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Bike shop, brake 'issue' question.

7K views 28 replies 16 participants last post by  krb 
#1 ·
Dropped off our 2007 Stratoliner at the bike shop for them to install 2 new tires. They call and tell us the rear pads are getting bad to which I say "I know, I have them here and will put them on shortly."

I pick the bike up and the very first time I hit the rear brake the pedal goes to the floor and .......WHAMMMM!......the entire caliper and bracket do a 180 on the axle!





Today they call and tell us that they installed everything correctly it was the pads being so worn that it allowed the entire assembly to rotate and rip the brake hose off!

One heck of a coincidence I said because I rode the cycle to them without any issue whatsoever.

I'm calling BS on this explanation.

Anyone know it that is even possible?

The caliper mounting bracket is in a fixed position and does not care or know how worn the pads are.
It should never move since the caliper floats on it.


I said I am willing to pay for the pads, even the rotor as with 33,000 miles on it I am sure it is worn also.
Labor they are eating and we are to yet discuss the hose.

Any thoughts on this????
 
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#2 ·
Sounds like some definite tampering went on there to me.
Did you check for any broken parts or loose bits?
Some pieces from what I know are tightened pretty well on there.
 
#4 ·
Let me clarify.......the cycle was at a bike shop.

They do not know me, nor I them.

They replaced both tires which obviously includes removing the wheels and brake assemblies. My contention is that they did not install the bracket correctly which allowed the entire assembly to rotate.

I see no possible way worn, or even missing, pads would allow that to happen.

I would love to have a certified Yamaha Tech talk to them!
 
#5 ·
The f'd up and are trying to deny it. I guess the silver lining is it could have been worse. Make sure you're not missing any parts and do the pad replacement and move on. My bike shops, including Yamaha dealers, suck when it comes to having competent techs.
 
#6 ·
That bike shop would never have my business again and I would appreciate knowing who they were since I frequently ride within towing distance to Chicago and do not wish to provide them any business.
 
#8 ·
Big Dogs, i'd venture to guess that the shop you used, failed to re-install the rear brake assembly after replacing the tire. Total incompetence, yet not worthy in calling the cops. This would be a civil matter, not a criminal matter. Had you crashed and been injured due to the bike shops obvious sloppy work, then it would be worth a call to your attorneys office. I say this from being a level 1 accident reconstructionist since 2010. I agree with t84a, move on, make sure all your parts are there, and be thankful you weren't injured or worse. Sparkn is right, they'd never have my business again, and all my biker buds would know how incompetent they are. I'm just glad you're ok. Just my 1.5 cents worth.

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#9 ·
They messed up the re-install. It's that simple. Double check their fix and never go back again afterward.

I guarantee that one guy was putting everything back together and got called off to help on another bike or take lunch or something and either he/she forgot where they were up to or another guy finished up and just assumed it was bolted in correctly.
 
#10 ·
It is/was a random small bike shop.

I am a retired auto mechanic of 30+ years so I have a decent knowledge of hydraulic brake systems but I just wanted to double check with some of you before I pick it up.

I am not looking for anything free here, just accountability.
I have no problem paying for the pads and rotor as they are needed.
The labor charge they said they would cover and the hose cost is really insignificant.

When I pick it up they are going to have to show me how this possibly could happen when I know it simply cannot. They have pictures for whatever that is worth but so do I, as you all have seen.

If they continue down the "we did nothing wrong" road I will email and/or call Yamaha. I would think that would be a design flaw if worn pads would allow an entire fixed assembly to rotate like that.

Man up and say we goofed, we're sorry and it goes away.

I'll let you know what happens.

Thanks.
 
#15 ·
Absolutely ridiculous. Caliper bracket holds the brake caliper in place. Unless removed, that suckers not going anywhere. Just like on a car. Chrysler (and at one time Ford) tech here, and unless someone goofed (which I'm sure they did!) and left out a bolt or left them loose, the caliper assembly will not move because of low brake pads. I've seen rotors worn almost all the way through, calipers still in place. I can't believe they would even give an explanation like that! Ridiculous!


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#16 ·
Absolutely ridiculous. Caliper bracket holds the brake caliper in place.


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I agree. (30+ year former mechanic)

The bracket bolts through the rear and slides onto a boss.



When you push the wheel assembly forward it can easily fall down and not be in position.
First time you hit the rear brake the whole thing rotates and snaps the brake line.

Their contention is that the pads were worn along with the rotor.
They said it ran out of travel? and the bracket flexed enough to slip out of it's spot. That mounting bracket is 1 inch thick aluminum.
Keep in mind it was raining and I was on brand new tires.

I barley touched the brake when it happened.

It did not flex a bit.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Caliper fit to swing arm

There is a machined grove in the caliper assembly, there are two raised areas on the swing arm. The Raised parts on the swing arm go into the machined grove. There is not room for any movement. Brake pads have nothing to do with caliper assembly rotating around as the wheel turns. They must have assembled the rear wheel with the calipers not in the proper slot. Nothing to keep the calipers from rotating first time the brake is applied. They also must not have test ridden the bike. slot is about an inch wide. Maybe a half inch or so deep.

I see others have seen this too.

Dave
 
#20 ·
There is a machined grove in the caliper assembly, there are two raised areas on the swing arm. The Raised parts on the swing arm go into the machined grove. There is not room for any movement. Brake pads have nothing to do with caliper assembly rotating around as the wheel turns. They must have assembled the rear wheel with the calipers not in the proper slot. Nothing to keep the calipers from rotating first time the brake is applied. They also must not have test ridden the bike. slot is about an inch wide. Maybe a half inch or so deep.

