Spongy Brakes on Honda Dio

psp62in · 27th September 2009, 03:42

The brakes on my Honda Dio feel spongy. I got them tightened and also the brake pads were changed, but the problem recurred soon after (i.e. within a few days). In brief, I am not happy with brakes.

Is there any way to improve the braking action of Dio?
Also, has any one tried something different than the routine brake cable tightening, brake pad cleaning and changes?

sudev · 27th September 2009, 07:34

Did you get air bleeding done? Spongy is symptomatic of this. And air in barake circuit is dangerous. It should be done by competent mechanic and not in a hurry. The circuit should be bled several times to take out all air.

vipul_singh · 27th September 2009, 09:33

Faced the same problem with my KiHo Marvel (now stolen...sob!). Had to replace the brake drum + shoe as a set to get it fixed. Apparantly, the brake drum had developed a groove which was preventing full contact.

Edit: @sudev, I think the dio has a mechanical brake system, not hydraulic. psp62in can confirm this

psp62in · 27th September 2009, 13:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by sudev

Did you get air bleeding done? Spongy is symptomatic of this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vipul_singh

Edit: @sudev, I think the dio has a mechanical brake system, not hydraulic. psp62in can confirm this

You are right Vipul, Dio has a mechanical brake system (so do the most other scooters and bikes AFAIK).

sudev · 27th September 2009, 17:38

@OP: My bad....early morning improper reading.

MA5K · 27th September 2009, 22:01

Facing similar problem on my friend's Dio as well. This was after getting both the front/rear brake pads replaced, not so long ago.

Subscribing to thread..

Cyrus43 · 27th September 2009, 22:08

The Dio has Brilliant Brakes normally. I suggest you just routinely tighten your brakes. At leas that is what I do

aaggoswami · 27th September 2009, 23:05

This is a normal thing.

1) Open the drum, take out the brake pads and see if there is life in them or not.

2) There will be some black powder on the surface of brake pad and drum, clean it.

3) After monsoon, water must have entered into drum and this is problem with scooters. Their wheels are small so even in very little water, chances are that water enters the drum. Clean surface of brake pad with sand paper. But do this only if the brake pads have life in them.

4) If still the braking performance does not improve, replace the pads, but do clean the drum.

5) The life of drum is more than 70K kms. Yes, I know it very much depends upon usage, but in general the drum will not get so much ineffective very soon.

I have worked upon my Bajaj spirit, friend's and cousins Activa and Dio respectively. I still change brake pads for my sister's Kristal.

psp62in · 30th September 2009, 11:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

This is a normal thing.
Open the drum, take out the brake pads and see if there is life in them or not.

Hi aaggoswami,
What is the normal life of the brake pads? Because in last 6 months I have changed them twice already and still no big improvement. And got the cleaning done almost every month. This looks kind of too frequent (and not normal) for me for ~1500km done in 6 months.

Could this be something else, e.g. spares quality issue or any thing other?

I am still struggling!!

27th September 2009, 03:42	#1
psp62in BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 185 Thanked: 23 Times	Spongy Brakes on Honda Dio The brakes on my Honda Dio feel spongy. I got them tightened and also the brake pads were changed, but the problem recurred soon after (i.e. within a few days). In brief, I am not happy with brakes. Is there any way to improve the braking action of Dio? Also, has any one tried something different than the routine brake cable tightening, brake pad cleaning and changes?
	() Thanks

27th September 2009, 07:34	#2
sudev Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 3,838 Thanked: 3,179 Times	Did you get air bleeding done? Spongy is symptomatic of this. And air in barake circuit is dangerous. It should be done by competent mechanic and not in a hurry. The circuit should be bled several times to take out all air.
	() Thanks

27th September 2009, 09:33	#3
vipul_singh BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: BLR / Lucknow Posts: 595 Thanked: 833 Times View My Garage	Faced the same problem with my KiHo Marvel (now stolen...sob!). Had to replace the brake drum + shoe as a set to get it fixed. Apparantly, the brake drum had developed a groove which was preventing full contact. Edit: @sudev, I think the dio has a mechanical brake system, not hydraulic. psp62in can confirm this Last edited by vipul_singh : 27th September 2009 at 09:45.
	() Thanks

27th September 2009, 17:38	#5
sudev Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 3,838 Thanked: 3,179 Times	@OP: My bad....early morning improper reading.
	() Thanks

27th September 2009, 22:01	#6
MA5K BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 76 Thanked: 11 Times	Facing similar problem on my friend's Dio as well. This was after getting both the front/rear brake pads replaced, not so long ago. Subscribing to thread..
	() Thanks

27th September 2009, 22:08	#7
Cyrus43 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: London Posts: 5,019 Thanked: 221 Times View My Garage	The Dio has Brilliant Brakes normally. I suggest you just routinely tighten your brakes. At leas that is what I do
	() Thanks

27th September 2009, 23:05	#8
aaggoswami Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Vadodara Posts: 4,982 Thanked: 2,931 Times	This is a normal thing. 1) Open the drum, take out the brake pads and see if there is life in them or not. 2) There will be some black powder on the surface of brake pad and drum, clean it. 3) After monsoon, water must have entered into drum and this is problem with scooters. Their wheels are small so even in very little water, chances are that water enters the drum. Clean surface of brake pad with sand paper. But do this only if the brake pads have life in them. 4) If still the braking performance does not improve, replace the pads, but do clean the drum. 5) The life of drum is more than 70K kms. Yes, I know it very much depends upon usage, but in general the drum will not get so much ineffective very soon. I have worked upon my Bajaj spirit, friend's and cousins Activa and Dio respectively. I still change brake pads for my sister's Kristal.
	() Thanks