Put the Parking brake on but it still rolls! What am I doing wrong??

[JRat]

I have mad a habit of setting the parking brake (at least I think I have) However I have always stopped on flat level ground. I set the parking brake and I see a little light come on with a exclamation point in it. When I got to work this morning I parked, it's a slight incline. I applied the parking brake, the little light came on, I shut down and the bike started rolling. I put my feel on the ground and it pushes with no effort. Is the parking brake actually working? I put it in gear and shut it off now it doesn't roll. I looked in the owners manual, and it doesn't say anything except to push the button to engage. Some times it takes a while for the little light to come on. Am I doing it wrong. I stop put it in neutral, I have tried it both with and without the brake petal pushed, if the brake pedal is pushed the little light does not come on until it is released.

[cptjam]

Ok, a few things to check:
Chock the wheels so it won’t move. Look under the rear brake caliper on the right side. Depending on year of your Spyder, there will be a arm with a cable on it, or a pulley with a cable on it. Have a helper turn the key on, and press the button to engage the brake. If the arm or wheel moves, that’s good. The cable has an adjustment. 12 mm jam nut needs to be loosened. Now back out the adjustment. And try the brake. Once you adjust it, tighten the jam nut. Cables stretch. Try that first. If you have trouble, call me. Number below. Joe

[JRat]

Thanks, I'll have the wife help me check it it tonight when I get home. Its a 21 RTL

[Mikey]

Good advice!! Start there it sounds like there maybe a cable problem there, it may have slipped off the motor up front, or came unhooked out back!! Do the brakes themselves work well, stop fine, other than the e brake thing?

[PMK]

I have mad a habit of setting the parking brake (at least I think I have) However I have always stopped on flat level ground. I set the parking brake and I see a little light come on with a exclamation point in it. When I got to work this morning I parked, it's a slight incline. I applied the parking brake, the little light came on, I shut down and the bike started rolling. I put my feel on the ground and it pushes with no effort. Is the parking brake actually working? I put it in gear and shut it off now it doesn't roll. I looked in the owners manual, and it doesn't say anything except to push the button to engage. Some times it takes a while for the little light to come on. Am I doing it wrong. I stop put it in neutral, I have tried it both with and without the brake petal pushed, if the brake pedal is pushed the little light does not come on until it is released.

Unfortunately, you did not post your Spyders year and model.
These is a factory service bulletin that on some years and models the parking brake motor will not hold and Can Am replaces them at no charge since it is a safety item.

Suspect you will get some negativity regarding this from a dealer, but if applicable, get it repaired at no cost.

[JRat]

2021 RT Limited

[JRat]

Brake work great, I'm going to check the cable tonight.

[Motorcycledave]

I have mad a habit of setting the parking brake (at least I think I have) However I have always stopped on flat level ground. I set the parking brake and I see a little light come on with a exclamation point in it. When I got to work this morning I parked, it's a slight incline. I applied the parking brake, the little light came on, I shut down and the bike started rolling. I put my feel on the ground and it pushes with no effort. Is the parking brake actually working? I put it in gear and shut it off now it doesn't roll. I looked in the owners manual, and it doesn't say anything except to push the button to engage. Some times it takes a while for the little light to come on. Am I doing it wrong. I stop put it in neutral, I have tried it both with and without the brake petal pushed, if the brake pedal is pushed the little light does not come on until it is released.

Have your dealer adjust your parking brake

[trikermutha]

I agree you have a 2021 and does not engage take it in for warranty .Something dont sound right. I have a 2014 and never had issues yet.

[Mikey]

2021 RT Limited

You have a new bike there, take it back and make them fix it if you can't see any thing wrong!!!!

[PMK]

Suggest get it repaired under warranty. If you tinker with it, DO NOT MENTION IT to anyone. If the dealer learns you tried they will not repair it under warranty. At least most dealers will not repair it under warranty.

[JRat]

I checked it when I got home, I don't know what I was doing, My wife turned the key on pressed down the brake pedal and hit the Parking button while I was laying down, I could hear it, and it worked. I tried it a few times and it worked, and it worked this morning when I got to work. maybe I was being too impatient, expecting it to happen as fast as our cars do. Thanks everybody for the comments,

[ndspyderlover]

I checked it when I got home, I don't know what I was doing, My wife turned the key on pressed down the brake pedal and hit the Parking button while I was laying down, I could hear it, and it worked. I tried it a few times and it worked, and it worked this morning when I got to work. maybe I was being too impatient, expecting it to happen as fast as our cars do. Thanks everybody for the comments,

I had the same problem. The light comes on and the parking brake does'nt engage. Push the button again and the brake engages. the light stays on whether it is engaged or not. I fixed mine by adding a little brake fluid to the resevoir. Now no problem. Mine is a 2019 RTL

[trikermutha]

Its electric that pulls a cable back to the brake. If the light stays on when its not engaged then sounds like a sticky switch.

The brake engages pretty fast. Just after you press the button.

Anyway good luck and hope we dont get on Tires..

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I had the same problem. The light comes on and the parking brake does'nt engage. Push the button again and the brake engages. the light stays on whether it is engaged or not. I fixed mine by adding a little brake fluid to the resevoir. Now no problem. Mine is a 2019 RTL

.... the parking brake is CABLE operated .... how would the amount of brake fluid have an effect ..... I'm always open the Knowledge ..... Mike

[PMK]

.... the parking brake is CABLE operated .... how would the amount of brake fluid have an effect ..... I'm always open the Knowledge ..... Mike

Suspect, since he mentioned the light, he had low brake fluid and applying the parking brake pulled the fluid level to a point the light came on. Mechanically the brake was fine. That was the only thing I could see having read that post.

[Redbeard]

I'm new to the Spyders, but you mentioned "My wife turned the key on pressed down the brake pedal and hit the Parking button while I was laying down, I could hear it, and it worked."
When you put the parking brake on are you also pushing the brake pedal like the mrs. did before hitting the parking brake button? I presume it is an electric motor pulling the brake cable tight if we push on the brake pedal prior to hitting the parking brake the electric motor doesn't need to work very hard (plus maybe last longer). Back when I drove stick shifts I always used the parking brake and before engaging the parking brake I would push a bit harder on the brake pedal to make it easier to engage the parking brake efficiently.

[Steve W.]

I'm new to the Spyders, but you mentioned "My wife turned the key on pressed down the brake pedal and hit the Parking button while I was laying down, I could hear it, and it worked."
When you put the parking brake on are you also pushing the brake pedal like the mrs. did before hitting the parking brake button? I presume it is an electric motor pulling the brake cable tight if we push on the brake pedal prior to hitting the parking brake the electric motor doesn't need to work very hard (plus maybe last longer). Back when I drove stick shifts I always used the parking brake and before engaging the parking brake I would push a bit harder on the brake pedal to make it easier to engage the parking brake efficiently.

Using that same logic, you should also press on the brake pedal when turning the parking brake OFF. Especially if you pressed on the pedal when turning it ON.

My thinking (however wrong it might be) is that if pressing the pedal 'sets' the rear brake pads and the parking brake just holds that position, it's going to have to work harder to release that position, too. May as well have the hydraulics press on the pads and THEN release the parking brake. Probably not a bad idea anyway, just for the safety aspect, but it just might relieve some of the tension in the parking brake cable.

.

[JRat]

Thanks everyone, I finally got it mastered. I guess I was overthinking it. Works first try every time now.

[timeless]

.... the parking brake is CABLE operated .... how would the amount of brake fluid have an effect ..... I'm always open the Knowledge ..... Mike

Mike, The cable rotates a cam that applies pressure to the caliper piston, thus some fluid is displaced