Stuck Brakes on a Yamaha Grizzly ATV

After doing a complete brake job on a Yamaha ATV, why is the machine stuck in neutral? That’s a question posed to our Yamaha powersports pro John Talley during our latest live Q&A session.

John hosts live question and answer sessions on our YouTube channel every Friday at 3pm Eastern. In this edition, John gives his thoughts on why a 2008 Yamaha Grizzly 660 won’t move in neutral after a complete brake repair job was done to it.  

Why Might Yamaha ATV Be Stuck in Neutral

After installing a completely new caliper and new brake pads for the front left and right, as well as replacing the rear pads, now I can’t move my 08 Grizzly 660 when it’s in neutral. What might I have done wrong? 

John Talley: Well it sounds like at least one or more of your brake calipers is still pressing a little too hard against the rotor. Now, since you’ve replaced your front ones, I hazard to guess that they should have gone on easily. But the best way to find out which end you need to be working on is to lift up the machine one end at a time. Front end or the back end or just right in the middle if you have a lift that can do that, and just spin the tires and see which one is holding it up. My bet would be that it’s probably the rear caliper that’s not acting right. And my question would be, did you compress the pistons all the way back into the caliper? Because if you don’t and you just kind of force it on there with those brake pads, they’re going to hold and it’s going to make it very difficult to move. So chances are it’s probably the rear one. Go ahead and lift it up and see which one is the offending caliper. 

Now, if it does turn out to be one of your front ones, and of course they were compressed all the way in, chances are it may be something to do with your master cylinder, either for the rear brake or at the hand itself for the front brake. Because when that fluid gets compressed, it’s got a piston in there and a spring on the other side, and of course you’re pushing it with a handle and it’s pressurizing it. Well, once you release that pressure from the handlebar lever, that spring should push that piston back. Now, if it’s gooked up in there and that piston isn’t able to move freely, it’s going to keep tension on the brake calipers themselves. Start with the simple stuff first. Make sure it’s not just a caliper that was put on a little too aggressively, and then work your way toward the master cylinders. Because chances are it’s going to be one of those two things that are holding things up. 

Watch the video below to see how to replace the front brake pads on a Yamaha Grizzly ATV.

Watch the video below to see how to replace the rear brake pads on a Yamaha Grizzly ATV.

Watch the video below to see how to bleed the brakes on a Yamaha Grizzly ATV.

Want to see more live repair questions answered? See more motorcycle and ATV repair questions answered here.