brake locked... help! : Kawasaki ZX Forums: Kawasaki Ninja Forum

brandon32 · 11-04-2009, 11:08 AM

My tire recently went flat and i took it off and had a new one put on and put the wheel back on by myself. Unfortunately now my rear brakes are locked up against the disc. They brake fine, and release a little, but are still up against the disc and it just feels like there is dragging when I try and get going now. I don't know if there is a quick fix for this or if this was a problem before I changed the tire and never noticed but I'm not sure what to do. any help you have would be awesome, thanks.

Geezer · 11-04-2009, 12:02 PM

how much dragging? are you talking about spinning the wheel off the ground and being able to hear a little friction noise? if so, that's not abnormal. if you mean there is serious resistance or lots of noise, as in it's hard to spin the wheel while it's raised on a stand (and in neutral, of course), then that is a problem. if that's the case i think you should take it back apart and check if something got in between the pads and the rotor, or a pad got cocked while putting it together, anything like that. one last question: did anyone push on the brake pedal while the rotor was out? if that happened then a piston could have extended beyond its normal range and damaged a seal; if that happened you need to dissassemble and replace (just like doing a rebuild). its always a good idea to put a block in between the pads when the rotor isn't there just to prevent that.

rileydeed · 11-04-2009, 12:15 PM

Also are you sure you got all the axel spacers back in the right place??

Geezer · 11-04-2009, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rileydeed

Also are you sure you got all the axel spacers back in the right place??

good point, i didn't think of that; also, make sure the wheel is aligned (straight with the bike) with the chain adjusters even.

brandon32 · 11-04-2009, 11:25 PM

i havent tried putting the back up and spinning the wheel, i'll try that tomorrow and see what it sounds like. mostly its just the pads are touching the disc and i'm not sure if its just how i'm riding or if it is actually dragging a lot. when i first put on the wheel the pads werent even touching the disc but i pushed the brake a couple times and they got tighter but i'm not sure if slightly touching is abnormal. I'm pretty certain the wheel is aligned, the chain adjusters are the same on each side. it could just be nothing but i'm sure i will know as soon as i put the back up and try turning the wheel tomorrow. thanks for your help!

**Shifty1** · 11-05-2009, 09:55 AM

They should be in slight contact with the rotor but, yeah, lift the rear tire up in the air, give it a spin and see what you get.