rear brake problem

[markla]

Hi to all out there, Have had a few trips on the gs latley love riding it she,s a real go,er.

Was out on a run sunday when i applied the rear brake for a spilt second there was nothing then nearly a full lock up
would only release when kicked up with my boot.

Am going to bleed the brake this week and would appreciate any tips/info before doing so.
Do i bleed both sides together at the same time or one at a time.

Might even be the pads need changing but wont know until i start poking around.

Greatful for any info many thanks,mark.

[cowboyup3371]

What do you mean bleed both sides? You will only have one bleeder on the brake caliper itself. I would suggest, especially if you don't know the history, to completely remove and clean the brake system, change the fluid, and replace the rear line with a stainless steel one instead of the rubber. If you insist on keeping rubber lines, remember that Suzuki even said to replace them every couple of years

[Big T]

My rear caliper has two bleed valves. Bleed both of them

[1978GS750E]

My 78 GS750 has two bleeders on the rear caliper! I bleed one at a time. Don't see how you could bleed them both at the same time. I always do the outer, then the inner and then the outer again just to be sure all the air is out.

[Steve]

What do you mean bleed both sides? You will only have one bleeder on the brake caliper itself.

Some bikes have only one, others have two. I have not yet established a pattern for which is which.

Markla, if you had to pull the lever up, it is obvious that the lever itself might be the problem. Depending on your bike, you may have to remove the right-side footpeg for access, but remove all the linkage from the pedal to the master cylinder, remove the spring that pulls on the brake light switch and remove the spring that is supposed to pull the lever back up. Remove the lever from the pivot, slide the pivot out of the frame. Clean the pivot and the hole in the frame, apply a modest amount of grease, put it all back together.

This does not reduce the importance of cleaning (possibly rebuilding) the master cylinder and the caliper, but is merely one small part of maintaining the entire SYSTEM.

Yes, there are many individual PARTS you can replace in the process of diagnosing a problem, but each one is part of a SYSTEM that needs to be addressed in its entirety.

.

[markla]

Thanks for the replys tomorrow (sunday) is forcast lots of rain so i,ll be in the garage sorting this out my bike has two bleed nipples
so wondered if both should be done together at the same time or one at a time using a second person on the brake.

Have allday so hopefully i can fix this.

[scratch]

Thanks for the replys tomorrow (sunday) is forcast lots of rain so i,ll be in the garage sorting this out my bike has two bleed nipples
so wondered if both should be done together at the same time or one at a time using a second person on the brake.

Have allday so hopefully i can fix this.

My 78 GS750 has two bleeders on the rear caliper! I bleed one at a time. Don't see how you could bleed them both at the same time. I always do the outer, then the inner and then the outer again just to be sure all the air is out.

What he said.
As a rule: always bleed the one furthest from the master first.

[chuck hahn]

I would break down the master cylinder, clean the sludge out, and put in a new rebuild kit being sure the super tiny return port is open, THEN rebleed the system. And you bleed the one closest to the hub first .

[markla]

just an update i,ve bled the brakes all seems ok so next step was to check the pads when i did manage to get one out
looked well worn so have ordered some new ones will be a full strip down and clean when they arrive.