Last semester my father brought my 87 honda elite 50 to me mid-way through the semester. The rear brake was sticking, probably because it hadn't been used regularly. I sprayed it down really well by the rear wheel where the actuator is with WD-40. That fixed it during the time I was still using it. It went 2 months without being used because the big bore kit was being replaced, until today. I go to take it off the stand, and the brake is grabbing pretty bad. So I wheel it outside and spray it again with WD-40. It seems to have less success this time. 2 things are sticking. First, the handle grip does not return all the time. Second, the lever that the cable is attached to by the brake does not return well either. Even pushing it does not work very well. What steps do I need to take to fix this? New brake pads were put in 500 miles ago, so those don't need replacing. I tried to do the brake job myself, but couldn't get either wheel off, even while jumping up and down on a breaker bar. I guess my mechanic used an air ratchet and got them off fine... He probably used that to put the bolts back on too... and I may have trouble removing them if I need to. I have never lubricated the brake cable itself. So that is 3500 miles, and I don't know if the previous owner did either. A different mechanic I talked to said there is a special too that you can use to force grease down the cable... I do not have that. Also, I'm pretty sure WD-40 is not suitable to use in the cable line, something about just collecting dirt and making things worse, or so I've heard...
Please help, I've got this scooter running again with good compression, I just need the brakes to work before I go cruising.
-Nate
PS. I've registered for this site, but where is the login?? I may have to re-register, although I can probably guess my password from the list that I regularly use
Posted on May 15, 2004, 6:43 PM from IP address 128.253.199.115
