| Author | Message | ||
     Xring |
Badwebbers, The rear brake on my '04 XB9S (~5000 miles) has always been weak. But I just got done installing new tires, and on my test ride, the rear brake does almost nothing. I do not think it will lock the wheel up. I bled the system this evening, and it didn't seem to help. I always clean brake rotors before reassembly, and the caliper/pads remained on the bike while I was changing the tires, so I don't think contamination is a problem. Any ideas? Thanks, Bill | ||
| Odinbueller |
The stock rear brake setup is a bit light duty, but the front system MORE than makes up for it. I've been able to lock up the rear wheel on XB's but not without some effort. If you want more stopping power, you may need to go with another caliper in the rear. I'd just rely on the front brake more than the rear, save some money on a costly caliper setup. | ||
| Xring |
Odin, I rarely use the rear brake, I just wasn't sure if my bike was normal or not. I think a strong rear brake can cause more problems than is solves. Thanks, Bill | ||
| Buellj79 |
IMHO, A weak rear brake is better then a strong one. I to noticed how insignificant it is but once it does lock up it will wake you up  . As far as problems with the system, mine takes quite a bit of effort to operate. So i would'nt believe its a malfunction. I had a 04 XB12S. Hope that helps somewhat. Later J | ||
| Kcfirebolt |
These bikes have a rear brake? I drove a buddy's triumph T-Brid Sport last week. Almost killed my self when I hit the rear brake. "Oh, that's what it's for" I said. I said the same thing about his mirrors. Don't get me wrong. I've 33K on my xb9r and wouldn't trade it for anything. (Message edited by Kcfirebolt on June 29, 2005) | ||
| Navygunner |
Hey Xring, I did the same thing the first time I took my rear tire off. If you look close the caliper is not square in the housing. That means you stripped the mounting bolt closest to the front of the bike. I was shocked how easy it was to strip the caliper with the mounting bolt. If you take it back off you will see what I'm talking about. Patrick | ||
| Navygunner |
Another thing. To avoid this problem from reaccuring, take the rear caliper off with the two hex bolts located on the swing arm that hold the entire brake assembly. I didn't think about it until I read the manual. Patrick | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
Pull the bleed fitting and the brake line fittings, wrap them with teflon tape just on the threads and make certain the tape doesn't cover the flow holes for the brake fluid, then to the same at the rear brake mastercylinder for the brake line fitting. Slip the pads off and scuff them up with some course grit sand paper to make sure there isn't any glazing on the pads. Once that is done, bleed the brakes again. Trust me, I never realized how much air slips through the threads on the bleeder until I used a vacuum pump to bleed it. Once that was all taped up, my rear brake took on just enough feel that I could easily tell whether it was scrubbing off speed and when it was getting close to lock up. | ||
| Court |
a strong rear brake can cause more problems than is solves. Let me ask you this.....do you have any problem locking it up? I don't and am not sure what good "more than locked" would do. Most...MOST the time you are hard on the brakes, you can slide a piece of paper under the rear wheel of a bike with a 52" wheelbase. The value of braking diminish on a tire that is not in contact with, or minimally in contact with the ground. I had the benefit of taking physics in 8th grade with Mr. Larry Peck. I vividly remember the wooden cart and the long ramp. When the front wheels were locked the cart slide straight as a string down the ramp. When the rear wheels were locked, that baby did an instant 180o endo and slide backwards. The laws of physics are LAWS not propietary suggestions. I knew exactly why my Ford F-250 had ABS on the rear and not the front. It wasn't so much for my protection from an accident as for Ford's protection from liabilty. Now go ride and spend a part of the weekend in a parking lot...get to know YOUR rear brake PERFECTLY. Know EXACTLY what it will and will not do. You'll have a blast! Court | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
Most...MOST the time you are hard on the brakes, you can slide a piece of paper under the rear wheel of a bike with a 52" wheelbase. Try more like the service manual  | ||
| Patrickh |
Xring, You didn't happen to force the caliper piston back a little when you had it off did you? If you did you may have to pump the heck out of the pedal before it gets worked back into place. | ||
| Kowpow225 |
3 firm pumps will probably get the pads back into contact with the rotor if the above is true. You can probably watch the caliper piston move if there is a gap. | ||
| Xring |
I removed the caliper as the service manual suggests, by removing the two Allen head bolt that hold the caliper bracket to the swingarm. Navygunner, I'll check to make sure that none of the attaching bolts are stripped. My buddy has my vacuum pump, so I bled the brakes the old-fashioned way. I know sometimes a pump is a necessity. But the brakes aren't spongy, and don't bleed down under continuous pressure on the lever, so I think the hydraulics are OK. For now, I removed the pads and sanded them on a flat block with coarse sandpaper to remove the glaze, and I'll try them today. This bike was a factory demo, and I have a suspicion it was ridden hard...the back pads may be glazed. Anyway, the front brake works fine. Thanks for all the suggestions. Bill | ||
| Starter |
The rear brake is really only good for a park brake at the lights. Very little use with the amount of rake on the XBs. |
