I just bought a 2007 St1300 with 12k miles and was experiencing a very troubling riding experience as I was riding around the neighborhood trying to get used to this new machine. When pulling in the clutch the bike was nose diving and the rpms were immediately decreasing. The back brake eventually went mushy and I took her home to do some research. I came on the forum and searched “brakes locking upâ€.
I found a wealth of information! I am not someone that does a great deal of wrenching on my motorcycles and felt a bit unsure about trying to diagnose and fix the brakes so I reached out to Igofar and Larry got back to me the next day. Within 5 minutes I had a full page of notes to troubleshoot the issue. With my notes in hand I had the muffler loose, the axle loose and access to the back caliper where I found this:
The stopper bolt had backed itself out and the caliper was pinching down on the SMC cable against the swingarm. I sent the pic to Larry and he advised me to go and get a lottery ticket!
I felt nauseous.
This is where Larry called me several times to assure me that we are going to fix this problem together. He offered to walk me through the entire process of replacing the cable and flushing the brake lines – gave me the part number and a long heartwarming discussion about life and motorcycles.
Larry is a true gentleman. I cannot emphasize enough how humbling it was to have a complete stranger call me and quickly become a confidant and someone I could trust to get me going again. I am awaiting the part now and will soon embark on getting to know the braking system on this bike. Thank you Larry! Thank you to all the great forum members that add to this community! I am looking to the day when I can pay this forward.
-Marc
I found a wealth of information! I am not someone that does a great deal of wrenching on my motorcycles and felt a bit unsure about trying to diagnose and fix the brakes so I reached out to Igofar and Larry got back to me the next day. Within 5 minutes I had a full page of notes to troubleshoot the issue. With my notes in hand I had the muffler loose, the axle loose and access to the back caliper where I found this:
The stopper bolt had backed itself out and the caliper was pinching down on the SMC cable against the swingarm. I sent the pic to Larry and he advised me to go and get a lottery ticket!
I felt nauseous.
This is where Larry called me several times to assure me that we are going to fix this problem together. He offered to walk me through the entire process of replacing the cable and flushing the brake lines – gave me the part number and a long heartwarming discussion about life and motorcycles.
Larry is a true gentleman. I cannot emphasize enough how humbling it was to have a complete stranger call me and quickly become a confidant and someone I could trust to get me going again. I am awaiting the part now and will soon embark on getting to know the braking system on this bike. Thank you Larry! Thank you to all the great forum members that add to this community! I am looking to the day when I can pay this forward.
-Marc