RE Interceptor - Anyone else experienced complete Rear Brake Failure?

[dinga]

Was recently riding my Interceptor (fortunately on a very short trip) when the rear brake failed with zero warning.  Luckily, I did not need to brake hard at that moment.  I nursed the bike back home at low speed  mainly using the gears and light touch on the front brake.  I've since had the bike looked at by the RE Dealer in Rayong - who put the brake failure down to the presence of dirt - and after a change of brake fluid said everything was rectified.  It isn't - the problem has re-occurred (the bike hasn't been used after I brought it back home (a distance of some 50 Km).  

 

My Interceptor is a 2019 Model with 30,000Km on the clock.  It hasn't been on any decent trips this year, and has only been taken out for short rides every couple of weeks in 2023. 

 

On web chatter, some others have also noted this problem which seems mainly to be attributed to riders whose riding position involves their right legs slightly depressing the brake pedal - resulting in the rear brake overheating.  I do not ride that way.

 

I have one previous problem resolved at RE Pattaya but I'm reluctant to ride the bike that far (some 100Km) with no rear brake.

 

Has anyone else experienced this problem?  What was the cause and how was it rectified?    Helpful advice greatly appreciated.

 

 

[poobear]

I find that I ride my brakes on my interceptor when I am in any kind of slow city traffic but never have experienced any problems with the besides replacing the rear brake shoes. You have reminded me though that it is time to flush the brakes and get new fluid. I noticed that this is called for every two years and since I service the bike myself and don't want to do this it looks like a good time to go to the dealer. I have a bit over 40,000 kilometers on my 2020 and am as happy with the bike as the day I purchased it. Happy riding

[Kwasaki]

12 hours ago, dinga said:

Helpful advice greatly appreciated.

I have to say it's rare to have back disc brake problems and they don't need looking after to often.

 

Sounds like brake fade to me.

 

A brake fault is only down to a few things.

1. air in the system.

2. faulty brake fluid.

3. low brake fluid.

4. faulty brake pads.

5. lack of use causing lack of pad movement.

6. As said grime build up.

7. Brake fluid cylinder fault.

 

With respect sounds like you use the back brake too much unnecessary.

 

[FriendlyFarang]

18 hours ago, dinga said:

Luckily, I did not need to brake hard at that moment.  I nursed the bike back home at low speed  mainly using the gears and light touch on the front brake.

When braking hard the rear brake has nearly no impact.

I agree with the previous poster, it sounds like you use the rear brake too much. Most of your stopping power should come from the front brake, there is a reason that it's much stronger by design.

If we assume that the shop correctly refilled the brake, and he also inspected the pads and rotors and they are in good condition, then imho your problems can only result from some kind of leak (the tube, or a connector, or a cylinder), or a faulty cylinder.

[eisfeld]

It's easy to test if brake fade (overheating) is the issue: just let the bike sit for a while so the brake disk is not very hot (just touch to check) and then after riding for a few meters apply the brake and check if it works. If it doesn't then it's not brake fade or overheating. You can also if you have a paddock or center stand let the rear wheel spin freely in neutral and see if there is any breaking force applied though the first test is actually simpler and more conclusive.

 

The dealer changed the brake fluid. There would be no reason to do this if dirt on the rotor or pads was the issue. So either they are lying or have no idea what they are doing.

 

Inspect your brake disk closely and see if you can spot any oily or similar subtance. When my Ducati leaked engine oil it got on the rear rotor and completely disabled its function. Could be brake fluid as well.

[dinga]

Thanks to all for the input/suggestions.

 

1.  Contrary to a number of suggestions, I do not overuse the rear brake so that has nothing to do with the problem [rear brake failure aside, the Interceptor has been a real delight to ride - it matches my personality and has never been ridden hard.  On the road, I typically apply both front & rear brake simultaneously - usually lightly as I'm rarely travelling at high speed and always aim to anticipate potential threats from the crazies].

 

2.  Agree that the claimed dirt & fluid change was a superficial & amateur attempt - with no proper diagnostic undertaken.  Even worse, as it was clear the brake had not been bleed nor the bike even test ridden after the 'repair'.

 

3. The brake fluid reservoir was & is full and I can't see any sign of leakage.

 

4.  From the other possible causes kindly provided above, I'm guessing there is a brake cylinder failure with perhaps lack of use over the last 12 months being a contributing factor.

 

Am thinking I need to take the bike to the RE dealer in Pattaya.

 

Thanks again

 

    

[Agusts]

Last year I had strange behavior from my brake caliper with two pistons...

 

Took it to the guy I know and made him check everything I wanted, he first told me all okay - typical Thai "mai pen rai" attitude...! But on further careful examination, it turned out one of the pistons was stuck and wouldn't come out. I got him to remove the caliper and pads, block the good piston,  push the leaver many times until it finally came out...., Then cleaned it a bit and tested it....! 

