Disc Brakes locking up periodically

[largemarge]

I own a '04 Polaris 500 HO and noticed last night on a ride that the engine seemed to be working harder than normal and went to look underneath and found that the brake disc was bright red hot. It appears that the brakes locked up. I never touched the pedal brake throughout the whole ten minutes and used the hand brakes only. While sitting still on the trail, I pumped the foot brake hard a few times and it seemed to release, then all was fine. Is this an inherent problem? Anyone?

[Dave]

Hand brake or foot brake, they activate the same brake calipers. Using the foot brake may have applied more pressure to unstick the caliper. Mud sticking the caliper? You won't know until you take a look. Sounds like you should check your brake pads anyhow. You should be able check how smooth the caliper works then.

[Macgyver55]

Check the pads for sure. I've seen delaminated pads (when the pad comes unglued from the metal shoe) jam between the caliper and the rotor. Letting it go will cause more damage and cost. Also check the boot on the caliper piston for tears or cracks that would allow moisture to get in the caliper and cause corrosion. One last thing to check for is a bent or kinked brake line (or hose) that may be restricting the flow of brake fluid.