Modern Vespa

Had a minor mishap with my BV250 today. At a stop sign my foot slipped and the scooter slowly fell over on the right side. Only minor scraping to the plastics and no scraping to me. But when I righted the bike and took off the front brake was quite soft. It firmed up more as I used it and I got home fine, but the front brake is still softer than the rear. I checked the lever and other than a scratch on the end, it does not seem bent. There was no evidence of any damage where it connects and meets the MC. No leaks. Do you think an air bubble might have formed and softened things up? I followed a post here that suggested flicking the lever numerous times and zip tying the brake lever closed overnight. Will see if that works. Anything else it could be or anything else I should do?

I think a air bubble is likely the problem. When the scooter fell on the right side the fluid in the master cylinder flowed away from the port into the piston area. If you pulled and released the break lever while that port was exposed to air, it will introduce air into the break line. Try the trick of tying the lever to the grip over night. If that doesn't work, bleed the front brake.

-Craig

Often parking it over night with the bars turned to put the offending lever in a higher position will do the trick. For the front brake, turn the bars to the left. Gravity does the work while you sleep.

Good ideas!

Thanks All! The zip tie method worked perfectly. Also topped it up with fluid and the brakes are better than before the spill.