| Author | Message | ||
     Mrcjoy8 |
What is the deal with the back brakes on buells 1125r. I Ran though a pair of bakes at 3574 miles ...Do they really run out that fast. So i took the bike to H.D. on witchduck,va beach. And they put on new brakes i brought to them and now..... They are sticking,and the brake lever feels funny, No kick when pressing. They checked it and say it was fine.But it dont feel the same. So i'm taking it to another dealer. If its not fixed right. I will be calling the higher management.... This is a new bike!!!!!!!!! | ||
| Ccryder |
My first set lasted 25,000 miles. Is the brake lever returning when you take your foot off it? Maybe the lever is hanging and not returning. A little lube at the pivot points may help. | ||
| Jdugger |
The deal with the back brakes is unless you are doing low-speed parking lot maneuvers or controlling wheelies, you shouldn't be using them. Yea, they will wear out pretty quickly if you are mostly using rear brake. Look at the difference in the size of the pads between front and back and ask yourself where the majority of your stopping force should come from. Use the front brake for goodness sake. | ||
| 4cammer |
Do your own brake work yourself and you will know it is done correctly. I hated the rear on my XB9R when I first got her, but after some aftermarket pads, new fluid and setting the linkage to my liking the rear brake is exactly what I expect. My Buell is the first bike that I did my own brake work on in 18 years or so of riding as I was too nervous to try and tackle the job. Will never take it to a shop again for brake work. Buell service manual is your bestfriend...will save headaches and $$ down the line. | ||
| Slaughter |
The rear cannot be used as a primary brake or it WILL wear out - heck, just LOOK at the braking surface area of the front v. the rear. IF it's sticking, that's another problem but GENERALLY, you don't need the rear for MOST braking situations - especially HARD braking. Can you lift it off the ground and spin it to verify that it is indeed hanging up? That IS a problem. If it's just brake wear because you are tending to use the rear brake a lot, then there's nothing to be done. | ||
| Jdugger |
For what it's worth, I've noticed that as you ride the bike really hard the heat from the motor will cause the back brake to engage/hang slightly. This generates some pad wear over time. It's not much, and frankly, you just wear a little bit of pad off, but as a result, I've taken to not pumping the rear brake pedal on the track bike after a wheel swap. So, if I need the rear brake, it's there in a couple of quick bounces on the pedal, but it's not dragging at the end of a session when things are hot. I don't do this on the street bike, but it doesn't seem to get so hot as to auto-engage the brake. At 4k on that bike, those pads look brand new, but I'll need new front ones the next time I swap front tires  I love the brake on this bike, but it sure does much pads. | ||
| Bearly |
I bought some new pads because the wear marks were gone. Only to the new ones don't have wear marks. :-). I put them on anyway at 8000 miles. I do use them a lot and have had no problems with the back brakes. Pedal is firm and has great feel I did put longer toe posts right from the start from American Sport Bike. Now if I could keep the exhaust off it... | ||
| Stlcr09 |
Ive noticed on mine after I ride the bike hard for a moment, say passing a car, if i even touch the rear brake it howls real bad. I've learned not to use them much at all | ||
| Two_buells |
there's a rear brake on a Buell?  | ||
| Redscuell |
I don't think it's responsible to make it sound as if one's personal preference about using the rear brake is either a 'do' or 'don't'. It's a personal preference. It's well-established on other recent threads that even racers use rear brakes. So what I think the poster was asking, is what's a reasonable life-span for the rear pads. For myself I use it; and on the Buell I apply the fronts first and then the rear when stopping, e.g. at a light; rather than the opposite as I did on my Eighties bikes. My servicing dealer advised, when the tyres were changed at about 10,000 miles, that the rear pads needed replacing; and I obliged. The rear is now MUCH more effective than it has ever been since taking delivery of the bike in December last year. Perhaps a difference in the pad materials, because the rotor and the rider are the same. | ||
| R2s |
No, It was not established. When you see the Moto GP or other top racers rear ends step out a little going into a turn its due to engine braking not using the rear brake. If you watched you would see that the rear of their bikes actually lifts off the ground in heavy braking zones. all of the weight is on the front end of the bike. They will use the rear a little slowing for high speed sweeping turns to settle the chassis, and Yes they still have a rear brake but it is not used much at all, in fact the FRONT is used so much they have an adjuster knob by the left side grip so they can adjust the REAR BRAKE during the race to compensate for the enormous wear it receives. If your rear pads wear out before your fronts you have a problem with your riding style. On a Cruiser type bike you do use the rear more than on a sport bike because your weight is biased more on the rear. but on a sport bike it is totally different and if you are over using the rear it can be hazardous. In a panic situation you will tend to lock up the rear and end up in a high speed slide where the rear end comes around and even if just a little you will then release the rear brake and highside. So don't pretend its O.K. to use your rear brake a lot, its not, It can be a dangerous habit that you need to brake yourself of. You should be replacing your front to rear brakes at least about 2 to 1. | ||
| Zac4mac |
Chill out, it's a personal and location thing. I have just under 22k miles on Loretta and I replaced the rear pads 5 or 6 k ago. Still on OEM fronts. Part of the accelerated wear was from dragging the brake to clean the disc of exhaust slipperyness. Now with the Drummer, no more deposits. I slow down with the rear brake, I stop with the front. Z | ||
| Crowley |
I hardly ever use my rear brake and have never replaced rear pads in any of my current Buells incl my 25k mile M2. However, the pads in my 1125 wore out in about 3k miles. I'm not the only one in the UK that has suffered this premature wear. Several whacky ideas have been mooted in the press the favourite being that corrosive exhaust gasses eat them  I have to call B/S on that one. My theory is the cheap plastic bush is the culprit causing binding. I machined up a phos bronze bush with a grease nipple and the rear pads should now last forever | ||
| Dirty_john |
keep an eye on the brake lever pivot and the rear calliper itself, it will be baked by exhaust gases in the warm weather and covered in acid condensates as the bike warms up in the winter - assuming you have the standard exhaust, I fitted an aftermarket can as soon as the bike was delivered, copaslipped the lever pivot and replaced the set screw on which it pivots with a shanked bolt, I also check the rear brake calliper once a month to make sure the pads are not seized, at least on my old Firebolt you could get to the pads much more easily |
