Rocket Rear Brake Issue

I got a letter in the post today from Triumph titled:
! IMPORTANT SAFETY RECALL !
REAR BRAKE BLEED

It tells me that over time, rear brake travel may increase, it could increase the risk of a crash, etc, the front brake is unaffected. They say that they have authorized (not 'authorised' ) my dealer to carry out a rear brake fluid bleed procedure free of charge.

That's about the sum of it, and there's nothing in there suggesting that this is a stop-gap while they investigate it further. Which seems very odd to me ... They aren't suggesting that some bikes were shipped with this problem, they specifically say that it develops "over time". And if it happens within a year (which obviously it has, since the bike hasn't even been out that long yet), then common sense says this cannot possibly be a permanent fix, or even something that can just be added to the annual service as a gratis item.

I spoke to my trusty local service manager, and she told me that as far as she knows, it is a stop gap, but for marketing/legal reasons they won't say that in the letter, as it may imply a liability on their part. She says it's a 'service bulletin' not a 'full recall' (the letter does however say "safety recall"), meaning that you bring it in if there's an issue, and/or they'll do it at your next service anyway.

And that's the news for today

 

Well, it does 'work', insofar as it temporarily improves the brakes, and then they fade (presumably from air slowly getting in again) over time.

I've had mine bled twice now, and both time, I ride away like "Oh yeah! that's what a rear brake should do!", and then later "It's not so good anymore" until eventually "It needs bleeding again". I've not ridden in about a month due to it basically being raining everyday, but the last time I did, it was getting toward the latter point of needing it doing again.

I've had it 10-11 months, and done about 1500 miles. So for me, it's needed roughly every 500miles/6months.

I would like to think that either way, Triumph are working on a proper fix, and hopefully the delay is how to do it elegantly and effectively, rather than just cheaply.

 

Has anyone had this procedure done yet at all? If so, how has it been since?

As you may have figured, the reason I'm posting today, is that it's finally stopped raining, and the sun even made a show, so I took the bike out for a bit.

I got about 20 metres before realising that my rear brake was entirely not there - not even a little bit - and turned around. When I say entirely not there, put it this way, I can put the hill-hold assist on, and still move the bike around with no effort with my feet on the floor. There is no resistance to the pedal at all, unless you pump the brake about 4-5 times, and then there is something there just about. Crazy.

Anyway, I'll probably get the bike recovered to my dealer (with my free Triumph Assist), and they'll do whatever this procedure is. But if it's just bleeding the brakes, they've already done that 3 times in the past year. I'm not up for going in to have the brakes fixed every few months for the life of the bike!

At least today I did get an interesting piece of data in regards to the rear brake. I've literally not been on it for at least 2 months, probably 3 months. And whilst the rear brake was fading when I last rode it, today it's immeasurably worse. So this means it's not a function of the heat of the engine on the brake fluid, nor is it a function of miles ridden, or riding style ... it seems to literally just be a function of time. So that being said, anyone with a rocket that is hoping to jump on it this weekend for the first time in a few months, TEST YOUR BRAKES before you go anywhere.