My front brake on my Zuma 125 has been strange lately... i have not touched the scooter in any way to make this happen but the other day i noticed that there was 0 free play in the front brake (there had been before) and the front brakes were ultra sensitive. My brake light appears to be always on (or always off - doesnt flash as you pull either front or rear brake) so it feels like it knows the brake is partially engaged but the scooter won't start unless you engage the brake a little bit more. also, i put up the center stand and tried to rotate the front wheel (off the ground) and it spun but immediately stopped when my hand left it instead of partially continuing as he has done in the past.

I searched and found a few topics but nobody really had any answers opinions http://www.zumaforums.net/index.php/vie ... f=2&t=2561 and http://www.zumaforums.net/index.php/vie ... 55&t=26556

Weather is pretty much always the same here in San Diego except it was unusually humid recently but my scoot is kept in a garage

Thanks in advance

stock brakes, stock hose?
may want to drain the fluid try new fluid
make sure caliper piston isnt caked up with grime

if that doesnt fix it your rubber line may be swelled up inside reducing the flow and making it stiff feeling
probably faster and cheaper to have a line made then ordering from yamaha, I know in san diego there is a shop that will make them for around $15 on the spot




aftermarket brakes with steel lines are like this
because the line does not flex at all, because of the steel braiding





the brake light always on could just be your lever and the swtich
sometimes I see scooters at high speeds, because they vibrate more brake light flashing because the lever is moving setting off the switch
most times the light stuck on is loose rear brake because its cable operated

Yes, stock everything brake/engine related and around 4,500 miles... i'll try draining the fluid and adding new fluid like you said to see if that does the trick first. Thanks Mike

if you havent drained out any fluid yet make a note on the level it is in the reservoir
you want to keep the new fluid at that level too, because thats one way for you to know when your pads are low
the fluid will read low in the window
if you put too much in, the day you replace your pads all the extra fluid will dribble out getting all over the bike if you dont pay attention


once you drain it
there is a super easy way to bleed it

just fill it up, keep the top off and work the lever
you should start to see a mist or big bubbles coming out, top off with fluid if it gets too low

you can also flick the lever fast to get more mist out
then you know when its good when you feel the pressure build up

thats it, no need to go to the bleeder screw or anything just do all the work up top on the lever

So this has popped up again unfortunately... last time, i took it to a mechanic who replaced the master cylinder, replaced fluid, and bled the brakes and the problem was solved.

This was 6 months/800 miles ago so i'm sure the master cylinder shouldn't be the issue here

I noticed it after replacing my handlebars - not sure if that could have anything to do with it though...

I have owned the scooter for 3000 miles and never replaced the brake pads so i need to do that anyway (heard some squeeling recently)

everything is totally stock and i live near the ocean (scoot is garaged but still gets corrosion) so i am hopeful that cleaning the caliper piston does the trick - is there a walkthrough on what this process involves? what product(s) should be used to clean?

Planning on doing that when i replace the brake pads and will also replace the brake fluid again as well as bleed the brakes per mikes suggestion above... thanks

Here is a video of the resistance i'm currently getting



Here is how it used to be

Update: first i swapped out the brake pads for new pads and pushed the piston in with a c-clamp... once the brakes got pressure again, it was the same old issue and the rotor would get pretty hot after just riding down the street and back

Then today, i drained/refilled the brake fluid and bled the brakes... still no dice so i took off the caliper, pressed the brakes a few times so the piston was all the way engaged, hit it with some brake cleaner, and used the c-clamp to push it back in and it seems to be doing MUCH better now. rode up to the grocery store and the rotor was warm but not hot.

I am hopeful that any rubbing currently is just from the new pads not being fully seated yet... time will tell... thanks everyone for the help

If you do this again, you can also use an old toothbrush and scrub the gunk off the piston before pressing it back in. New pads has the piston retracted more than usual, so any gunk that's stuck to the piston can prevent it from retracting properly.

I got a new piston for the front caliper and replaced the seals and that did the trick... scooter now gets a good 5mph more on top speed and no longer make the squeeling noise at low speeds... a world of a difference

Much better now and parts were less than $15 from partzilla

tl;dr version: check to make sure the lever itself is not corroded first - VERY easy fix and I think it was my issue

Just an update since my last post... I kept doing the same thing every time this became an issue and part of that process was bleeding the brakes. As it turns out, after ALL of that time, i think the main problem was corrosion on the brake lever/screw to hold it in place. I bet when i was bleeding the brakes, it loosened it up so it worked for a few months. anyway, I finally took off the lever in august, saw the rust, cleaned it, lubed it with grease, and it has now been good for 6 months