No bite on my rear breaks!!

[haydn.]

hey guys,just changed my front pads ,to easy!!anybody know what could be up with my rear break pads? they just have no bite!! when walking beside the bike and pressing the rear pedal it bites well,but takes a bit to pull her up when riding. feels like someone has put wd-40 or inox or something to that effect on the disc,i have cleaned the pads and disc with metho then cross hatched the disc with 80 grit paper. the disc has slight waves in,but i have seen alot worse and they pull up fine.and ideas on this to fix? bike is Honda NX 650 .cheers haydn

[samwise]

Have you tried taking out the brake pedal, cleaning and copper-slipping it? Did that with mine, and it improved the braking response a fair bit, as mine was a bit soft previously.

[Bill Ryder]

Try pulling apart and lubing the pivot points of the linkage that the foot pedal pivots on. Most people fail to maintain this and while it will work fine under light pressure when you push with the foot it tends to bind reducing the force to the mastercylinder. Also if you have groves in the disc it will take some time for the pad to wear into it and get full contact.

[RichLees]

new pads? old pads? what are the pad pins like? I have seen pins so worn from brake pad chatter that they hold the pad back from the disc or, worse, hold a new pad onto the disc causing drag/overheat/disc wear. I've never needed to replace the pins, but have had to fettle them.

also, I once got "Gunk" on the discs and it was a marvellous lubricant until it burnt off with braking from high speed

[*Touring Ted*]

Were they ok before you changed the pads ???

Could need a routine bleeding or maybe the master cylinder needs attention.

If you've had to push the pistons back into the calipers to get new pads in, you may have damaged an oil seal which is letting air into the system.

[Bill Holland]

Is it your new Dommie? The rear brake on mine seems to have little effect when pressed, but the bike passed it annual inspection (MOT in UK) recently. Its never been as effective as the rear on my 650GS which is over-sensitive and locks the wheel at the slightest press.
Any other Dommie owners care to comment?
Would softer compound pads help if you can get them.

I've also you sent a HU message a few days ago on another of your posts.
Bill.

[*Touring Ted*]

If its any consolation.. the rear brake on my Xr is shite too. Its got a new master cylinder, new oil seals, bled perfectly and new pads....

Getting the wrong pads can caus this. If you've gone for HH sintered etc, they arnt really effective until they've warmed up.

Get the OEM Honda brake pads. They're made for the bike.

In my honest opinion, back brakes useless anyway. It has zero stopping power and as long as it stops you rolling down a hill when you in nuetral, its all you need.

[Grant Johnson]

Originally Posted by tedmagnum

In my honest opinion, back brakes useless anyway. It has zero stopping power and as long as it stops you rolling down a hill when you in nuetral, its all you need.

I'd have to disagree - back brake is hugely useful - I use it a lot, it gives huge improvements in control especially at low speeds, and stabilizes the bike enormously under high speed / high power braking - use it regularly or you'll get the experience of the back end passing the front end when you're braking really hard one day.

Try doing a u-turn in a narrow street without the rear brake, and then with, using it for stability, and the clutch and throttle to pull you around - amazing difference.

[*Touring Ted*]

Originally Posted by Grant Johnson

I'd have to disagree - back brake is hugely useful - I use it a lot, it gives huge improvements in control especially at low speeds, and stabilizes the bike enormously under high speed / high power braking - use it regularly or you'll get the experience of the back end passing the front end when you're braking really hard one day.

Try doing a u-turn in a narrow street without the rear brake, and then with, using it for stability, and the clutch and throttle to pull you around - amazing difference.

I agree with what you say Grant its what I meant "kinda". The rear brake is not the stopping aid people seem to think it should be.. Its only meant to act as a stabilizer, not a stopper. If it stops you rolling down a hill with luggage and pillion, then i think its good enough. Heavy rear braking will get you into more problems that it will solve. How many newbie bikers have we seen giving it a load of rear brake in an emergency and wonder why the back starts overtaking the front and often ending up on their arse.

In the UK, for the MOT, the stopping force required for the rear brake is VERY low as too good a rear brake is dangerous.

Just my two cents worth but its what iv always been taught in my bike tech quals. Every instructor I know seems to think the same too, teaching to just use the back brake to stabilise with maneuvers and stop roll backs.

[RichLees]

dudes ... the main need for a decent back brake is to get the front wheel down again when you overcook a wheelie or big jump. overlanding doesn't mean having both wheels on the ground all the time!
I'm mostly kidding, but I'd always go for more stopping power than the tyre can handle so I can be the judge of what to use when!