Parking brake activated while I was riding!

[DrCohen]

I was driving 45 MPH on my 2020 C650GT when the power sagged and the engine began to labor. I pulled over and found that the parking brake activated with the kickstand up. Fortunately, the rear wheel didn't lock up while I was riding. I am pretty certain that nothing on the road surface hit any part of the bike to activate the parking brake.
I tried retracting and extending the kickstand several times, but the brake remained frozen. After I got a Lyft home and returned with lots of tools, I tried tapping the lever between the parking brake caliper and cable with a mallet. That freed the caliper. To be on the safe side, I backed off the adjuster nut at the rear end of the cable as far as possible, so that the parking brake stayed off even with the kickstand extended. Then I had the bike towed to the dealer (paid for under warranty).
I hope the dealer can figure out what caused the parking brake to freeze, but I'm not optimistic. I did ask them to confirm that the brake pads and caliper are still OK. I'll post a follow-up here when the dealer responds.
Incidentally, this confirms my opinion that controlling the parking brake with the kickstand instead of a simple lever is an overly clever bit of engineering and ultimately a bad idea.

 

[DrCohen]

It wasn't the parking brake at all. When I got the bike in 2020, I tried putting it on the centerstand while the kickstand was down (which is impossible because of the parking brake). Predictably, the bike flopped onto its right side, and the tip of the right brake lever snapped off. The lever was still usable, and a BMW replacement costs $136, so I just kept using the shortened lever.
This Wednesday I replaced the lever with a cheap Chinese-made copy. This Thursday the lever distance adjuster on the cheap copy (see photo) snapped off. The lever was still usable, so I kept driving. I didn't realize that the lever was now lightly applying the front brake. After several miles, the brake fluid boiled and locked the front brake. While I got a ride home, fetched tools, and returned to the bike, the front brake fluid had cooled down and released the front brake. I thought that my tapping on the parking brake arm with a mallet had freed it up, but that was a red herring.

 

[slant911]

Glad you figured it out. That could have been a disaster in the making. So new BMW lever I assume...

 

[DrCohen]

Glad you figured it out. That could have been a disaster in the making. So new BMW lever I assume...

No. Just going back to old BMW lever with snapped tip for the time being.
Interesting that the BMW shop did not spot the problem with the cheap lever dragging the front brake until they test-drove and locked it up themselves.
I'm very happy to learn that there is no safety issue with the parking brake (although I still would greatly prefer a simple lever instead of the connection to the kickstand).

 

[Ceesie76]

There's used parts on ebay from time to time, so you may find a good used lever for a normal price that way. That is how I found a good as new seat to replace my cut one for something like $100 delivered. Glad you found the cause.

 

[DrCohen]

I found these levers online and decided to risk $38. They claim to fit C650GT 2012-15, but mine is a 2020.
I had to grind down the finger that pushes against the brake master cylinder so that the brake doesn't drag, but that was just a quick job with a grindstone on a dremel.
I've just used it for a few hundred miles, and so far it works fine and I like it.

 

[speedtoys]

It wasn't the parking brake at all. When I got the bike in 2020, I tried putting it on the centerstand while the kickstand was down (which is impossible because of the parking brake). Predictably, the bike flopped onto its right side, and the tip of the right brake lever snapped off. The lever was still usable, and a BMW replacement costs $136, so I just kept using the shortened lever.
This Wednesday I replaced the lever with a cheap Chinese-made copy. This Thursday the lever distance adjuster on the cheap copy (see photo) snapped off. The lever was still usable, so I kept driving. I didn't realize that the lever was now lightly applying the front brake. After several miles, the brake fluid boiled and locked the front brake. While I got a ride home, fetched tools, and returned to the bike, the front brake fluid had cooled down and released the front brake. I thought that my tapping on the parking brake arm with a mallet had freed it up, but that was a red herring.View attachment 3122View attachment 3124

Ive had this issue on MULTIPLE attempts at other handles.

I gave up..OE works, OE wont try to kill me, no more china shit.