Rear Brake Line Failure

[TheoremX]

Yesterday while riding I had what looks like a rupture of my rear brake line. Came into a dirt corner and went to hit the rear brake, didn’t get anything, pumped it a couple of times and heard a dull “pop”. Did get braking back, but it was weak. Pulled over when I noticed my ABS light turn on. Wouldn’t let me come out of off road mode. Power cycled the bike and now it’s in normal street mode with the ABS light still on. Will not change modes anymore and ABS is off front and rear. After stopping, I looked back and noticed a ton of brake fluid, every time I would pump the brakes, a ton more would pour out. Shorty thereafter on my ride home, the check engine light came on. No idea why, the bike is running fine, minus the loss of the rear brake. Good idle, good power, no issues stopping and starting. Anyone have any experience with this? This is my first time having a brake malfunction on a bike, I’m a little out of my realm of knowledge.

[Uncle M]

@TheoremX is it leaking from the brake line or banjo joint itself, or at the banjo bolt? If the former I guess you need to replace the line. If the latter, service manual says 30 Nm is correct torque if the bolt is loose.

I believe the check engine light actually just means the ECU threw a code, not necessarily just for engine issues. There's a list of error codes in the SELF-DIAGNOSTIC FUNCTION AND DIAGNOSTIC CODE TABLE section in the last section of the service manual (section 9 in the version I have) so you'd just need to locate a reader with the cable for a Tenere, or take it to a dealer.

[williestreet]

Where is it leaking from?  If it is leaking from the connection where the brake line connects to the caliper it could be just the banjo bolt came loose.  Just snug up the banjo bolt and see if that fixes your issue.  It is possible you might need 2 new copper crush washers, but probably tightening it up should fix your issue.

 

If it is leaking where the rubber hose is crimp connected to the hard metal line then you will need a new brake line.

That line goes from the caliper up to the abs unit.  Several manufactures make replacement brake lines or you could buy a stock one from Yamaha.

 

Oops I guess Uncle M beat me to it. 

 

 

Edited August 5, 2023 by williestreet

[Hibobb]

Like the other have said, clean it up and find the leak... fix it.

That is the simple part.

I am guessing that the ABS code light is from running low on fluid and getting air in the line.

Sounds simple to fix but sometimes getting all the air out sucks. Do a search here and find how others have done it.

For my two-cents, buy a Pneumatic vacuum  can that uses compressed air to suck out your brake fluid.

The cheaper hand pumps work, I had one, but the pneumatic ones make life sooo much easier.

They hold 10x the volume of oil and they free up your hands to do other things (like keeping the reservoir full)

Best of luck to you, you will figure it out.

 

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[TheoremX]

1 hour ago, Uncle M said:

@TheoremX is it leaking from the brake line or banjo joint itself, or at the banjo bolt? If the former I guess you need to replace the line. If the latter, service manual says 30 Nm is correct torque if the bolt is loose.

I believe the check engine light actually just means the ECU threw a code, not necessarily just for engine issues. There's a list of error codes in the SELF-DIAGNOSTIC FUNCTION AND DIAGNOSTIC CODE TABLE section in the last section of the service manual (section 9 in the version I have) so you'd just need to locate a reader with the cable for a Tenere, or take it to a dealer.

Thanks guys! I’ll take a look at it and report the findings. It did look like it was leaking from the joint, didnt dump all the brake fluid (I still have about half my reservoir full) so hopefully it’s just the bolt. After seeing the fluid, I rode the whole 2 hours home with engine and front braking lol. I opted out of riding on the freeway.

[neil_]

Is the carrier assembly engaged in the swing arm properly? It looks like it might not be in one of the pictures. You have probably used the rear brake while rolling backwards and pulled the brake hose/sensor wire. I think you need to remove your rear wheel and engage the groove over the lug in the swing arm.

Edited August 5, 2023 by neil_

[Liquidape]

34 minutes ago, neil_ said:

Is the carrier assembly engaged in the swing arm properly? It looks like it might not be in one of the pictures. You have probably used the rear brake while rolling backwards and pulled the brake hose/sensor wire. I think you need to remove your rear wheel and engage the groove over the lug in the swing arm.

Yeah from the photo it looks like you can see the slot in the rear brake carrier that is supposed to be sitting over a boss on the swing arm to keep the rear brake caliper from rotating around the axle. 
 

Any chance you had the rear wheel off recently? 

[Hammerhead]

2 hours ago, neil_ said:

Is the carrier assembly engaged in the swing arm properly? It looks like it might not be in one of the pictures. You have probably used the rear brake while rolling backwards and pulled the brake hose/sensor wire. I think you need to remove your rear wheel and engage the groove over the lug in the swing arm.

