Rear Brake master cylinder

[Ridgeback46]

My brake pedal had an excessive amount of travel, so I tried bleeding the system which i know entails bleeding both the the front and rear wheel cylinders.
When this did not help I got a kit and rebuilt the master cylinder and went through the bleeding again - still a very low pedal.
I desperation I got a complete master cylinder and fitted the new master cylinder and once again went through the bleeding procedure.
I still have not managed to get a pedal that only moves a small amount before applying the brakes.
What am I missing or not doing that i should be doing?
PLEASE HELP I am at my wits end.

[LittleGoldy]

Not sure but this may help:


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Rear:

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I always check youtube for vids if I am having difficulty. Sometimes it helps a LOT.
Did you check the tiny bleed back hole in the master cylinder? If it is slightly clogged it may trap the air you are trying to remove.
Good Luck

[newday777]

Excessive travel of disc brake pedal and lever is usually caused by worn pads and or worn rotors.
Measure the thickness of the rotors to check if they are in spec.

[DenverWinger]

My brake pedal had an excessive amount of travel, so I tried bleeding the system which i know entails bleeding both the the front and rear wheel cylinders.
........
I still have not managed to get a pedal that only moves a small amount before applying the brakes.

The 1500 by nature has a goodly amount of travel on the rear brake pedal, many posters have come here to ask about this and in the end it was determined the brake pedal travel they were experiencing was normal.

So three questions to consider before we decide there's actually a problem here:
1) Can you measure how many inches of travel we are talking about at the end of the pedal between rest and where you get good resistance?
2) Does the pedal feel excessively spongy?
3) Most important, does it stop the bike good?

If it's a spongy-feeling pedal and doesn't have good stopping power, then we would consider there's either still air in the system, or maybe need to upgrade the flexible brake lines to stainless steel.

But if you are expecting a hard pedal with less than an inch of travel, you won't get it. A full two inches of travel on the rear brake pedal on the 1500 is NORMAL.

[Rednaxs60]

Excessive travel of disc brake pedal and lever is usually caused by worn pads and or worn rotors.
Measure the thickness of the rotors to check if they are in spec.

Was just thinking the same. Rotors are generally overlooked when refurbishing the brake system. If the rotors are close to being out of spec, replace.

[Ridgeback46]

Thanks to all those that have posted replies to my problem.
I will try again after I have replaced my timing belts and adjusters.

[hickeybond]

two days ago i rebuilt the rear caliper and flushed with new brake fluid. i have watched all the utube stuff on this and i agree, with everything new and within specs, there is def a good two inches of travel before you have back brakes! nature of the beast i guess

[MikeB]

Here is a short video of what the brake pedal travel looks like on my '98 GL1500 Aspencade.
It is an indication of how it has always been and the brakes have always worked as designed.
Yours should be similar.
https://imgur.com/3zUEznB
By the way, I can not say that I have ever seen where worn brake pads or worn brake rotors give an indication of increased brake pedal travel. Brake pads always ride lightly on the rotors when the brake is not engaged. The caliper pistons extend to apply the pressure on the brake rotors from behind the pads. When pressure is relaxed from the brake pedal or lever, the pistons only retaract as far as the pads push them. They do not return to a predetermined position. That is why the brake fluid level in a reservoir will go down as pads and rotors wear.

Old and worn rubber brake lines would be more likely the cause of increased pedal or lever travel with brake application than worn pads or rotors I would think.

[Solo So Long]

Remember, that pedal works TWO separate brake calipers, with a lot of hose going to the front one. That inch you were used to on another bike only worked ONE, so two is pretty much the same level of performance.

The only thing likely to improve it is going to braided hoses.