Hi all!
I have read a lot here but have not posted much.
I was hoping maybe someone could help us out here.
My front brake lever on my 04 Road King seems to have a lot of travel. We tried bleeding the brakes, but they still seem like they are spongy - like compared to newer bikes. The bike still stops okay, just the feel of the brakes are very different, the pull is not as stiff as the other bikes. The lever hits the grip when you pull it. Maybe age related, older bikes are like this? Or
Could this be a symptom of the master cylinder needing rebuilding? Hubby has not had time to to research this, so I thought I would start here. Also, nothing in the service manual about this, or maybe we are looking in the wrong part of book?
Any thoughts?
Thanks

PS. I have posted this on other forums as I wanted to see what the "general consensus" is. Hubby won't ask for help EVER and won't let the dealer touch the bike so I am forced to do the research. It is my bike, so I guess it is the least I can do
Thanks again

 

Your brake lever should not hit the grip. It sounds like there is air in the line, unless the bike is several years old the MC or calipers shouldn't need re-building. I don't think I would like for my brake lever to have that much travel even if it were slowing the bike, the lever should be firm.

 

+1 on that.

My best guess would be either still some air in the system, or the master cyclinder is bypassing. Brake lever should not come all the way back to the grip.

Try pumping it up. (Squeeze the lever several times in a row) If the lever starts feeling normal, but you are able to slowly pull the lever back to the grip, it is probably leaking or bypassing somewhere.

If it is always soft, even when you pump it up, more likely to be air in the system.

Dennis

 

'05 RKC.......

And I had the same problem a while back. I too spent time trying to bleed the brakes up to the point of using my vacuum bleeder. Turns out it had nothing to do with air in the lines.

The caliper pistons will get dirty over time which will have an affect on the piston travel; the further the pistons need to move to make the pads compress on the rotor, the further back the hand lever will travel. Here's a link to instruction for cleaning the calipers and pistons:

http://www.lyndallracingbrakes.com/service_tech.htm

Hope this helps.

Brian

 

i have two friends who have road kings. one is an 03 the other an 05. i ride an 08 streetglide. a huge difference between the braking systems, the newer brembos having a very solid feel compared to the early bikes my friends own. theirs feel spongy compared to the brembo newer systems. yours is like the previous posters mentioned, probably just need to bleed the air out of the system or rebuild the master cylinder. if the pads are worn down to almost nothing or the master cylinder is low on fluid those are the two first places to look. just get it working properly. you don't wanna be trying to panic stop right before running into a truck and say to yourself, "damm, i really wish my brakes were working properly" then you hear that crunch sound. ride safe man, please.

 

Ditto, same problem a while back, cleaned $htt out of the calipers with a can of spray brake cleaner - problem solved.

 

Just put new pads on my 02 RK and I didn't realize how far the lever travelled before. So it may just be time for new pads for ya.

 

Everyone, thanks for your responses,

This was very helpful! Cleaning and or changing the calipers and pads is exactly what we will do next! Spongy brakes are scary and no one is riding the Road King until it is fixed properly.

I also have an 09 Street Bob as well and hubby was riding the Road King then we swapped bikes and I could really tell the difference between bikes, so could he. I know when the Road King was new it didn't brake like that.

And

I KNEW it wasn't right for sometime but someone ignored me.............until now

Thanks so much!

RKGal