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I'm back, and have two Blackbird problems


TFT

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Both my 97XX and Jackie's 2001XX have sat for a couple of months down in AZ. I rode them back in January and February and everything was fine. 

 In April I took both bikes out for a ride and both had issues

97XX: The bike has LED rear turn signals and tail light. When I turned on the turn signal, they flashed rapidly. When I turned the left signal on, the right signal indicator on the dash flashed and of course when I turned the left signal on the right signal indicator on the dash flashed. I replaced the flasher and that solved the fast flashing but not the issue with the dash signal flashing the opposite of the turn signal. 

 

2001XX: I rode that and had no rear brakes. When i used either the front lever or the brake pedal, no engagement. The pistons did not move. 

So now I'm back in AZ and have taken the rear caliper loose. The center piston now moves when the rear brake pedal is applied but nothing when the front lever is applied.

Any suggestions?

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On the brakes, the rear is actuated by the front by a small piston on the right side caliper mount.  That caliper pivots when pressing against the disc...pressurizing the line to the rear.  It’s fed from the rear fluid reservoir, not the front.

 

I’d check the bike over carefully...probably need to remove the body panels...and check for evidence of rodent or insect damage/intrusion.  What you describe sounds like a crossed circuit, which shouldn’t happen under normal wear and tear.  Remember when I had a instrument/headlamp issue on a trip a few years back?  Everything came back on its own a day later, and tearing everything down, I found nothing to explain why it happened.

Edited by Zero Knievel
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The motorcycles are kept in a garage so the rodent or insects intrusion is very remote. 

The nearest motorcycle repair shop is about 30 miles away. 

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As zero said, the rear brake now seems to be operating normally, though you can't be sure unless you ride it or find a way to compress that cylinder and test it.

 

For the crazy signals my first go-to is grounding when I see odd behavior.  Most often that's it.  Since I haven't worked on a XX in a long time though, I can't recall any specific places to look.  Possibly within the turn signal switch itself.  Or possibly at the end of the cable coming from the switch.

 

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Problem solved.

My Grandfather always used to say: 'Look for the simplest solution." I forgot about the second brake fluid reservoir hidden by the rear cowling. It was empty.

After draining and replacing the brake fluid and bleeding the system everything works fine. 

Had I checked that first I wouldn't have had to pull the rear wheel and right side exhaust and disassemble to caliper.😠

Good thing I'm retired. :) 

 

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I just pulled the rear cowl off my 97XX to check the brake reservoir and it was almost empty. 

I just never think about checking those reservoirs because they are out of sight and I forget they exist. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/19/2019 at 4:15 AM, XXitanium said:

..no pictures? I have something similar going on.

As the pads wear the fluid goes down so there may be nothing wrong.

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