My parking brake doesn't keep my quad from rolling on any kind of significant grade. It has the little clip on the hand brake and it doesn't hold it back far enough to keep it from rolling when on a steep hill. What can I do?

 

I don't know what kind of machine you have, but I thiunk there is an adjustment on the foot lever that may affect the hand lever too, not sure on that though, if not does your handbrake feel spongy? Maybe you need to bleed the brakes.

 

did it ever hold on a steep incline?

 

Crpadiem, its a 99 Sportsman 500 and the hand brake does feel spongy.

Sportsfan700, I do feel like they used to hold better than they do now. But sometimes things change so slowly that you don't notice and the next thing you know you can't remember how it used to be.

Any more help is appreciated.

 

If it is spongy, I suggest that you do bleed the brakes and check your pads. Give it a shot dude!

 

normally spongy brakes are a sign of air in the system, which would let the lever go down further than normal. Pump the lever 4 or 5 times and see if it holds then, if it does then you will need to blled the brakes, but also air generally doesn't get in the system unless there's a leak, so take a good look before you blled and see where it is leaking, it might not be visible though, but if blleding fixes it watch it carefully for a while, as it may go back then there is most probably a leak somewhere.

 

Thanks for the help. How do I bleed my brakes?

 

Well, first of all do you know if your brake pads are in good condition? Maybe you just need them replaced. Is your foot brake working at all. If your pads are good I bet you have blown the seal in the rear caliper that separates the foot brake side from the hand brake.
If that happens you can bleed the brakes all day and it will still be spongy. You can buy replacement seals at the dealer for next to nothing. I think they're just some O rings really.
As far as bleeding brakes you're just bleeding the air from the lines. It's not difficult but if you do it incorrectly you can introduce more air into your lines. You can do it by yourself but if you've never done it before it's probably best you have a helper. Here are some steps I copied off another site that explain the process.

You should fill the system with DOT 4 or better fluid. You should open the bleeder and allow the lines to fill until it starts dripping out the bleeder. Then open the other bleeder and let it do the same. With new brake fluid in the system you need to get your helper to assist you with the bleeding process.

Fill the front brake reservoir with DOT 4 fluid to the top of the inspection window or the upper limit line. Replace the reservoir cap to prevent dirt from entering.
Attach a hose to the air bleeder valve, and insert the free end of the hose into a receptacle.
Squeeze and release the brake lever several times in rapid succession and squeeze the lever without releasing it. Loosen the air bleeder valve by turning it a quarter turn so that the brake fluid runs into the receptacle, this will remove the tension of the brake lever causing it to touch the handlebar grip. Then close the air bleeder valve, pump and squeeze the lever, and open the valve. Repeat this process until the fluid flowing into the receptacle no longer contains air bubbles.
You will want to to double check your brakes after riding the ATV and definately before your first ride. Good brakes that are free of air are very important.

 

Once you get it working, don't depend on it to hold for an extended period of time. It even states in the manual that they will lose pressure after time. Have had mine loaded in the truck with the brake locked and by the time I got to riding area (about 1 hour), it had already bled down. Thought it was odd, but it manual said it would do that. Would think it would be OK for a good 15 minutes, after that you may want to keep an eye on it. No fun chasing a quad downhill.

 

Thanks for the input everyone. I think I'm going to try and fix it this week.