Appling brakes in either the front or the back should lite up the brake light with ease.  Short the terminals on either switch and you should get the same indication as applying the associated brake.  If not, bad switch.

manoli wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:03:


If you have to use alot of pressure on the brakes it usually is means the switches are just out of adjustment.  I personally have not adjusted or even searched out them on my savage yet but I can tell you what 98% of all other suzuki's have.  On the rear break lever (foot operated one) some where most likely behind the footpeg plate is a small black plug shaped switch with two wires coming out of one end and a plunger coming out of the other end.  A spring attaches that plunger to the break mechinism.  If you don't find it behind the foot peg plate follow the cable back and keep and eye out for it.  once you find it pull on the plunger and see if the brake light operates correctly.  if so it just needs adjustment and you aren't getting enough travel of the brake lever with out using extra pressure you described.

To adjust it is simple. the body usually fits though a bracket and has a nut on it.  Hold the switch and turn the nut so that it is moving the switch body toward the direction of the wires (away from the spring).  this will make the switch activate sooner.

To adjust the front switch look under the hand break lever and you should find a small black retanglar piece of plastic with a screw through each end holding it to the master cyclinder.  Loosen those screws slightly. Just enough to move push the switch (the black retangular piece) away from the lever.   Again this will make it activate sooner.  You may need to move it back and forth a few times to get it right as this one is a little more touchy.  (DO NOT REMOVE THE TWO SCREWS TOTALLY UNLESS YOU ARE READY TO CATCH A PLASTIC PIECE, A COPPER U PIECE, THE HOUSING, AND A SPRING!!)  This is not hard when prepared but I did spend close to an hour once on the floor of a suzuki shop looking for the blasted little spring!

The key is make sure they operate how you want and when you want.  I set mine so they come on with very little brake activation.  At the same time you don't want them stuck on.

Lastly if the hand brake won't work even at full adjustment or is inconsistant then you need to disassemble, clean and reassemble.  (all those little pieces)  This is not hard as long as you take your time and open it slowly so you see where everything is hand don't have any springs going AWOL on you!

Good luck if you have any questions on it let us know!