Brakes feel wooden

[Tonythetiger]

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

[gsxbarmy]

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

[seth]

@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

[Andre]

Glazed pads?

[grog]

A ride on Diavel with monoblocks then back on 14. Always takes couple of stops to re adjust.

[Hooli]

What Barmy said, 14 brakes are famous for seized pistons & they give that feeling.

[Speedy1959]

I have that warm fuzzy smug feeling.
Ahem (4 pots) ahem

[GSXKING]

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. 

[grog]

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.

[Hooli]

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.

[gsxbarmy]

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)

[Tony Nitrous]

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. 

[Irish in Oz]

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.

[Andre]

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.

[Hooli]

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.