front bake lock up

[KamiKaziCalm]

front brake lock up

I bought my fz6r Saturday before last and i finally got a chance to take it on Sunday and got about half mile and front discs locked up with out me touching them and thru me and bike down trashing my brand new bike with 4 miles on it. I'm fine but I wanted to know if this has happened to anyone and if its a defect like i think and yamaha should get a new bike

 

[JonKerr]

Oh man that sucks! I'm really sorry to hear about that. I haven't heard of anyone having an issue like that so it does sound like it's a one off defect problem.

 

[Detrich]

Ack that sucks... Sorry to hear that

Just curious... How did u determine it was the front brake? Are u sure u didn't accidentally step on the rear cuz that can cause the wheel to lock too.

Have u gotten an estimate on the repair yet?

 

[dart1963]

if you still have the bike, I'd get all the details you can... video, friends, etc. proof to show the front wheel is truly locked... if it is, document it and yes, get the warranty involved.

You are going to have to prove it locked and that you didn't do it.... your word probably isn't going to be good enough (unless there is other evidence of maybe a warped disc or something).

Good luck, and :welcome: to the forum. Glad you walked away from it.

 

[KamiKaziCalm]

The brakes are still locked up and. The rotors up front are all black

 

[KamiKaziCalm]

I'm glad I got away to just some bruises, thank god for gear. always gear up

 

[Deanohh]

I'v never heard of this happening to anyone, but it seems to me the dealer better get involved in this right away. Do not try to fix it yourself or your will destroy the evidence of the problem. Take pictures. They need to make you happy on this one. Call them first thing tomorrow if you haven't already. If they are smart they will send out their shag truck to your house and pick this dog up just as fast as they can and get Yamaha involved to find out what happened.... and gladly compensate you. Minimum your money back or new bike.. your choice and without delay. This could have expensive recall or massive lawsuit written all over it if this is a defective master cylinder or potential manufacturing bug in a bunch of bikes. Some people would immediatly lie down and scream "Don't touch me, I think my back's broke"

 

[MikeN02]

YEAH! No one in this country sues anymore. Take pictures don't mess with it. They'll send a truck to come pick it up.

My friend was out riding on his 09 Ninja 250R and his shifter broke off so he had to stop and push it home. Called the stealership and they sent a truck to pick it up and replace it.

Typically the rear is the one that locks up more if you use both brakes, just glad you're safe. Rear = more low side while front = highside.

If you don't get anything out of this you should.

 

[dart1963]

The brakes are still locked up and. The rotors up front are all black

wow, that just sounds odd... must have been rubbing all the way from the dealer and finally locked, or a pad disintegrated... never seen a black rotor before.

If you got pics, please share!

 

[Rabbitman109]

Absolutely, glad you are okay. Sucks that it had to happen to a brand new bike. Definitely sounds like a manufacturing issue. Most definitely take pictures and get as much evidence as you can, because like Dart said, you are going to have to prove it. I am sure that they will make it right for you.

 

[KamiKaziCalm]

Ya I don't see how they can't not fix or preferably replace it, but i will post pics I will try to post soon. i got take it to them either tomorrow or Friday. they said they'll inspect it and contact yamaha. i took a video showing how barely moves and photos of the damage and charred rotors.

 

[bmw675]

im glad you took pictures before you take it back to them. never know what they are going to say. good luck and keep us updated.

 

[Spunky99]

It happened to me.......

I installed the Diversion shorty levers and the front brake lever did not have as deep a recess in it as the stock lever for the brake rod.
Because of this, there was a slight amount of pressure on the front brake pads against the rotors that I did not feel and this pressure caused friction which resulted in heat.
The heat caused the brake fluid to swell inside the caliper causing more pressure on the brake pads and rotors that caused more friction and this cycle continued until at about 75 mph in the fast lane of the freeway my bike stopped rapidly. I was able to hit the turn signal and get onto the shoulder of the road before I did a Endo, stoppie, Chinese wheelie.
Luckily I was only going 5 mph when it happened and I was able to balance it and stopped in a straight line with my rotors glowing cherry red.

I temporarily removed my brake lever until I reached my destination 8 miles away and ground down the lever until I had proper clearance and there was no pressure on the rotor from the brake pads. After I got home I did a proper polish job on the rod and haven't had a problem since.

I'll bet you a buck that this is the problem and Yamaha will replace the defective brake lever and tell you to go through your own insurance. Either the recess for the brake rod was too shallow, had some foreign material in it or the rod was too long.
I know it sucks but when it is easy to swap out a cheap brake lever to get out of an expensive repair/replacement and also have the NTSB all over you for this extremely critical defect, they will screw you instead of spending the 20 million dollars to satisfy the NTSB and the other Federal agencies.
Besides, you have a perfect lawsuit if the lever or rod was incorrectly manufactured and it is worth after paying the Attorney at least 1/2 million dollars.

Here is the thread on the problem
http://www.600cc.org/forum/f89/new-levers-19394/index9.html

 

[Jay S.]

I have no advice that has not already been offered, but I'm glad you are okay brother. Ugh. That had to be pretty dang scary.

 

[Deanohh]

Ya I don't see how they can't not fix or preferably replace it, but i will post pics I will try to post soon. i got take it to them either tomorrow or Friday. they said they'll inspect it and contact yamaha. i took a video showing how barely moves and photos of the damage and charred rotors.

WHy can't they come and pick it up.... and right away. You shouldn't be inconvenienced the slightest bit by this and I would think they would want to kiss your a__ to keep this from getting out there and causing a bad reputation.

 

[Spunky99]

The brakes are still locked up and. The rotors up front are all black

Get a picture of the brake lever...In fact I'd have a video with witnesses and take off the lever and look at the rod end and the rod hole. Maybe even call an ambulance chaser to see what he says. I smell big green $$ here and this is a totally unacceptable situation.
You could have been killed, your passenger killed. Brakes are the one element of a vehicle that cannot fail.

 

[6R Blackout]

I'm glad I got away to just some bruises, thank god for gear. always gear up

Hey man sorry to hear about your accident and I am glad you are ok. I would do like Dart said and document everything. Hope all goes well and works out for you. Oh and yes Welcome to the forum.:welcome:

 

[Deanohh]

If you start taking stuff apart, it will not help you because they can say that we can't tell what caused the failure because you tampered with it. Don't change their problem into your problem.

 

[Spunky99]

If you start taking stuff apart, it will not help you because they can say that we can't tell what caused the failure because you tampered with it. Don't change their problem into your problem.

That is why I specifically told him to call an Ambulance Chaser AKA Attorney......
They will get a certified mechanic on video to do it and it will be 100% allowed in court. If you let Yamaha do it...who knows what they will do to get out of responsibility.

 

[KamiKaziCalm]

Well i dropped off the bike and a yamaha rep has called me to get some info and there going to do there investigation into what happened and call back in a few days. so we'll see what happens