2011 EC300 Brakes Sucks! Please Help

[Rampart]

Hi all
First of all I want to note the poor performance of the front brake - you have to apply a very great effort to control the wheel on downhill - the arm is very quickly tired.

Can someone tell me, maybe there are some activities that you need to perform to improve the performance of the brakes?

The second problem - the rear pads are quickly erased, and I began to suspect that the caliper does not move away from the pads, and indeed - even when I did not use the rear brake - brake disc was hot!

[Anders]

Sounds like you need to clean and possibly rebuild your calipers.

[swazi_matt]

On the front it is also worth replacing the banjo brake light switch with a normal banjo bolt (take it as a sample because the thread is not common)

[Moto7man]

There was a thread on this forum regarding the bleed nipple on the front caliper. Someone had a bent bleed nipple that was allowing air into the front line. The owner had replaced everything else, lines, master cylinder etc until he found this as the problem.

Your front brake on that model bike should be super strong, I know because I have the same bike.

If you are wearing out rear pads, then you need to fully compress your caliper piston and make sure the caliper piston is not seized or stuck.Then make sure the caliper can freely move on the pins. If the caliper piston is seized or if the caliper is not moving on the pins that is your problem.

Make sure that you press the rear brake pedal several times to push the pads back into the rotor or you won't have any brakes when you ride the bike!

[Rampart]

thank you all for reply, i will be looking for this problems. My friend has the same year bike, with even worst breaks, so maybe they are in much worst conditions...

[sneaky98gt]

Originally Posted by Moto7man

There was a thread on this forum regarding the bleed nipple on the front caliper. Someone had a bent bleed nipple that was allowing air into the front line. The owner had replaced everything else, lines, master cylinder etc until he found this as the problem.

Hmm. That's very interesting; I haven't heard that.

I've had front brake issues with my 2011 EC250 since I bought it several months back. The brake has always just felt spongey; it's got plenty of power, but the feel isn't what it should be.

I started off by bleeding it, which helped a little. Then I did a full-blown fluid flush with brand new fluid, which again helped a little. Then I eliminated the pressure switch, which again helped a little.

I've bled the crap out of it, forwards and backwards, and it still doesn't feel right. It normally feels best right when I get done bleeding it, but within a few minutes of riding, it's right back as it was. As I said, it's got PLENTY of power; it'll lock the tire with ease if you really squeeze on it. But the feel isn't there; it never really "firms up". I get excellent braking pulling the lever, say, halfway to the grip, but if I keep pulling, it'll come all the way back and touch the grip.

I've got 2 Hondas with virtually the exact same Nissin brake system, and neither of those feel like this. They pull back some, get firm, and then you can't pull it back any further no matter how hard you try. So I'm quite confident I've still got a problem somewhere.

My latest hypothesis is that maybe the master isn't sealing like it's supposed to, and some fluid is seeping past the seals as I squeeze on it. But, this idea about the bleed nipple sounds interesting, and cheap to check. So I think I'm going to do that first and see how it goes.

[Zman]

Do you have a master cylinder that is marked 3/8 (in place of the 11mm or 10mm)? I had one come along with the KYB SSS YZ450f front end and had the same problem. In one year ( I think 2009) They reduced weight from the bike and used smaller master cylinder and slave cylinder piston diameters. The 3/8 give you high mechanical advantage but low flow which translated into a very mushy lever feel.

[SS109]

A simple trick I use when having problems bleeding a front brake is to zip-tie the front lever all the way down on the grip and leave overnight. It helps push the air out of the system and up to the master cylinder. If this doesn't get it firmer something else is wrong. Might be time for a new brake hose, master cylinder and/or caliper rebuild, or a fitting is leaking allowing air in to the system.

[sneaky98gt]

Originally Posted by SS109

A simple trick I use when having problems bleeding a front brake is to zip-tie the front lever all the way down on the grip and leave overnight. It helps push the air out of the system and up to the master cylinder. If this doesn't get it firmer something else is wrong. Might be time for a new brake hose, master cylinder and/or caliper rebuild, or a fitting is leaking allowing air in to the system.

Yea, tried that on mine several times. Never has many any difference.

[SS109]

Originally Posted by sneaky98gt

Yea, tried that on mine several times. Never has many any difference.

It's a common fix on Kawasaki's running Nissin brakes. If it doesn't fix it then something else is wrong IME.