first time I've had my 850 in this cold temp. - 31 to 37 degrees today here in Seattle (Did you see Monday Night Football? Snowing while the Seahawks beat Greenbay).......... Could this cold temp cause this problem? Rust wouldn't be affected by cold would it? Besides, like I said in my original question, I don't think rust is a real problem with this bike. Maybe old grease in the pivot didn't work in today's cold weather. It's just very curious because I hadn't noticed any sticky pedal, or any reluctant rolling till today.
In fact, just a couple weeks ago, I was checking out where the brake light comes on with pedal pushing out in the driveway... And as I messing around with this... I never noticed any hesitation of the pedal returning at all.

Thanks again ----- Always trying to learn,.,.,Why this & why that

[snark]

All you have to do is loosen the pinch bolt on the pedal, unhook the spring, and pull it off. A battery cable remover (like a mini gear puller) helps, no just plain makes it easy. It is usally a little bit of rust and a lot of road grime...and yes, it can happen suddenly, just as the right peice of dirt gets into the right place.

[Road_Clam]

Thanks for the tips today... Your time and experience is SO valuable.

OK - So, I think the spring looks fine. It must be the pivot point.

I'm relieved you all don't think it's some kind of caliper or hydraulic problem. Any tips to taking the pivot point apart? Is it pretty straight-forward? Then just clean and lube it.... OK

As I'm always trying to learn why these things are happening...
I'm wondering a couple things : It seemed to come on so suddenly today, and was very obvious. This was the first time I've had my 850 in this cold temp. - 31 to 37 degrees today here in Seattle (Did you see Monday Night Football? Snowing while the Seahawks beat Greenbay).......... Could this cold temp cause this problem? Rust wouldn't be affected by cold would it? Besides, like I said in my original question, I don't think rust is a real problem with this bike. Maybe old grease in the pivot didn't work in today's cold weather. It's just very curious because I hadn't noticed any sticky pedal, or any reluctant rolling till today.
In fact, just a couple weeks ago, I was checking out where the brake light comes on with pedal pushing out in the driveway... And as I messing around with this... I never noticed any hesitation of the pedal returning at all.

Thanks again ----- Always trying to learn,.,.,Why this & why that

Your siezed brake lever has nothing to do with cold. It does however have everything to do with moisture (specifically condensation). Condensation is the #1 death element to a motorcycle, especially a bike that's stored outside. Bare metal to metal with a bit of moisture, and some time will ALWAYS spell "siezure". When you remove your brake pedal, DON'T simply use grease. Grease will eventually mix with moisture. I always lubricate metal parts with Permatex antiseeze. The stuff is awesome, and is unaffected by moisture. As a bonus, if you ever need to dissasemble the antiseezed component 10 years down the road, it will come apart with zero resistance.

[spchips]

From sitting for about a month, I had the rear brake start sticking. It sounds like the pistons are fine, but it might not be a bad Idea to do the following:

-pull the rear brake
-open the bleeder and cover w/ a rag
-shoot air into the main brake fluid connection
-close bleeder
-with the air and a crowbar, work the pistons ALL THE WAY in and out a few times.
-blow some more air for good measure
-reinstall and bleed the brake

This is how I broke mine loose. I was happy because it did not involve rebuilding the brake caliper, which I have no desire to do.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

As others said, the shaft/pivot arm sticks sometimes due to rust build up.
A few squirts in that area usually will free it. If it's real rusty, it's best to take it off and clean it and apply a light coat of lithium grease or similar.

[txironhead]

A good tool to scrub out the opening is an old battery post/terminal cleaner, about $2 at Wal-Mart. Works pretty good on car batteries, too....doesn't do s**t for motorcycle batteries.

[beby99]

This was the first time I've had my 850 in this cold temp. - 31 to 37 degrees today here in Seattle (Did you see Monday Night Football? Snowing while the Seahawks beat Greenbay)....

Time to winterize my friend......this weather will continue till July :-D

GO HAWKS!!!

[gsgeezer]

Kroil it. If you don't have Kroil, you will find it the best lube ever!
I even use it on my arthritic elbows, just like The Tin Man ;^)

[GregM.]

Great advice on why this probably occured.
Great advice on how to fix it, and, what lube to use.

I'll get to it next week when it warms up some around here. When it's below freezing in my garage, my fingers just don't want to be working on brake pedal pivots. It was 20 degrees here, around the Seattle area this morning. I know, I'm just a wimp ....Lot's a places around the country WAY colder than here.
Anyway, now that I know what's going on... this is not a big emergency to me. So, it'll be much more pleasant doing this next week when we're having our more normal upper 40's.

I sure appreciate the wisdom you all have here. Without it, I'm not sure I'd be enjoying this old classic as much as I am. THANKS !!

[argonsagas]

When you get it free, clean the disk as well. A can of spray brake cleaner works well, and removes crud from around the pads.

[GregM.]

Update

Fixed it today with a friend who's done it before.

Thanks a ton you all... who put in their 2 cents - And everyone else who's given their tips and advice to me before. It's always been correct, but this is the first time I'm following up about one of these issues.

Yeah, so, it had nothing to do with the really cold weather we had here when I first noticed it... just one of those weird mechanical coincidences that I'm sure we've all had. Because it was still sticking later when we had 45 degree temps, as it had when I first noticed at 25.

Pulled the brake pedal off, and the pivot shaft as well... And as many of you said - It was RUSTY. Apparently the rust and, or, a piece of road grit - all of a sudden, decided to stick my pedal pivot. It was weird, but as far as I can tell, it pretty much went from working fine, to, not-wanting-to-return overnight.

Cleaned it all up real purty - And then lubed it with some "red marine waterproof lube/grease stuff". He already had some in a grease gun - I don't know the exact name of it.

Anyway, put it all together, and it works good as new. Thanks again