I ride an 87 350 FourTrax. Saturday afternoon my front brakes locked up Like black stuff bubbling from the center of the wheel, smoke pouring out, not going any further locked up. We were riding on a shared use road with no troubles at all and no need to use any brakes at all when I came to a red light. I down shifted and used my back brakes (like I always do out of habit), when I could smell something awful! We pulled over to the empty parking area next to the lights and boy were my front brakes a HOT mess!


My question to you all is, what would cause them to just lock up without the control being squeezed? I have a feeling that it could be driving on pavement in the heat? But that seems to be too easy somehow. Any advice will be appreciated.

 

Only thing I can think of is the master cylinder piston stuck. This stops the brakes coming off, so they get hot, the hotter they get the harder they go on, due to the fluid expanding in the wheel cylinders, until you notice something is wrong.