Rear Brake Failure

[JAFAR]

Hi everyone, 

 

Hope you guys are well, I would like to report a mechanical issue with my T-7 YR 2022 Miles 2,700 that could have ended up with serious consequences for me. It's quite unfortunate that this happened. Please see the details below:

 

-This morning i.e. 19th Nov,2023 at 10;30 AM  I was on my way to Newport, Essex on the M-11. When I got off the motorway, on B1383 London Road, just half a mile away from my destination, I heard a pop sound and all of a sudden my rear brake stopped working, thankfully the wheel didn't lock.

 

-I exited from the main road, stopped on the side of the road and checked the rear brake, there was smoke coming out of it, after having a closer look I could see the caliper was broken, the brake pads were damaged and oil was coming out of it. (See images attached)

 

-For a brand new bike under warranty this came as a surprise to me. At the moment the bike has done only 2,753 Miles and has been serviced by authorised dealer.

 

-I had to take the brake pads out as they were getting in the way of the wheel rotation, and used some zip ties to hold the caliper. A passerby named Neil helped me by providing zip ties and tools.

 

-This could have gotten worse and could have locked the wheel on the motorway at high speeds but thank God it didn't happen. 

 

-I have attached images, any info you guys have or similar to this would be appreciated. 

 

Best 

Jafar

 

[qInvention]

Jeez, that looks dangerous!

Fortunately you came out unharmed.

I have no idea how this could have happened but I'd be grateful if you could keep us posted what position Yamaha will take in this matter.

[Tenerider]

This looks really bad! Good to hear you're ok.

 

Yamaha MUST investigate this severe problem. This is the worst of all T7 issues I've ever heard of.

[JAFAR]

I did say to them on the first service that the rear brake isn't as responsive as my old F800 gs , can you check it, to be honest i had a bad feeling about the rear brake being unnatural since the beginning. But after reading T-7 rear brake being mushy i just kept on going , even the mechanic once told me your rear brake was hot when you brought the bike i told him i used front and rear brake both and my foot was'nt on the pedal, there was for sure an issue in it already from the facotory and with time it got worse and this happend. 

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by JAFAR

[JAFAR]

Met a guy Neil , he was on the way back from green lanes on his KTM 450 exc , he lend me his tools, and helped me alot. 

I have emailed yamaha dealer about this whole mess, as the bike is under warranty, will keep you guys posted. Still cannot belive it happened on a brand new bike. 

Edited November 19, 2023 by JAFAR

[maddog123]

that's crazy... seem like the break was constantly on and wouldn't release, a caliper issue for sure... your bike will feel so much powerful once fix lol ... you must've felt the drag ?   

[AZJW]

Glad you had a good outcome to this,  i.e. no injuries.  My first thought is the caliper wasn't properly engaged in the swing arm slot or there was some sort of casting defect.  I'll go out on a limb and say it was probably related to the caliper / swing arm engagement that worked somewhat until it failed completely allowing the caliper to get enough out of alignment and got jammed up.  Please update this , very odd, I haven't heard of this before.

[JAFAR]

33 minutes ago, maddog123 said:

that's crazy... seem like the break was constantly on and wouldn't release, a caliper issue for sure... your bike will feel so much powerful once fix lol ... you must've felt the drag ?   

 

33 minutes ago, maddog123 said:

that's crazy... seem like the break was constantly on and wouldn't release, a caliper issue for sure... your bike will feel so much powerful once fix lol ... you must've felt the drag ?   

Bike did felt loose after brake pads removed. But I was taking it easy as was too scared coz the callipers had alot of play and i was using zip ties to hold it at place. 

[JAFAR]

9 minutes ago, AZJW said:

Glad you had a good outcome to this,  i.e. no injuries.  My first thought is the caliper wasn't properly engaged in the swing arm slot or there was some sort of casting defect.  I'll go out on a limb and say it was probably related to the caliper / swing arm engagement that worked somewhat until it failed completely allowing the caliper to get enough out of alignment and got jammed up.  Please update this , very odd, I haven't heard of this before.

For sure it must have been caliper, as if you see closely it’s broken from the inside. May be it was pushing the piston/pads against the disc constantly. 

[JB700]

13 hours ago, JAFAR said:

Met a guy Neil , he was on the way back from green lanes on his KTM 450 exc , he lend me his tools, and helped me alot. 

