I bought an fl350 a couple of months ago the brakes both front and rear did not work that good. I have since put on new front brake shoes and I have them working good. I have also put on a new set of rear pads and I have bled and bled the system but with no luck. The rear brakes are still spongy. I checked it around a week ago and had no pedal at all. I then ordered a rebuild kit for the rear caliper. I have installed it and I still have a spongy pedal. About the only thing left is to rebuild the master cylinder I would thing. What do you guys think? I am about to pull my hare out.

While your waiting for others that have had the same problem to chime in click on the Search and search for 350 and brakes and brake and bleeding

Other reading http://pilotodyssey.com/brakes-front.htm

Check your rubber hose lines up front for cracks etc.

And I've always had troubles with brakes. I use a Mighty Vac now to help the frustration.

Does your parking brake hold the rear pads tight or is it loose too?

I have checked the lines they all look good. The parking brake holds the brakes tight.

does it pump fuild out the bleeder when you pull on the brake lever?

Yes it will pump some fluid out.

Is your parking brake adjusted correctly? It should have enough tension so that it almost engages the brake when the lever is fully released. This way the brake only needs a minamal increase in pressure to enage. If it is too slack, the piston will have to great a distance to travel and never make it to the rotor.

The parking brake is adjusted per the manual. I went back and checked it to make sure.

that's the only thing I can think of, had the same problem a few months back. How far up do you have to pull the lever to make the brake engage? It should engage almost instantly. I tightened the screw bolt where the cable attached so that it was only a 1/16th of a turn or less from engaging the brake, then put the bracket back on it so it would hold in that position. After that the rear brake would build up the needed pressure and work fine.

Sounds like Sunblock has covered most issues. Last thing after master cylinder is checked is to think about replacing the rubber brake hoses to stainless steel, there are kits than can be ordered from Odysseysalvage.com. Reason is that over the years the rubber hoses tend to bulge like a baloon, thus decreasing the fluid pressure to caliper and front pistons, although you might not be able to see this with the naked eye. I have found the fl350 rear brake caliper and front piston need to be able to extend more than the master cylinder is allowing fluid to be pressured into them. I hope I am making sense.I don't have the stainlless steel lines yet but I am very seriously thinking about getting them. I have tediously restored my braking system and still have less than desireable front braking, although my rear brakes will almost lock up on pavement. Since I do most of my riding in deep sand its not a real issue for me that's why I havnt went with stainless lines yet. Anyhow good luck!

My parking brake can be pulled all most all the way up. I will try and adjust it a little more. I have thought about the lines but the metal line is $40.00 and the stainless steel braded line is $65.00. I don't mind spending the money if it will fix it I just want to make sure its not anything else first. My front is fine they will lock up.

chances are the lines are ok, when a hose goes bad you can usually see it balloon up when you pump the brakes.

i would say your down to having a troublesome bit of air in the brake lines somewhere or you do need a master cylinder rebuild

I have bled about a half of a quart of brake fluid throught it. I have used the mityvac and done it manually. I have even stood it on its nose for 2 days and pecked the lines trying to get the air out.

I believe the manual says to set the parking brake adjustment to where the parking brake handle will only click 3 or 4 times when engauged. Might want to double check that though.

Manual calls for 1-5 notches. I think that I am with in that but I will check again.

I havent read that part of the manual, and I don't actually use my e-brake, I just set it as close as possible to remove all the free play and minimize the pressure required to engage the brake hydraulically. It works fine but is spongier than my other 350 so I may have some air stuck in the line as well, but after bleeding it a million times I was tired of trying. and calling the wife to work the brake lever for me