I see others have seen this too.

Dave

This very thing happened to our neighbor a couple years ago on his 2006 at another shop!

The real kicker is I also said you should have test ridden it and he said he did but stayed off the rear brake as the pads were bad!
How stupid is that?
Send me off in the rain with new tires and never checking the rear brake after assembly.

They may very well be nice guys but they obviously have no knowledge of Yamaha braking systems and refuse to admit it was a mistake.

Sad to have to post their name but as a service to any other biker that might see this I feel I must.

As all of you know we are all only so lucky and I feel this mistake cost me one more of my allotment.

This could have ended much worse.


Diesels service and repair, Batavia, IL.
 
#21 ·
Talk to the owner ! they messed up didnt install the rear brake bracket properly . no way in hell will the pads cause that ive got 28k miles on my bike been thru 3 rear sets of pads all which i have ridden to almost bare metal(yes i know ) but pads will never cause that. improper installation caused that, ask me when i went to the dark side i installed everything myself and kept having trouble aligning the rear brake caliper bracket, by myself.
 
#22 ·
Unfortunately it was the owner that I was dealing with.
I gave him every possible chance to just say they made a mistake and I would let it go however he insisted they did it correctly.

We all know the truth here.

Although I am probably not going to contact Yamaha I will tell anyone of our issue if the shops name ever arises in the course of conversation. We ride with a lot of large 'groups' of bikers (including the STAR riders) so eventually it will get back to them.

A shame as he seemed to be a nice guy that really likes bikes.
 
#23 ·
I just changed the rear tire on my Roadliner yesterday. I will say that this brake design is the WORST I have ever seen in all my years of wrenching. It's a 2-man job getting everything back in properly, unless your an octopus.

That said, I was thinking about what the hell I would do if faced with this machine while getting paid flat rate. I'd probably have done what this tech did - throw it together, all pissed off, without checking to see if the caliper bracket was seated properly in the swingarm boss.

Bingo.

Far be it from me to advocate a lawsuit, but you have a solid case there. I would imagine the hose was ripped in half, or ruined in some way, with a nice dent in the bottom of that pipe. At the VERY least, I would have all that replaced on their dime.
 
#24 ·
Far be it from me to advocate a lawsuit, but you have a solid case there. I would imagine the hose was ripped in half, or ruined in some way, with a nice dent in the bottom of that pipe. At the VERY least, I would have all that replaced on their dime.

The whole assembly clears the pipe and jammed in the rear swing arm.
The hose instantly split in two.
The 'good' thing is that is was lightly raining so I barely touched the rear brake when it happened.

I will tell my story when the subject comes up but for the most part I am done with it. I think that I was more than fair with this so hopefully that 'angel' that rides with all of us will keep that in mind some day.

Just another case of........

"What doen't kill ya makes ya stronger" or at least a little wiser.
 
#26 · (Edited)
The shop screwed up bigtime.

The caliper bracket fits into a groove in the right swing arm, it's a bitch to get it lined up and stay in place while moving the rear tire back into place, I've been so mad at that bracket several times that I am thinking of putting a bolt through the swing arm into the bracket to hold it in place while fighting with the rear tire and getting the axle back in place. I suspect this mechanic didn't realize the bracket has a slot that it goes in to keep it in place. He probably just slid the bracket up from under the swing arm and let it sit. I would have loved to be there when you took it back to them. By now you know the caliper bolts onto this PIA bracket with two bolts, that's all you have to pull to change out the pads, as you have discovered. This is a simple task on the strats.
Glad you didn't mess up the bike or yourself.
 
#27 ·
I put mine together solo...here is how I did it.

I jacked the entire bike up, as far as the bike jack would go (you need the clearance)

I put a few bricks under the front tire so I wouldnt push the bike off forward.

I put rear tire under the fender and rolled a standard floor under with it (lifted the rear loose tire and sat it on the floor jack).

I used the jack to slowly lift the tire. I hooked the brake bracket around the rotor and had the tire all the way back in the fender. I lifted it up and the brake bracket cleared the groove in the swingarm as I slid it forward right into place. I then lapped the belt over the pulley and slid in the axle.

The first time I did it by hand with help and using the jack was easier than having help.
 
#28 ·
Exactly

I have done it alone all four or five tire changes, I have long arms, but wish I had one extra arm at times, I also jack the bike up as high as needed to clear the rear tire and fender. Holding the brake bracket and sliding the axle in from the otherside is what takes creativity lol. I did have some help last summer, my girlfriend helped me, she ended up getting a pinched finger on the axle side, between the wheel spacer and swingarm as I was lifting the wheel up into place. I may try another small jack, and your idea about using that to lift the tire, I had been rolling the wheel in under the fender then lowering the bike down to the correct height for the axle to slide home, all the time holding that stupid brake bracket in place, guiding the spacers in place and starting the axle in place, I found that I could hold the bracket in place (carefully) with a large socket, stuck in the right swingarm axle hole, this held the bracket pinched between the hub and the swingarm, the some wiggling and slide the axle home. Easier to write this than do it lol. I even thought about super gluing the damn thing in place, but may just drill a small hole into it through the swingarm, and tapping the bracket, put a bolt in it just for tire changes. then pull the bolt out once everything is back in place. It's all aluminum, I figure a 1/4-20 bolt would do the trick without causing any loss of strength in the swing arm. It's already pretty beefy.
 
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