 

You need to stand there watch them like a hawk, and tell them what exactly to do..., otherwise it's a waste of time with this lot...! ????

[liddelljohn]

Brake fluid is Hydroscopic after  few years   water  is then in the fluid , the brake gets hot from use and hey presto NO Pressure    as its pushing on air and water ,, seen it on ill prepared race bikes , and once on My Ducati in Chaing Mai when I was barreling around the hills hard and my rear brake got so hot it boiled half the   fluid  water , and air in the rear and failed ,,, a proper rebuild  and new brake fluid and bleed and all has been good ,, In Thailand  Brake fluid  should be a regular service item ,, and maybe more often than Europe   due to the heat and humidity here

[eisfeld]

45 minutes ago, liddelljohn said:

Brake fluid is Hydroscopic after  few years   water  is then in the fluid , the brake gets hot from use and hey presto NO Pressure    as its pushing on air and water ,, seen it on ill prepared race bikes , and once on My Ducati in Chaing Mai when I was barreling around the hills hard and my rear brake got so hot it boiled half the   fluid  water , and air in the rear and failed ,,, a proper rebuild  and new brake fluid and bleed and all has been good ,, In Thailand  Brake fluid  should be a regular service item ,, and maybe more often than Europe   due to the heat and humidity here

The same problem appeared immediately after change of brake fluids.

[lemonjelly]

Change the pads, clean the disc? Mine have become pretty bad recently, thinking contaminants. Only use rear for lazy trail braking and quick stops, i should have a look at them really

[Skipalongcassidy]

On 7/3/2023 at 2:32 PM, Agusts said:

Last year I had strange behavior from my brake caliper with two pistons...

 

Took it to the guy I know and made him check everything I wanted, he first told me all okay - typical Thai "mai pen rai" attitude...! But on further careful examination, it turned out one of the pistons was stuck and wouldn't come out. I got him to remove the caliper and pads, block the good piston,  push the leaver many times until it finally came out...., Then cleaned it a bit and tested it....! 

 

You need to stand there watch them like a hawk, and tell them what exactly to do..., otherwise it's a waste of time with this lot...! ????

OR do it yourself... it's not that difficult.

[Kwasaki]

8 hours ago, liddelljohn said:

Brake fluid is Hydroscopic after  few years   water  is then in the fluid , the brake gets hot from use and hey presto NO Pressure    as its pushing on air and water ,, seen it on ill prepared race bikes , and once on My Ducati in Chaing Mai when I was barreling around the hills hard and my rear brake got so hot it boiled half the   fluid  water , and air in the rear and failed ,,, a proper rebuild  and new brake fluid and bleed and all has been good ,, In Thailand  Brake fluid  should be a regular service item ,, and maybe more often than Europe   due to the heat and humidity here

Had the same brake fluid in my Airblade for 16 years dual brakes still work good and the front disc will still lock up. ????

That said I only have used it locally and it's rare longest road trip is 14 kilos. 

[Agusts]

12 hours ago, eisfeld said:

The same problem appeared immediately after change of brake fluids.

I think RE Interceptor has dual channel ABS, maybe there is a fault with the valve or something there...!? Does it lock up and activate the ABS at say 50kph if pulling the leaver hard...? 

[Mr Meeseeks]

On 7/3/2023 at 8:51 AM, dinga said:

Am thinking I need to take the bike to the RE dealer in Pattaya.

Good luck with that, they are useless in my experience. 

 

I took my Interceptor there for a service and told them to replace the battery. They didn't, said it was ok, they had recharged it. Subsequently it died on me a few days later.

 

Also, I asked the mechanic to affix the front brake lines together as the master line was flapping about. He couldn't even cable tie the cables together. 

[dinga]

2 hours ago, Agusts said:

I think RE Interceptor has dual channel ABS, maybe there is a fault with the valve or something there...!? Does it lock up and activate the ABS at say 50kph if pulling the leaver hard...? 

No - brake pedal had no resistance and gave zero stopping power.  After the "service", there is now only a very small amount of braking noticeable after the pedal is fully depressed. 

 

In its present condition, i'm really reluctant to ride the 100 odd Kms to Pattaya - I have far more confidence in that RE Dealer as they solved a previous problem I had.  Be safer to get the Interceptor into the back of a pickup.

  

[Agusts]

17 minutes ago, dinga said:

No - brake pedal had no resistance and gave zero stopping power.  After the "service", there is now only a very small amount of braking noticeable after the pedal is fully depressed. 

 

In its present condition, i'm really reluctant to ride the 100 odd Kms to Pattaya - I have far more confidence in that RE Dealer as they solved a previous problem I had.  Be safer to get the Interceptor into the back of a pickup.

