Hi everyone, I own a 1996 750SS with 6k miles on the clock, a lovely machine. Riding last week to RM Motorcycles in Beverley to get the oils and fluids changed, the front brake decided to lock on all by itself without me even touching it! Scary moment and I’m glad I was going in a straight line. The brake discs were red hot and they were stuck on for about 15 minutes until they cooled and seemingly released. Ray from the garage came out and tinkered with it enough so that I could hobble the last half mile to the garage. On inspection, he said that the original hoses had just given up and collapsed on themselves thus the brakes locking. I’ve struggled to find any original replacements so I’ve ordered braided HEL lines front and rear and clutch line too. I’ll sure some pics when I get it back. interested to hear if anyone else has had this and just to say consider changing your hoses if your bike is as old as mine
I've just bought an 900ss 1994 model and mine look in great condition, i guess it's age related with rubber breaking down over the years ( a bit like my race boots ) or perhaps how it's been used or stored inside or outdoors , if it goes wrong in the future i know what to look out for now.
Just by way of an update, I’m getting some HEL braided brake and clutch lines fitted this week so will post some pictures once it’s done
I had this on a BMW 1100 RS. The old lines have an inner lining which becomes detached from the outer sheath over time. When you squeeze the brake lever the fluid is pressurised as usual. However when you release the lever the fluid can't return to the res and the brakes remain engaged, hence the red hot discs.
New HEL Brake lines fitted and guess what....new problem identified is that one of the front discs has warped due to them getting so hot when I rode it to the garage! now on the hunt for a pair of front discs if anyone can help?!? Hopefully this will be the final hurdle in this particular matter
By way of an update. I’m collecting the bike this week after it having a brand new set of Brembo brake discs, Brembo brake pads and HEL lines all over. Even after all that, the problem was still there and it turned out to be a blocked return port on the cylinder which took a piece of wire to clear and job done! So I’ve spent about £1k on what was eventually fixed by a free piece of wire..... inguess in the end, the original brake lines wouldn’t have been up to much and to replace them is a good think, also the brake pads. You live and learn!
All rubber brake hoses are date stamped at the point of manufacture. When I was in the trade the general recommendation was that they should be replaced every five years. Nobody ever agreed to that but they would consider braided lines as a performance upgrade. Fortunately most Italian bikes now have them as standard but it's alarming to see how many old Japanese bikes for sale still have their original hoses. It seems to me it should be an MOT advisory but it tends to get overlooked for some reason.
@Sev the fun continues! My bike finally arrived back from the garage that was doing all the brake work. While it was there, I got them to do an oil and filter change too. Next problem starts! The bike fired up absolutely fine but the oils started dripping from around the oil filter! I’m hoping I just need to nip it up a bit tighter? Not that I have a tool to do it!!!
...or take it straight back to the crew that did the work, as you've paid for that filter to be tightened like that!!
Let the piss poor mechanic who fitted the filter swap it out and change the oil and dispose of the leaking filter, could be distorted. Ask him the torque setting he used. Piss poor incompetence. I would expect a full refund for the job not done. I never get angry but feck up my bike........
Annoyingly, I had it stored up in Yorkshire for the winter and the service happened up there. Now it’s back with me 220 miles from the mechanic who did it. I’ll be giving him a call in the morning to suggest a refund... Will I lose much oil if I remove the filter? It’s an original Ducati filter but maybe I should have gone with a K&N. thanks @Sev i will confirm which oil he used.
10nm off the top of my head. Not to exceed 12nm . Loose filters are dangerous, sudden loss of oil all over back wheel is not a good idea. Ideally wired or locked but not obligatory on the road. I use K&n, my preference on tours because a socket is always available even if a cup is not.
Thanks, just trying to unscrew the filter by hand now but it’s not budging. They’re not reverse thread are they ?!?
He’ll I summoned some strength and managed to get it off. I think it was on way too tight. The surfaces don’t seem compromised so I’ve greased the deal and screwed it back on. There is a slight slight drip but only once every 5 mins rather thank one every 5 seconds! @Sev do you happen to have a link to the correct K&N filter?
Perfect, thanks very much. It’s ordered so I’ll let you know how it goes! Now to Halfords to buy a torque wrench! I can see why people do things themselves now....you can lose trust quite quickly!
K&N recomended spin on and then 7/8th of a turn to tighten. I measured that at 12nm with a calibrated torque wrench on a K&N 153 filter.
Thanks for your help guys, you’ve been really helpful for someone who struggles with the simplest of mechanical things! Here are some pictures of the brake work that was done. New Brembo discs, pads and HEL braided lines...