Ya, looks the same pickle jar as @Kiwi found himself in lately. There’s much to be said for zip tying that calliper in position before pulling the rear wheel & confirming proper fit on reassembly. Apparently an easy mistake to make, that could potentially have serious or at the very least, costly consequences.

[Rider 101]

I always use a cable tie to hold the calliper in position. 

I assembled once without engaging the calliper groove over the lug and sat there trying to figure out why it didn't look right.

I guess if you have damaged the brake line then it is time for a new braided line or rear ABS delete set up.

[Liquidape]

14 minutes ago, Rider 101 said:

I always use a cable tie to hold the calliper in position. 

I assembled once without engaging the calliper groove over the lug and sat there trying to figure out why it didn't look right.

I guess if you have damaged the brake line then it is time for a new braided line or rear ABS delete set up.

Yup. Been there done that. It’s real easy to end up with the brake caliper not correctly positioned against the swingarm when installing the rear wheel. Even if it starts off in the correct location it tends to pop out of position while you are trying to put the rear wheel in place without having the wheel spacer pop out of the bearing seal.  Like a game of whack a mole, get one thing correctly placed and something else pops out of place. 
 

Zip tying the caliper to the swing arm is a great solution for the issue. Wish I would have thought of it during the last 4 tire changes.  

[Redneckj]

Definitely not assembled correctly.  
 

I went out to look at my T7 and snapped a pic.  Your lucky you didn’t get hurt.   Go buy a lotto ticket!! Glad your ok!!!!!

 

 

 

 

[williestreet]

11 hours ago, Liquidape said:

Yup. Been there done that. It’s real easy to end up with the brake caliper not correctly positioned against the swingarm when installing the rear wheel. Even if it starts off in the correct location it tends to pop out of position while you are trying to put the rear wheel in place without having the wheel spacer pop out of the bearing seal.  Like a game of whack a mole, get one thing correctly placed and something else pops out of place. 
 

Zip tying the caliper to the swing arm is a great solution for the issue. Wish I would have thought of it during the last 4 tire changes.  

This is one of the reasons I prefer to flip the axle and install from the left side with the nut on the right.  Much easier to get everything in place, less fiddling with the caliper bracket and easier to make sure it stays on the swingarm guide.    

 

I do like the zip tie trick, and will do that next time the wheel comes off.

[TheoremX]

On 8/5/2023 at 1:00 PM, neil_ said:

Is the carrier assembly engaged in the swing arm properly? It looks like it might not be in one of the pictures. You have probably used the rear brake while rolling backwards and pulled the brake hose/sensor wire. I think you need to remove your rear wheel and engage the groove over the lug in the swing arm.

You are absolutely right, it is out of the groove, it is such a pain to line all that stuff up and then play the spacer game at the same time. Must have missed it when I threw this back tire on several rides ago, whoops lol. I did like 5 hours of single track a weekend ago. I’ll do the zip tie trick you guys mentioned right now when putting it back into place. As far as the leaking, looks like the bolt that smashes down those two washers (banjo bolt?) was pretty loose, maybe 10 ft lbs. Adjusted to 30nm as mentioned above and there isn’t any more leaking. 

[AZJW]

On 8/5/2023 at 3:48 PM, Rider 101 said:

I always use a cable tie to hold the calliper in position. 

I assembled once without engaging the calliper groove over the lug and sat there trying to figure out why it didn't look right.

I guess if you have damaged the brake line then it is time for a new braided line or rear ABS delete set up.

I used this method today, much better!   Guessing a lot of us have missed getting that properly lined up at one time or another ( I have) but using a zip tie fixes that concern.  Thanks for reminding me that an old dog can learn new tricks!

[Hibobb]

1 hour ago, TheoremX said:

As far as the leaking, looks like the bolt that smashes down those two washers (banjo bolt?) was pretty loose, maybe 10 ft lbs. Adjusted to 30nm as mentioned above and there isn’t any more leaking. 

That @neil_ has an eagle eye! This site is a great asset!

 

Any idea what caused your "check engine light" and your issues with the ABS light?

[TheoremX]

37 minutes ago, Hibobb said:

That @neil_ has an eagle eye! This site is a great asset!

 

Any idea what caused your "check engine light" and your issues with the ABS light?

From what I’ve been reading, check engine light comes on shortly after the ABS has issues. I imagine now I have to clear the codes after fixing the rapid loss of fluid. I ordered an adapter for my OBD2 scanner to check all that out. Should be able to clear it up that way. The ABS sensors look completely fine front and rear.

[Hollybrook]

Banjo bolts are not very strong.  I replace mine if they every get stressed in any way.