I have emailed yamaha dealer about this whole mess, as the bike is under warranty, will keep you guys posted. Still cannot belive it happened on a brand new bike. 

I saw the post last night on Facebook 

[JAFAR]

5 hours ago, JB700 said:

I saw the post last night on Facebook 

Small world isn’t it

[Roarke]

One takeaway from this - if anyone one of us becomes aware that rotors are abnormally hot, we better look into it.  

[Hollybrook]

Another factor to consider is that the stock brake lever has been reported to stick, causing the pads to not retract and overheat. I don't think that could have been the cause, but it could have contributed. 

 

CamelADV's the Fix brake pedal addresses this. 

[mcbrien]

Could be a master cylinder issue. There's a tiny hole in M/C to let brake fluid return to reservoir. If it's blocked brake caliper will drag and overheat. 

[Hammerhead]

Yikes! By the look of those pads & the colour of the rotor, something had been seriously dragging & far from right back there for quite a while prior to that catastrophic failure. There’s much to be said for the occasional pre ride ‘walk around’ to ensure all easily visible & critical systems appear to be a solid go.

[JB700]

5 hours ago, mcbrien said:

Could be a master cylinder issue. There's a tiny hole in M/C to let brake fluid return to reservoir. If it's blocked brake caliper will drag and overheat. 

Can you take a picture please 

[Lewie]

That rear disk looks quite rusty for a low mileage bike

[mcbrien]

Inside the main body (5) behind bushing (4) there's a tiny hole that allows fluid to return reservoir once brake pedal is released.

If this is blocked, or not drilled all the way through in manufacturing would cause brake to no release.

[Hibobb]

Forensic anthropology:

My vote (worth what you paid for it) is that they took the pads out to look at them at your first checkup, and the didn't seat the end "opposite the pin" into the recessed area, leaving them hanging down.

eventually they caught and spun, forcing the caliper to snap. Not Yamaha's fault, blame it on the unskilled kid they had checking it out...

 

[ScorpionT16]

2 hours ago, Hibobb said:

Forensic anthropology:

My vote (worth what you paid for it) is that they took the pads out to look at them at your first checkup, and the didn't seat the end "opposite the pin" into the recessed area, leaving them hanging down.

eventually they caught and spun, forcing the caliper to snap. Not Yamaha's fault, blame it on the unskilled kid they had checking it out...

 

Most likely this, Ive changed pads 3 times on the bike, and taken the rear tire off a few times. That inner brake pad that's supposed to latch at the end is a PIA to keep in place, esp when re-installing the rear wheel. The disc keeps dislodging it, has happed to me and I only notice if I double check and see it after installing the wheel.

[Ede-DE]

6 hours ago, Lewie said:

That rear disk looks quite rusty for a low mileage bike

If the disc was red hot while driving it starts to rust because the rusting elements of the stainless steel make their way to the surface. That's why you have to clean the surface (e.g. with a nylon brush) of stainless steel after welding.

[Hammerhead]

1 hour ago, Ede-DE said:

If the disc was red hot while driving it starts to rust because the rusting elements of the stainless steel make their way to the surface. That's why you have to clean the surface (e.g. with a nylon brush) of stainless steel after welding.

That was my take, discoloured rotor due to serious overheating. Alarm bells were sounding.

[mcbrien]

Let us know who ends up paying for this?

[JAFAR]

Hi Everyone, 

An updated on the above:

 

-Yamaha won't accept the warrantly claim in full

-They will accept the disc brake cost in full , brake caliper and labour charges they would accept 50% of the cost under warranty.

-In nutshell a rough estimate of 224 GBP (=285 USD) I will pay for the rest of 50% calipar and labour charges. I got this update Yesterday 29th Nov, 23 after 10 days of the warranty claim on 19th Nov. 
-As I need the bike asap I use it almost everday and weekend rides I am leaning towards finding a middle ground with them, I haven't accepted it fully as I am planning to raise it with Yamaha directly rather than going through the dealer route. 

-I have gone back to them again lets see what happens next , was planning to buy th R-1 for occasional twisties and track days  but I guess thats not happening after this warranty fiasco with Yamaha.

 

Any suggestion from you guys would be highly appreciated. 

 

Cheers!

[Tenerider]

What explanation did the dealer give for this horrible failure?

Was it the same dealer who had performed the 600mi service on your bike?

Have you ever removed the rear wheel (and told them)?