  

I think you can make it with some care, it's not like going through a hilly twisty road, and you have the main front brake to use anyway... 

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, dinga said:

No - brake pedal had no resistance and gave zero stopping power.  After the "service", there is now only a very small amount of braking noticeable after the pedal is fully depressed. 

 

In its present condition, i'm really reluctant to ride the 100 odd Kms to Pattaya - I have far more confidence in that RE Dealer as they solved a previous problem I had.  Be safer to get the Interceptor into the back of a pickup.

  

Well get back to us whatever it is I bet you it's a brake cylinder failure, probably could fix but knowing dealers they will want to replace it with a new one.

 

[dinga]

On 7/7/2023 at 3:39 PM, Kwasaki said:

Well get back to us whatever it is I bet you it's a brake cylinder failure, probably could fix but knowing dealers they will want to replace it with a new one.

 

It's fixed! 

 

Nursed the bike to RE Pattaya today (fine to use the gears to shed speed but my main concern being the danger of losing the front wheel if relying on the front brake when on a corner and/or on wet slippery roads). 

 

1st look by the mechanic resulted in change of brake fluid yet again.  Wife explained that had been done by RE Rayong but had failed to fix the problem - and requested he especially (re)examine the brake cylinder.  Result of that identified what was translated as "rust" - and the replacement by 'major kit rear M/C'.  All now seems back to normal - and had a much less stressful and enjoyable ride back home, successfully skirting the storms on the way.  Total cost = 580 baht (200 baht of which was labour).  Cheap at half the price - to quote my Dear Ol' Dad 

 

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions!

  

 

[eisfeld]

Glad it's resolved but the explanation is pretty unclear. Rust where? What is "major kit rear M/C'? At that price I'm not sure what it could be... cheap brake pad maybe? Some part of the rear brake cylinder? Could "M/C" maybe mean master cylinder?

 

[Kwasaki]

48 minutes ago, dinga said:

It's fixed! 

 

Nursed the bike to RE Pattaya today (fine to use the gears to shed speed but my main concern being the danger of losing the front wheel if relying on the front brake when on a corner and/or on wet slippery roads). 

 

1st look by the mechanic resulted in change of brake fluid yet again.  Wife explained that had been done by RE Rayong but had failed to fix the problem - and requested he especially (re)examine the brake cylinder.  Result of that identified what was translated as "rust" - and the replacement by 'major kit rear M/C'.  All now seems back to normal - and had a much less stressful and enjoyable ride back home, successfully skirting the storms on the way.  Total cost = 580 baht (200 baht of which was labour).  Cheap at half the price - to quote my Dear Ol' Dad 

 

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions!

  

 

Thanks for getting back glad all OK

 

You do make smile when you talk about only having a front brake on a motorbike though. ????

[Kwasaki]

8 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

Glad it's resolved but the explanation is pretty unclear. Rust where? What is "major kit rear M/C'? At that price I'm not sure what it could be... cheap brake pad maybe? Some part of the rear brake cylinder?

Aftermarket rear brake cylinder Thailand round about 200 plus baht a Royal Enfield part maybe a couple of thousand.

[dinga]

18 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Thanks for getting back glad all OK

 

You do make smile when you talk about only having a front brake on a motorbike though. ????

Glad I provided you with a giggle (something I never managed whenever the front wheel was lost....)

 

[eisfeld]

12 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Aftermarket rear brake cylinder Thailand round about 200 plus baht a Royal Enfield part maybe a couple of thousand.

Yea but would worry me if the official RE dealer used some cheap aftermarket cylinder instead of the OEM part. Unless discussed prior with the OP of course.

[dinga]

1 minute ago, eisfeld said:

Yea but would worry me if the official RE dealer used some cheap aftermarket cylinder instead of the OEM part. Unless discussed prior with the OP of course.

Zero discussion about remedies - just done

 

[Kwasaki]

2 minutes ago, dinga said:

Glad I provided you with a giggle (something I never managed whenever the front wheel was lost....)

 

If you ride slow and just cruise okay if not get some professional riders lesson they are available in Thailand. 

[Kwasaki]

4 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

Yea but would worry me if the official RE dealer used some cheap aftermarket cylinder instead of the OEM part. Unless discussed prior with the OP of course.

Aftermarket OK a rear brake cylinder is not rocket science. 

[eisfeld]

17 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Aftermarket OK a rear brake cylinder is not rocket science. 

It's the "didn't tell, didn't ask" part that's worrying. "Don't think too mut"? ????

[Kwasaki]

3 minutes ago, eisfeld said:

It's the "didn't tell, didn't ask" part that's worrying. "Don't think too mut"? ????

Concur. ????