Rear Brake losing pressure

Hi,
I ride a 2002 VFR and have intermittent rear brake failure.
Once in a while the rear brake will go - there will be no resistence and fails to brake. The front brakes are fine.
On its last service I replaced the brake fluid but the problem still came back last week. THe last time it happened I had only travelled 4 miles, and once I powered the bike off and on the brake came back on.

Any ideas would be helpful.
Thanks,
Eamon K.

 

is this an ABS bike??

 

No, but they are linked.

 

the turning the bike on / off is trowing me off, that should have no effect on the brakes.
did you work on the brakes before this problem came up??

 

No, this problem happened about 4 times in 2 years. I replaced the brake fluid last May and the rear brake failed last week.
When it happened I pumped it alot but there was no resistence. Then at some red lights - I turned it off for a moment and then back on, and the rear brake worked fine. It still is since then and I have probably drove 200+ miles on it since then.

 

Don't know if this will be helpful to you Eamonk,but here's a little info for you. I own an '03 VFR800,and as far as I know there were two warranty recalls on the '03 models because I received both of them. One was for the melting dash wiring harness issue,and the other was for brake failure due to leaking or faulty proportional valves in the LBS system. I completely removed the LBS system from my bike so I never had any problems with it,but my dash wiring harness on the other hand was melted pretty badly. I'm not sure if either of these two warranty issues will pertain to your '02 model Eamonk,but it might be a good idea to take your bike to your local Honda dealer and have them check your VIN number to see if your bike is elligible for any warranty repair work. Warranty work doesn't cost you anything,Honda picks up the bill.

If you want to check the proportional valves yourself for any brake fluid leakage,they're mounted on a bracket that's bolted to the back of the main engine frame. That bracket is located next to the upper rear shock mount in the space between the back of the engine and the rear subfender. It's a very tight fit in there so Good Luck to you.