After the ride that I went on this weekend the brakes dont seem to work that good. I never use the brakes but this morning I was riding down the trail and a little rodent walked across the trail and I braked hard. It seemed that there was very little brake power, kinda like my old honda's. Also the Brake Handle will not go all the way back there is play in the handle. Do I need to bleed the system, or is it something else, and why did this happen. There was alot of mud but it didnt seem to be happening to anyone else. Will Warrenty cover this or would it just be easer for me to do it. I know how to do it, but if the dealer can do it with out taking it for 2 weekes. Thanks for the help
Thanks
01' 500 Cat 201 miles
87' LT-125
99' ZR2 S-10

 

That is how mine started. It is the master cyl. going bad,It will be coverd by warranty but they are on back order ... Bill

 

The same thing is happening to my 500 auto. The only thing is that my brakes seem to work just fine. They stop my cat on a dime, but there is a little play in my handle. The play causes my brake light to go on and off as the handle moves in that little bit. Is there any other reason that this might happen, or is that the only reason?

 

Ok I've got some first hand experience on this one. My 01 400 cat has the new black master cylinder and has stopped on a dime since day one with no play in the handle. My 01 500 manual Cat had the old style white master cylinder that worked but was no where near as good as the 400 cat in the stopping department. The dealer replaced the the master cylinder and lever with another white one since like someone stated before the new ones are none to be found anywhere. The brake lever has a small adjustment screw on the top that controls the play and friction of the lever. That needs to be adjusted to take out the play or allow the lever to rebound properly. Texascat and I both had to fix that. The other thing is that even if you don't use your brakes a bunch they will still wear. I got 250 miles out of our cats pads this winter because we played in the mud so much. it is worth a look to pull the wheels off and the entire caliper and inspect the pads. I found all kinds if stuff in mine that where binding the slides and pad movement. Even worse you could have a damaged seal or some debris behind the pad applying artificial pressure and wearing the pad unevenly or completely out. I changed pads on both quads in about 2 hours front and rear. Polaris quads have the same problem with brake pads wearing very fast in the mud. They have a HD replacement available and I'm not sure if we do but both quads have access to EBC pads. I installed a set of factory pads on my 400 and a set of EBC pads on my 500 for a comparison. Both stop well but I don't have enough miles yet to tell you anything about wear rates. I'd check the adjustment screw first for too much free play or not enough then I would check the pads for wear and then bleed the system, and then look for the dealer to help out if I didn't improve the problem. Good luck.

Dakota R/T