I am underwhelmed with Honda's engineering of the Secondary Master Cylinder unit.
It appears that the SMC piston has once again stopped moving smoothly (or perhaps at all) in the cylinder. This is probably due to moisture entering at the piston rod sealing boot, causing corrosion at the cylinder opening, which I've encountered before.
Hmm... let's examine the history of the SMC for my 2006 motorcycle:
Now a bit of analysis:
In conclusion, it appears that an OEM or OEM replacement SMC when fitted to my motorcycle has a rather limited life expectancy of 8,000 to 9,000 miles. However the life expectancy of the rebuilt SMC when fitted to my motorcycle is closer to 50,000 miles. That's quite the difference.
Come on Honda, I expect more from your engineers.
It appears that the SMC piston has once again stopped moving smoothly (or perhaps at all) in the cylinder. This is probably due to moisture entering at the piston rod sealing boot, causing corrosion at the cylinder opening, which I've encountered before.
Hmm... let's examine the history of the SMC for my 2006 motorcycle:
- Purchased in December of 2009 with almost 3,000 miles (2,917 in fact).
- Rebuild SMC in June of 2010 at 8,622 miles.
- Rebuild (2nd time) SMC in August of 2012 at 56,175 miles, and decided to purchase a replacement.
- Installed replacement SMC in August of 2012 at 56,999 miles.
- SMC now frozen in January of 2013 at 66,100 miles.
Now a bit of analysis:
- The original SMC lasted approximately 8,000 miles before failing (I think this may be a generous amount of miles, as the SMC most surely had begun to fail before it was noticed).
- The rebuilt original SMC (actually just a through clean up, lubrication, and reassembly) lasted approximately 47,000 miles before again failing.
- The replacement SMC lasted approximately 9,000 miles before failing.
In conclusion, it appears that an OEM or OEM replacement SMC when fitted to my motorcycle has a rather limited life expectancy of 8,000 to 9,000 miles. However the life expectancy of the rebuilt SMC when fitted to my motorcycle is closer to 50,000 miles. That's quite the difference.
Come on Honda, I expect more from your engineers.