Why Is My Honda VTX Rear Brake Not Working?

What happens when the rear brake on a Honda VTX motorcycle stops working after the bike has been sitting in a garage for two years? The problem could be old brake fluid and/or air in the system.

Partzilla’s Honda motorcycle expert John Talley livestreams Q&A sessions on our YouTube channel every Friday at 3pm Eastern. In this session, John was asked what he thinks could be the problem with the rear brake on a Honda motorcycle not working after it sat for too long.

Honda VTX rear brake now working bleed

Honda VTX Rear Brake Problem Q&A

When I push down on the rear brake pedal of my Honda VTX, the rear brake doesn’t stop. The front brakes work fine, but the bike has been sitting in my garage for about two years. What do you think the problem is?

John Talley: One of a couple of things could have happened. Well, don’t ask me where brake fluid goes when it just sits in machines for a long period of time, but it sounds like there’s air in the system now and it’s not doing anything. So you at least need to go through a bleeding procedure. Now, if you open up the reservoir in the back and it’s got fluid in there, well chances are she sat long enough for whatever contaminated oil was in there to probably damage the seals on either the master cylinder and/or the brake calipers in the back. More than likely it’s just going to be the master cylinder. Well, you can try refilling it and flushing all that old brake fluid out and most importantly, getting all the air out, and that should take care of it.