The brick trick, does it work???

[Rubberdown]

The rear foot brakes never works on any sportsman I have ever rode or rode with, and its a very VERY common problem, i ride mine like its not even an option to have a foot brake, same with my wifes 400 sportsman and everyone I know with a sportsman.

HOWEVER, I have heard of a thing called the "brick trick" but I have never bothered to try it. I hear that if you take a heavy brick, like a cinder block type of brick or block and set it on the foot pedal over night, it will work for a little while after that, and when it stops working, just do the "brick trick" again for the night and you should be good for another little while.

Anyone ever tried it or know if it actually works?

[Dirtbmw20]

I've heard the same thing before but I ain't never tried it. Who needs rear brakes anyways,lol. I think BigT has a pretty good knowledge of this and he gave a real good explanation of why it happenes and how to fix it on that other "not mentioned" forum, maybe he'll chime in here in a little while.

[Dirtbmw20]

Here is a write up compliments of BigT on the "other" forum, I think he is BIGT_SPMN here on our forum but I may be wrong on that. Pretty good write up though.



oohh, oohh, I love brake questions. Especially this one.
This is a common problem on Sportsmans, especialy the twins for two reasons. The out end of the master cylinder is in the air, and there are high points in the line to trap air, and the brake reservoir is too low to create much head pressure. The reason that this brake goes soft is because air bubbles form over time and they can't escape. Air bubbles form in the front lines too, but because the hand master cylinder is the highest point, air travels upward to it. The brick on the pedal trick is a temporary fix only. What it does is force the air back into the fluid, pushing the air molecules between the fluid molecules. The ony problem is that the air will work back out from riding and from heat, so the problem keeps coming back.
As for the problem being the master cylinder, this behavior is not from the MC being bad. If the rear MC does go bad, the most common mode of failure is an internal blow by, which basically feels like the pedal goes down to the floor slowly. If you can create pressure, but then it loses pressure, that would be the master cylinder. Simply not being able to create pressure is a bleeding problem, not an MC problem.
Now, for how to fix the problem, you just have to bleed it correctly. Because of the low level of the reservoir, it's difficult to do on it's own. On the Sportsman singles, you can just open up the reservoir, then open up the bleeder screw on the rear caliper and it will flow freely. On the twins, there isn't enough head pressure from the reservoir to push the fluid out.
Ultimately you have to get fluid into the lines, and get air out of the lines. To do this what you have to do is get fluid through the brake lines fast enough to push all the air out. If the fluid doesn't get through the line fast enough, the air will stay at the high spot. The fastest way to do it is basically to have one person on the bleeder screw and one person on the brake pedal. crack open the bleeder screw, have someone press down on the brake pedal, close the bleeder screw, then let up on the pedal. Repeat this until no air is coming out of the caliper. It takes awhile. Remember to keep the reservoir topped off.
If you have access to some type of vaccum pump you can suck the fluid through the bleeder screw.
Although it is a common belief, the primary cup on the master cylinder will not "shrink" or "pull away" when not being in use. The reason that this problem occurs is solely because of air bubbles in the lines.
Hopefully this wasn't too confusing, let me know if you have any questions.

[Rubberdown]

Thanks Lee.

[Turk]

The rear foot brakes never works on any sportsman I have ever rode or rode with, and its a very VERY common problem, i ride mine like its not even an option to have a foot brake, same with my wifes 400 sportsman and everyone I know with a sportsman.

So far my rear foot brake still works my machine is a year and a half old but if it's a common thing to occur in the sportsman line then I better keep an eye on it.

[slapnuts8725]

So far my rear foot brake still works my machine is a year and a half old but if it's a common thing to occur in the sportsman line then I better keep an eye on it.

Ya we must be the few lucky one's. I have never had a problem with mine.:violin:

[Donut Slayer]

Yeah, I havent had a problem with my 2 either.

[OnlyPolaris]

mine still workes fine.

[CinciMudLuvr]

Mine stopped woring for a little while, found out the bolt that ties the pedal to the frame was loose. Tighten it and has been working fine ever since...

[slapnuts8725]

O O another guy from ohio.....I count 2 me and you:peace:

[duse]

Mine hasent worked in 2 years.
I'll give that brick trick a shot

[choPppps]

I find my rear brake works better if I use the brakes a little more often instead of relying on just the engine braking.

[Turk]

I gotta admit I sometimes forget the rear brake foot pedal is there.

[BIG_T]

hey, i just saw this thread, so I thought I'd chime in. thanks for copying my thread from the other site, hopefully it has the info you need. For 07 they helped this problem by remounting the master cylinder so it was horizontal rather than having the outlet higher up. For 08 they went one better and made the reservoir higher, so it will bleed much much better. I believe they will be going to a newly designed master cylinder later in 08 which will help the problem even more. Air in the rear system is very very common. The only fix is to bleed it properly. I recommend using it periodically to make sure it works in case you do ever need it.
I believe on your year, there was a big spring attached to the pedal which pulled on a pin which would allow you to shift, right? There's a very simple workaround to get rid of that if you're interested.
I've heard many people call that pedal the "beer brake" because the only time you use it is when you've got a beer in your left hand.
If you have any brake questions, or want a more thorough explanation, please let me know and I'm very happy to answer anything. Some people like to talk about engines, I like to talk about brakes.