Brake failure! I bought the bike today! HELP

[Iroh]

Hi. First post on this forum and it's a bad one... I need help

I bought my CT today. Now, I tested this bike a couple of times a couple of weeks ago and everything seemed great. I put an offer on the bike a few days ago and they accepted. I will not name the dealer but it is a Main Honda dealer. The bike has 5 and a half thousand miles on it. Full service history.

SO, I ride home, all seemed normal except I noticed the throttle seemed very snatchy at low speed, also the bike seemed to not go along smoothly, doing about 40-50 I'm having to ride the throttle to keep the speed up and smooth. I assume it's just the way the throttle is and I have to get used to it.

Then I go out again about an hour later and here's where the real trouble starts... I'm going up a single lane about 15 mph, come to a 90 degree turn go for the brake and the brake lever is stuck solid. I couldn't move it. I go down the gears to slow the bike, a few seconds later the brake frees up and seems ok again. 5 minutes later I'm going along an A road doing about 45-50 and the bike suddenly slow down. At first I think it's an engine problem but then it picks back up. I think the brakes came on again hard then released (without me touching them) I continue home and feel that non smooth thing again as I'm going along. My assumption is the brakes have a serious problem.

What do I do? I want to take the bike back and get a full refund tbh. I assume they will just say no and propose the have a look at the brakes for me but I don't feel like I have any confidence now in this bike. If they completely replace the brake system that might be ok but I don't know.

Has anyone here experienced anything like what I am describing? any help asap would be seriously appreciated.


Sorry, I know I shouldn't post this in two places but I urgently need help with this before I call the dealer in the morning.

PS. The suspension feels bloody awful as well. Really twitchy, bumpy and vibing a lot. I tried Veejay's settings and it made no difference.

[Beer Belly]

 Sounds to me as if the brake fluid hasnt been changed. How old is it? Old fluid can cause the problem you have experienced. Best to swap it no later than every couple of years. Long thread on it here:

https://www.crosstourer.com/index.php/topic,4844.0.html

May also be failure of the abs unit.
The throttle on the CT can be a bit sensitive and the suspension isn't the best. Are the tyres in good condition? Is there any play in the steering bearings?

[Iroh]

Thanks Beer belly

It's a 2016 model and has about 5700 miles on it but supposed to have had a full service history.

Thanks for the info. I have been looking into this and yes, this does seem to sound a bit like those problems. Bit of a shock this could happen though. My last bike, a Yamaha TDM900 never had any problems like this as well as the dozen or so other bikes I've owned.

The VFR had been at the shop for a couple of months and judging by the milage it has been ridden a few times for customer tests including myself twice. The shop said it would be fully serviced before sale but they also said they would clean it and return the suspension settings to standard as I asked them to but they hadn't.

I'm looking at what my rights are for returning it for a full refund as I'm seriously unhappy about it.

[t15dja]

I don't have any solutions for the issues you're having, but 5700 miles is low for its age and it also has full SH so it is surprising to read what you're experiencing. If it's a main Honda dealership then you should go back to them ASAP and tell them you want the problems put right PDQ. They SHOULD  do that without any argument. If not in the UK there are various statutory protections, including the good old sale of goods act. Google has quite a bit of stuff on consumer protection. I wish you luck and please let us know how you get on.

[Iroh]

Originally Posted by t15dja

I don't have any solutions for the issues you're having, but 5700 miles is low for its age and it also has full SH so it is surprising to read what you're experiencing. If it's a main Honda dealership then you should go back to them ASAP and tell them you want the problems put right PDQ. They SHOULD  do that without any argument. If not in the UK there are various statutory protections, including the good old sale of goods act. Google has quite a bit of stuff on consumer protection. I wish you luck and please let us know how you get on.

Thanks for your reply. I am calling the dealer now. So gutted as I enjoyed the bike.

[MattR]

If not in the UK there are various statutory protections, including the good old sale of goods act.

Sale of Goods Act isn't applicable as it's a secondhand vehicle. BUT, if it's faulty then you are covered by the Consumer Rights Act and if I remember correctly you are entitled to a full refund if you can prove that the fault was already there when you purchased the bike. This needs to be in the first 30 days after purchase.

Up to you but IMO don't ask for them to fix it, I'd simply ask for a full refund - end of.

[Hound]

If you buy second-hand goods from a retailer, you're covered by the Consumer Rights Act, which states that goods must be as described, fit for purpose and of a satisfactory quality (factoring in realistic wear and tear). So if your second-hand purchase is faulty, you can claim a refund, repair or replacement from the retailer that sold it to you.

You have 30 days from taking ownership of a product (this could be the date of purchase or the date it was delivered to you - whichever is later) to claim a refund if it is faulty. After this time you have to give the retailer an opportunity to repair or replace it before you can claim a refund.

If you discover the fault within the first six months from delivery, it's presumed to have been there from the time you received it - unless the retailer can prove otherwise. The burden will be on you after six months to prove that the product was faulty at the time of delivery.

Good luck!

[DaveinNC]

This is a known issue with the XTs, many of them sat for a long time in crates and some speculate that the original honda load of brake fluid was somehow contaminated or incompatible with the ABS unit on this specific bike. No one really knows. The bike needs a complete fluid flush and replace with a high-quality DOT4 synthetic fluid. The problem will not return after this is completed. Mine did the same at about 5000 miles and was purchased new. I installed all new speed bleeders and plan on making this part of my annual major service. With speed bleeders, it only takes about 20-30 minutes to flush. With my first flush, I ran 2 qts of fluid through the system to make sure all contaminates and old fluid were removed.