E-Brake ??

[Eddie]

I had a odd one today. Kept noticing a smell on the road kind of like hot brakes. Got into town on a 4 lane passed by both semi's I had been following looking and kind of sniffing for a locked brake as I passed ea. one Noticed Nothing.Pulled on by them and when I came to a stop light still noticed that smell. Got to thinking is it possible my E-Brake is on. Looked down at the gages the light was not on. Decided to kick it down to see if it was on. The light came on.So I went to kick it down for the release and OH CRAP!! It will not release :yikes:!! I pushed down again and no release by this time the light has changed green. I shut the bike off and tried to rock it. Nope not rocking.By this time the light was yellow :yikes:. I held my hand up to let them know I was trying. I stood up and put most of my 330lbs on that danged pedal and it released. Has any one Else experienced a problem with the e-brake not wanting to release??
Thanks Ed

[nudle]

:2thumbs: spray some WD40 on the ebrake

[NancysToy]

Early Spyders had a problem with release, which required some parts to be replaced with a repair kit, under a technical service bulletin. Later Spyders had the corrected parts. Three things are important for proper parking brake release. First, the brake should be properly adjusted. It should hold in just a couple of clicks. If it takes a lot more than that to set, it can be difficult to free. Second, the mechanism (under the left footpeg bracket) needs to be fairly clean. Mud and crud can cause some binding. Finally, it benefits greatly from an occasional spray with lubricant. I use WD-40, but dry lubricants with Teflon, and similar products, seem to work equally well. BTW, never set it any tighter than necessary to make it hold. If you reef down hard on the pedal to set it, it is hard to get enough play when pressing it again to release it.

[Eddie]

THANKS GUYS!!! It does work good with just a couple clicks down so' I am going to try and lube some.It Most likely will never do that again. Just a fluke I hope :dontknow:

[MadDogMN]

Nope.....don't use it. Leave it in 1st when I park it.

[BRPjunkie]

Nope.....don't use it. Leave it in 1st when I park it.

:agree: Enough preflight checklist stuff to do without worrying about p-brake.

[NancysToy]

We use ours all the time. Handy as a shirt pocket! Essential for an SE5. Works better if it is used often. I think it may have a touch of arthritis. :D

[boborgera]

Nope.....don't use it. Leave it in 1st when I park it.
:agree:The Spyder will roll away even on a slight hill, If left in Neutral and the park brake lets go:gaah:Stupidity taught me that.

[BajaRon]

:agree:The Spyder will roll away even on a slight hill, If left in Neutral and the park brake lets go:gaah:Stupidity taught me that.

Same holds true for anything with a standard transmission (including fire trucks! :yikes:

I'd say we live in an Automatic world and there are many that have never driven anything else.

My Parking Brake used to be a bear till I got the updated parts. Now it is a joy to use.

[Eddie]

The only time I really ever use it is when I have it on my lift.Can't leave it in 1st and start it. The rest of the time I get off and leave it in gear. I think from now on even on the Lift I am just going to use my wheel chalks. Little leery of that E-Brake now

[Magnum Force]

The SE5 has to have the E-brake set, or the alarm sounds when the engine is shut off. Does the SM5 not do this? Also other than the alarm, the SE5 will roll away if the brake is not set. The foot E-brake is kind of a pain, a hand brake with a catch to set for the e-brake like on an ATV would have worked on the SE5's rather nicely. Our E-brake has been a bear to release a time or two also.

[boborgera]

The SE5 has to have the E-brake set, or the alarm sounds when the engine is shut off. Does the SM5 not do this? Also other than the alarm, the SE5 will roll away if the brake is not set. The foot E-brake is kind of a pain, a hand brake with a catch to set for the e-brake like on an ATV would have worked on the SE5's rather nicely. Our E-brake has been a bear to release a time or two also.


The park brake on the SM5 when engaged will scroll PARK BRAKE across the interment panel plus a red light will blink. There's Nothing to advise you if it's NOT engaged. Also it's not an E brake it's a parking brake.

[3wheelsrolling]

Early Spyders had a problem with release, which required some parts to be replaced with a repair kit, under a technical service bulletin. Later Spyders had the corrected parts. Three things are important for proper parking brake release. First, the brake should be properly adjusted. It should hold in just a couple of clicks. If it takes a lot more than that to set, it can be difficult to free. Second, the mechanism (under the left footpeg bracket) needs to be fairly clean. Mud and crud can cause some binding. Finally, it benefits greatly from an occasional spray with lubricant. I use WD-40, but dry lubricants with Teflon, and similar products, seem to work equally well. BTW, never set it any tighter than necessary to make it hold. If you reef down hard on the pedal to set it, it is hard to get enough play when pressing it again to release it.


When you say early spyders which years are you referring to. I had an 09 and had no issues but that was a manual and I'd leave in gear. Now I have an automatic and have to use it. It's a 2011. Had in for oil change and tires and asked tech to look at it and said he can't find anything. And it's still doing it. We'll go thru what you said above. Thank you.