*How Screwed Am I?* Rear brake locked up on highway? Caliper Leaking

[mister704]

2012 Evo 1100 - ~3K miles

So today I went for a short ride to DC. Everything was fine until I got in the city, I hit the brakes and it locked up on me.

I waited a little and then it released itself and I was rolling again *of course back to the house*

On the highway, it locked again but didnt fully engage enough for me to really notice it. I felt some resistance but nothing majorly out the normal.

Get home and see that my brake pad is completely toast, and the bike is now leaking from the caliper and I have literally NO pressure whatsoever from the back brake. Thankfully I always use the front anyways so as I was coming to a stop I squeezed the front and when I went to press the back it literally was not there. No resistance whatsoever.

I am pretty sure the rotor is toast and that I need a new rear pad but what about this leak?

Like if I press the rear pedal, all I hear is air bubbling then I see fluid start to drip from the caliper. Which says to me I need some new washers or something.

Absolutely ALL help is greatly appreciated in advance. Thank you.













This line connecting to the rotor actually is a little melted as well. Dont think anything is wrong but the black casing is a little melted as well

[Buhgaboo]

...sounds like your pushrod was adjusted too tight...fluid heats up... expands...clamps down on the rotor...the heat through this process does the damage...new rotor, pads, caliper might be salvageable...that is if the bubbling you hear is from the pistons being fully extended. If not add that to the parts list....

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[mister704]

Thanks for the information.

The bike is still factory from the shop regarding any and all setup so I know the pushrod was not adjusted by me. I bought the bike with 769 miles back in April. Rode it down to Atlanta and put on 1500 miles round trip.

[BK_856er]

Looks like you already got some good advice.  Pads are likely shot - replace.  Leaky fluid probably because the piston seals melted = rebuild or simply replace caliper.  Rotor may be OK if it's still round.  Definitely check proper function and adjustment of the master cylinder.  As for root cause, could have been a mal-adjusted master cylinder, you dragging the rear brake by accident, or corroded pistons so they didn't properly retract.  Very low miles, so the latter is a possibility.  Good luck and fortunately it wasn't the front brake!

BK

[mister704]

Looks like you already got some good advice.  Pads are likely shot - replace.  Leaky fluid probably because the piston seals melted = rebuild or simply replace caliper.  Rotor may be OK if it's still round.  Definitely check proper function and adjustment of the master cylinder.  As for root cause, could have been a mal-adjusted master cylinder, you dragging the rear brake by accident, or corroded pistons so they didn't properly retract.  Very low miles, so the latter is a possibility.  Good luck and fortunately it wasn't the front brake!

BK

Thanks for this. I have found pretty much all the parts for under $200 so I think I am going to give this a try before I take it to the shop. If anything I know for  a fact I can get the new parts installed. Might have to let the tech do the deep work if required.

Thanks again

[ducpainter]

I'd rebuild the caliper, if parts were available.

It's cheaper if you do your own work. Shops tend to R&R with new because current labor rates typically make it cheaper to replace.

[Charlie98]

That 'melted' cable is the speed sensor/ABS.  As long as you get a speed reading, the cable is good.

Where is the fluid leaking from... the bleed valve or the piston?

[mister704]

Took the bike over to the shop and yep (pushrod) that was the exact problem.

What sucks to me is that it was set by the factory and have never been adjusted. But its ok. He told me I needed caliper rebuild kit ($49), brake pads ($29) and rotor ($100). So I now have ordered all my parts and he is going to go through a complete servicing for me where they will be checking everything out.

$180 for parts
$170 for check out service which includes oil change and filter, 25 point inspection, lubing everything, and the whole nine yards
$90 for the hr of service to repair the braking issue

So about 450ish out the door... where Ducati was going to charge me 550-700 just for the braking service.

[Blackout]

Same thing happened to me several years ago. Traveling about 75 on the freeway when the rear brake just locked up. Miracle I didn't crash. After that I've not run a rear brake on the Ducati.