Front brakes locking up

This is my first post to the forums, as I’m returning to riding after a 10-year break. This is gonna be a little long, but I hope y’all can help me with this.

I recently purchased a 2005 KZ1000P P-24 from a dealer in California and had it shipped to my home in Michigan. The bike is up and running and ready to go, but I’ve got a problem with the front brakes.

When the bike was delivered, it was about 30 degrees outside and I had no problem pushing it into my garage (battery was drained due to the instrument light switch being left on). I put it up on the center stand, attached the trickle charger and left it alone.

I ended up having to replace the ignition switch because the one that was installed locked the handlebars but wouldn’t unlock at all. Worn out switch with all of the printing no longer visible. No biggie, just a couple hours of work to pull it and put in an OEM replacement. My friend Ron and I got it installed this past Saturday. When we went to take the bike off the center stand, the bike wouldn’t move. It was in the mid-to-upper 50’s on Saturday and we were working with the garage door open. We finally managed to push/pull it forward and get the center stand to retract, but it looked like the brakes were locked. I started the bike, put it into gear, and when I tried to move forward the bike nose-dived. The front brake lever was really stiff when we tried to move it. We both had stuff to do, so we decided to work on it next weekend.

I left the bike alone Saturday night and the temp dropped into the low 30’s. Sunday morning, about 8:30, for the heck of it, I went out to see if I could at least get the bike back up on the center stand. When I tipped it up off the side stand, I was able to push it and get it turned around so it was facing the garage door. The bike moved, very grudgingly, and I could hear something dragging on the front brakes. I went to church and when I came home about 12:30, I tried to push the bike forward a little bit. No movement whatsoever and the bike nose-dived again. The temp at that point was in the lower 50’s and heading up to 61 for a high. I tried to move it again last night about 10:00 and still no go.

The low on last night was 34 and, once again, this morning around 7:30, when I tried to move the bike forward, it moved grudgingly. When I got home from work today and tried to move it, it was locked up again. I got it up on the center stand and put it into neutral. The back tire turns without any problems. I shifted into first, let the clutch out slowly just a little way and everything worked fine. Applying the brake pedal stopped the wheel smoothly. Looks like whatever is going on is limited to the front brakes.

I’m guessing that it’s one of two things:

1) Moisture/condensation swelling the brake piston; or

2) Over-pressurization of the front brake system.

So . . . . bottom line . . . . the bike moves with difficulty when it’s cold outside but then locks up when the air temperature goes up.

On my '84 Goldwing, the rear caliper and the right front caliper were linked. I’m not sure if they are on the KZ. I looked through my Clymer manual, but it was next to useless in giving me any clue how to troubleshoot this.

Any ideas/pointers/kicks in the right direction would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Rich

I recommend you flush the master cylinder, reservoir, and front brake lines using new brake fluid. If crud builds up in some of the little orifices it can cause the brakes to stick. Ed

Try opening the bleeder valves and see if the brakes will release. If so, flush out the brake system.
Steve

I'm assuming one side and then the other? I can't tell which is locking up, so it's a toss up.

Are both of the front brakes controlled by the master cylinder on the handlebars, or does the lower master cylinder by the foot board control one of them?

Thanks for the help!

I've heard of old rubber brake lines swelling up internally and not releasing or slowly realeasing the pressure.

redula wrote: I'm assuming one side and then the other? I can't tell which is locking up, so it's a toss up.

Are both of the front brakes controlled by the master cylinder on the handlebars, or does the lower master cylinder by the foot board control one of them?

Thanks for the help!

Both from the bars. Run a tube from one bleeder into a container until it comes out clean then the other. If it doesn't free up, you'll have to take them apart. Keep the fluid level up as you're doing it.
Steve

Brakes are nothing to take lightly. I'd break down both calipers and the master and clean out the grunge, and then replace the brake lines and rubber seals all around. Well worth the trouble. Once the fluid turns dark and scale forms inside the brake system flushing will not remove it. A full teardown is the only way.

Sticky calipers the curse of all hydraulic brakes for all vehicles left laid up for any length of time.

Replacing the fluid yearly and working the brakes every few weeks minimises this.

I would flush and replace the brake fluid and clean and lube the guide pins for starters, ideally rebuilt with new steel hoses and seals as above. Quite likely 30 year old parts here, also heat deterioeates rubber parts quicker.

If your fluid is a dark colour it is a sure sign the fluid hasn't been changed recently, something I'd expect from a dealer - unless bought as a project.

Put some 'plus gas' or similar penetrating oil on the bleed nipples a few days before if you can, they are a bastard for shearing off.

Thanks for the help! I need to stop and pick up 1/4" tubes so I can bleed the front brakes this weekend. I'm gonna take the cover off the reservoir and see what the fluid looks like first. Like I said originally, the bike will more (pushing it) if it's cold outside, but once the air temperature gets above 40, the brakes lock up.

The bike has 33,000 original miles on it, which is low for a 2005 from what I've seen available. It's in pretty good shape, in spite of being trucked over halfway across the U.S. from California to Michigan.

Thanks again!

Even if flushing gets the bike rolling again you still have tons of crud in the system and flushing won't get it all out.

A friend of mine, who is the road captain of a local motorcycle group, is going to be helping me out. He's also a certified mechanic, so it's a two-in-one bonus. The first thing is to see if we can get the brakes unlocked. We're planning a full flush to start, then go from there. It was serviced by the dealership in California before it came here to Michigan.

Problem solved!

The dealership installed new pads and didn't bleed out the brakes before they shipped the bike to Michigan.

My friend Ron and I spent about 20 minutes on the brakes and bled about 1 tablespoon of fluid out. Brand-new clear fluid, by the way. And now the front brakes work perfectly.

So, as soon as I get some warmer weather (currently 31 degrees here, feeling like 19, and snowing), I'll get out and get some road time.

Thanks again for your help!