Okay, the new master cylinder got here and I attached it and it's definitely pushing fluid through the line faster and more smoothly...but STILL no pressure building in the system no matter what I do or how long I do it. Not one tiny bit.
So I'm now ordering a new rear caliper.
Also, how likely is it to be the actual lines causing the problem? I've not noticed any fluid coming from the lines anywhere...no mysterious drops of liquid anywhere under the bike.
Well, I do believe you have my scooter's brother... LOL!Your experience is exactly parallel to mine. You won't be sorry about replacing the rear caliper along with the master cylinder. After the old caliper's pistons have been extended
WAY far out, I'm uncomfortable with attempting to push them all the way back in. With exposure to the elements, I think it's asking for a leak at the pistons... Some mechanics say it's OK to do that on a car, and some don't.
And these scooters aren't as well made as most cars... LOL!When the new caliper arrives, please do set it over the disk, and see if it has all that extra space
(about 1/8") between the pads and the disk. If so, I strongly recommend you remove a pad from the OLD caliper, and grind off all the friction material, and place it BEHIND the inside pad on the NEW caliper, as a spacer. That is what I did, and it immediately solved the problem.
(If you do that, and the caliper is too tight over the disk, just grind off a few thousandths-inch of the steel on the "spacer"). You don't want the new caliper pistons to have to extend nearly to their limit just to begin braking action.
If you follow the instruction-video from Alleyoop, you can't go wrong on the back-flush/fill operation. You do need a big syringe like the video shows. You can actually watch the master cylinder fill, and start and stop the fill at will without letting air in, by just closing the bleeder while maintaining pressure on the syringe. With the scooter on the center-stand, and the bars turned slightly right, the master-cylinder is nearly level, and easy to see and fill.
Once the system is full, you should have operating brakes immediately.
(That may ONLY be true with the spacer in place.) If you just install the new caliper, and it has a lot of free-space, it will have to pressurize and push the pistons out, which may require more fluid to be added.
In addition, if your rear caliper is like mine, once the new pads wear just a little, you'll be right back to no rear brake again.It's unlikely that your line is bad. I too questioned my lines, but as with yours, I saw no leaks, and now with the new caliper, all is fine. If, after all is working, you start to lose pressure, the line might be leaking. But... that is not too likely.
Do be sure to use DOT 3, or DOT 4 brake fluid. That's what these use. Also, the fluid is hard on paint! So...
Stuff a big old towel all under the master-cylinder to absorb any fluid you may "over-squirt"...I have noticed that the rear 2-piston caliper has a little different feel from the front single-piston caliper. The lever moves a little further, but everything works fine. Mine was always that way, and the new caliper is the same.
All this is a whole lot easier to do than it sounds when written out... REALLY... Removing and replacing the pads simply requires removal of the two long allen-bolts they ride on. The pads are under slight spring-pressure and need to be pushed upward to free the bolts, but it's self-explanitory when you look at the caliper.
I think you and I are "pioneers" in this weird rear-brake phenomenon, but as more riders get some miles on their rides
(mine has 3,500 miles) the problem will become more common. I honestly feel that many riders get SO fed up with the never-ending problems with these, that they sell or trade off their Chinese scoots before the rear brake wears enough to cause this problem. I dunno, they ARE a real pain, requiring a lot of "wrenching" but for the money they're still hard to beat. I've ridden mine now for FIVE years, with the last FOUR being fairly trouble-free.
Now, it's caught up with me... HeHeHe... However, even with repairs, I don't have quite a thousand-bucks invested.
Any help I can give, please let me know...Leo in Texas