I went out on my bike today for about an hour and the front brakes felt wooden and I thought I wasn't going to stop a couple of times, I was never over 60mph at any time on the ride. anyone got any Idea's ?
I'm used to my triumph daytona 955i stopping waaaaayyyyyyyy fast than the 1400 and it has much more feel in the brake lever, I'm thinking a strip down and a good clean might sort it.
TTT
Sounds like the pistons in the calipers may be gummed up with brake dust and not moving very well. Suggest take off and give a good clean with a toothbrush and brake cleaner and make sure all the pistons move nice and smoothly.
Only other possibility - how long since you changed your brake fluid? If more than 2 years ago, that a change could help
@Tonythetiger Remember the gsx1400 is a fair bit heavier than the triumph and as
@gsxbarmy says it might be time for a bit of maintainance and new fluids .
Hope you get it sorted
:cheers:
Glazed pads?
A ride on Diavel with monoblocks then back on 14. Always takes couple of stops to re adjust.
What Barmy said, 14 brakes are famous for seized pistons & they give that feeling.
I have that warm fuzzy smug feeling.
Ahem (4 pots) ahem
:drool:
Like opening a can of worms dude.
How old is the fluid ?
When were pads last changed?
I could go on etc.
I changed to petal discs at 100,000km's and had braided lines for quite a while prior. With sintered metal pads and new fluid plus a thorough clean of the calipers, the braking increased about 20% in my mind. Money well spent for the increase in my mind. :onya: :onya: :onya:
GSX, agree. 14 brakes work quite well. Not as good as some, agree. Compared to brakes we used to ride earlier, they are incredible. Anyone tried a CB750 lately, Kawa 900, Brembos on a earlier Ducati. I thought gs1000/750 back in the day had perfect brakes. Do they stack up against 14 brakes? I cant remember/compare.
I'm still running original hoses & organic pads on a 140k (miles) K2, I can get the front tyre to chirp above legal speeds while under heavy braking (so not grabbing to try & lock it) so I'd say they work well enough for me.
Quote from: Hooli on Wednesday, 25 September 2019, 02:22 AM
I'm still running original hoses & organic pads on a 140k (miles) K2, I can get the front tyre to chirp above legal speeds while under heavy braking (so not grabbing to try & lock it) so I'd say they work well enough for me.
Yep totally agree Andy, the 6-potters work perfectly well (so long as they are maintained)
Never liked Suzuki / Toxic 6 plops.
Even on brand new bikes they were average at best.
On bikes like the Hayabusa they were dangerously disappointing.
Even Suzuki went back to 4 pots on non-radial models.
I have them on 2 bikes and they will be replaced if they need work or pads.
Has anyone ever worked out the surface area difference in pads and pistons between the 6 and 4 pot calipers. I would assume 4 pot would be a lot cheaper to manufacture.
The front brake on the 14 doesn't bother me but my rear brake is crap.
Piston area for one 6-pot caliper is 27.4 cm2. Basis for calculation (diameter) is 4x27 mm and 2x24 mm.
Would have to know the diameter of the pistons of the 4-pot caliper!?
I am very happy with front and rear after rebuilding the brakes and master cylinders as well as new discs. Rear got new pistons (OEM) as these had some pitting. Braided lines put in as well.
If your rear brake is crap then it's faulty, it's normally pretty good on a 14.
As to working out the best brakes, my thought on 4-pots is the smaller pad would get hotter as it's doing less work in the same area. Meaning you'd need a harder pad to avoid fade.
This has reminded me though, I need to order some new rear pads as mine are getting low.
Whenever I first get a bike the rear brake is usually crap..
BUT
Because I ALWAYS use my rear brake it gets better and better as my ownership progresses..
Why is this?
Because the majority of bikers I speak to NEVER use the rear brake!
On Sophie the rear brake is easily good enough to lock up..
On her recent MOT the tester said "At last.. A Bike with a rear brake"!
That sort of proves my point.
I use up rear pads quicker than fronts, I guess I use mine too. I don't understand people who don't use rear brakes, on bikes like ours they help you stop a lot quicker and make the bike more stable under braking.
Mind you that's partly a habit I got learning to ride on Stroppy as she's only got a brakelight switch on the rear.
As we mostly ride with our bikes with luggage on I find it's a great help using the rear as
@Hooli says .
Also when unloaded it helps keep the bike much more stable too.
:cheers:
I use plenty of back brake, riding the Oxley for instance I would fade the rear out before getting to Gingers Creek, thought it was a 14 thing then the same happened on the FJR on the same road.
Quote from: Irish in Oz on Wednesday, 25 September 2019, 11:08 PM
I use plenty of back brake, riding the Oxley for instance I would fade the rear out before getting to Gingers Creek, thought it was a 14 thing then the same happened on the FJR on the same road.
Organic pads on the rear? Sintered are more resistant to fading.
Andre, Goldfren s33 on rear of 14 which I think are sintered not sure what was on FJR but it's rear brake was better.
Quote from: Andre on Wednesday, 25 September 2019, 11:23 PM
Quote from: Irish in Oz on Wednesday, 25 September 2019, 11:08 PM
I use plenty of back brake, riding the Oxley for instance I would fade the rear out before getting to Gingers Creek, thought it was a 14 thing then the same happened on the FJR on the same road.
Organic pads on the rear? Sintered are more resistant to fading.
I do agree with you Andre, it all depends on personal style I think as to how much "aggression" you want from the rear brake. Personally I preferred it that whilst I had a firm rear brake, it wouldn't lock up - which is what I found HH to do - fitted GG and found it more progressive and less likely to lock.
l have EBC HH pads in the front and GG in the rear. No complaints about the brakes.
Recently went on a riding course, as part of that we did some braking tests. From between 50 and 60 k's we did 3 front only, 3 with both and 3 rear only. The result was that the difference using front and rear brakes together was hardly noticable from using the front only. Using rear brake only was a very much longer stopping distance.
We also practiced locking and releasing the rear brake.
That said l use rear pads a lot quicker than fronts. l do use the rear brake as a steady but what l do a lot is ride the rear brake around roundabouts or tight corners as l find it keeps the head of the bike in tighter.
l remember being told on an earlier course that in 80% of serious motorcycle accidents the rear tyre was flat spotted, the suggestion being that more front brake could have been used to either slow the bike or perhaps even avoid the accident.
Just my two cents worth.
Compared to the hands the feet are gross motor morons. No wonder they find so many flat spotted rear tires in serious MC accidents. Lots of practice with the rear brake, organic pads, and last but not least ABS helps.
No flat spots or serious accidents from my end. Maybe I'm practicing to much. As for ABS suppose I'll will have to get a newer version of FJR. :whistling:
Why not use rear brake? Have seen posts where they say just a decoration. Stupid IMO. Didnt like rear from factory, fitted EBC pads, in the bin after 300ks. Fitted Metal Gear rotor and pads, cant remember if sintered or organic. Perfect. Will not lock up, use around town, setting for corners, roundabouts, all slow braking. Just something i like to work.
I use the rear quite a bit too. As you blokes have said, sharp corners & roundabouts, helps with settling for the turn I reckon. If you're using front to slow, it changes how the bike goes into it & when you release it changes again. I'll trailbrake with the rear into sweepers if the momentum is high & even trailbrake using both on occasion, no dramas, makes a nice smooth fast corner out of something ordinary - imo.
I also use the rear brake a lot, in fact according to my BMW sat nav I use the rear brake more than the front. Sat nav has a "your ride" function that shows speed, time, distance number of gear changes and use of the brakes, don't ask why it just does.