so i start riding along and my front brakes start dragging. im not talking about where i can just hear them engage, its like i got the brake lever pulled halfway. but when i go to pull the lever its hard as a rock. then as im riding, it will all of a sudden just free up and everything is hunky dory. they start to drag on their own, its not like they stick after i pull the lever and they wont return. should i put new seals in the calipers?

 

Is the master cylinder overfilled?

 

nope right on the money

 

I taught Brake and Suspension classes for over 30 years. Your problem could be either a frozen caliper, torn lining on a brake hose or master cylinder piston hanging up. Also could be a swollen primary cup in the master.

Also, how old is the fluid? It should be replaced every 2 years.

If the fluid looks fairly clean, I'd start by rebuilding the calipers and , depending on the age of the bike, replacing the hoses. Could be a good time to upgrade to stainless steel braided hoses.

 

I am in no way an expert, but I had a similar problem. I bought some ebay S-Hawk levers and it ends up that the brake lever was not allowing the plunger to return fully. I filed down the lever and problem solved.