Brakes

[FlyinCustard]

Hi everyone

On the way home from Matlock on Bank Hol Mon I nearly ditched it as i came into a resonably sharp right hander on a down hill section, i grabbed what i thought to be a fist and foot full of brakes and the bike didn't seem to slow that much. :(

I ended up standing it up mid corner and really grabbin some brakes and kept pushin off the grass bankin on my my left with my foot. Double:(:(

After this i tested the brakes a few times and found for the fist say... 1/4 of the travel of the front lever nothin much seems to happen just a ttthhhhhh noise, after that it seams to stand on its nose.:confused:

Bearing in mind i was 2 up @ the time wi our lass on the back I count myself lucky we are ok n i didn't drop it. But i need to know if this is pilot error or if i may needs new pads or my brakes servicin for our safety.

Cheers Guys

Sorry its a bit text heavy here's a pic of silly man:p on sv to make up for it, i don't think he has problems with his brakes:p
http://www.robhoyles.com/images/gallery/large/Road_bike_pics/SV650K4%20Stand%20up.JPG

[dizzyblonde]

your silly man has a huge dent in his downpipe though ;-)

Its easy enough to take caliper off to look at your pads, you won't break them. It won't harm to have the system overhauled. IIRC you've not had the bike long, so its service history could be a bit hazy?

thhhhhh noise? Air in there??

[Bibio]

was it raining???

[FlyinCustard]

was it raining???

yep but not chuckin it down.

[Bibio]

ttthhhh noise is nothing to worry about its just disc noise, you should hear my brothers duke..lol

when you are usually out and about how hard do you normally brake?? are you an early braker or late braker or usually use engine braking?

could be that your pads have hardened up.. and you encountered brake fade..

how have the brakes been today?

[FlyinCustard]

today they've sempt better.

i tend to use engine braking, brak into the corner the come off and turn. don't know if that's right.

I've had to teach myself to use the brakes as coming from my 125 the engine braking on that was so vicious i barley nedded the brakes.

[Bibio]

sounds like your pads/discs have glazed and hardened up.. try lightly sanding both sides of both discs to remove top glaze.. but if the pads have hardened up you will have to replace them...

[Jamiebridges123]

Well I found out the other day when I got caught in a torrential downpour, that after 4 weeks of sunshine, brakes don't like working all of a sudden!

If it's wet I massage my brakes every so often just to keep them up to temperature and to make sure no water gets in-between pad and disk when I need them most. Overshot a junction once (didn't come off thankfully no harm done) and ever since I make sure...

I'd recommend a brake overhaul. Not too hard and would be a good thing to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon. Get some brake cleaner, a new set of HH Sintered pads (will cost about £50 for the front (2 sets), some new fluid and some braided lines!

Change the pads first. While you're there, take the calipers off and give them a good clean with your wire brush. Check the seals while you're in there. Put some copper grease on the BACKS of the new pads and stick them back in. Change the lines and bleed the system.

Viola~!, awesome brakes.

[Dave20046]

I had a peak at your pads custard and they had a bit of meat on them IIRC, not metal on metal or anything and your brake lever felt good.

Overhaul might be a good idea though seeing as I got the impression that bike hadn't had a good service in a while. Check ebay for the HH pads I got mine for £35 all in all or if not nissin pads are about £30.
If you want to go the whole length and do the lines then you can (By coincidence I have some waiting to be sent back to HEL right now but they would fit your bike).

If I was yu I'd take the calipers off give everything a clean, check the movement and possibly change the pads then see where you are.

[Viney]

Well I found out the other day when I got caught in a torrential downpour, that after 4 weeks of sunshine, brakes don't like working all of a sudden!

If it's wet I massage my brakes every so often just to keep them up to temperature and to make sure no water gets in-between pad and disk when I need them most. Overshot a junction once (didn't come off thankfully no harm done) and ever since I make sure...

I'd recommend a brake overhaul. Not too hard and would be a good thing to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon. Get some brake cleaner, a new set of HH Sintered pads (will cost about £50 for the front (2 sets), some new fluid and some braided lines!

Change the pads first. While you're there, take the calipers off and give them a good clean with your wire brush. Check the seals while you're in there. Put some copper grease on the BACKS of the new pads and stick them back in. Change the lines and bleed the system.

Viola~!, awesome brakes.Where on earth are you buing your pads from!! £18 a set maximum. I use carbone lorriane pads form Hein gericke.

[flymo]

I tend to use engine braking, brake into the corner the come off and turn. don't know if that's right.

I dont think it is no, use the brakes to slow the bike down and the engine to accelerate. Your best friend is your front brake and it needs to be working perfectly, engine braking will only apply to the rear wheel.

[Jamiebridges123]

Where on earth are you buing your pads from!! £18 a set maximum. I use carbone lorriane pads form Hein gericke.

EBC HH Sintered pads are about £20 a set from the evilbay, or about £24 in my local dealer. I try to support them as they've always been good to me, etc :smt005

[RichT]

What's the org consensus on sintered pads on OEM discs? I hear that EBC will ruin the discs.

I've recently bought organic pads to replace my OEM fronts and was told at the time that sintered pads will probably ruin my discs.

[Dave20046]

I was recommended sintered pads off the .org. If not nissin pads are OEM and apparently not too bad atall. About £30 full frontal ;)
I'll let you know if my discs die.


I dont think it is no, use the brakes to slow the bike down and the engine to accelerate. Your best friend is your front brake and it needs to be working perfectly, engine braking will only apply to the rear wheel.
Not given it too much thought but I use a fair bit of the engine braking available to me on the sv, I kind of thought not using it so much and being heavy on the brakes/throttle (if that's what you mean) was gunning it/track style riding.

[FlyinCustard]

Ok, when I get paid i''l be in the market for:

Sv650 Haynes manual, brake pads, brake fluid and brake cleaner and I'm going to teach myself a crash course in brake maintanance(spelling:confused:)

Nearer the time i will ask for specific details on whoch pad to buy.

RichT I also heard fast road pads chew ya disk up.

The bike has silver Goodridge braided hoses on the front, would you still recomend I change them from the problem i listed?

[Dave20046]

Oh yeah I forgot, nah leave 'em on rich - if you need fluid I should have a bit you can have.
Once you have your haynes manual (£5-£10 I guess) read the bit on inspecting the front brake and follow it. If you have any trouble you can give me a shout.

[FlyinCustard]

Cheers, will let u know when it comes to payday

[Alpinestarhero]

A few things to try:

1) bleed the brake system, or drain and re-fill with fresh fluid.

2) clean the discs with some brake cleaner; fine deposits of brake material left on the disc will impair brake performance

3) pump the brake lever a few times in the morning / before you set off. I had crap brakes yesterday, so tried pumping the lever and it made a noticable improvment to the feel at the lever

Matt

[vardypeeps]

Yeah just sounds like it was clearing the water off the disk then biting.
Check that you have not knocked your adjuster on the brake lever for travel!

[Smudge]

What's the org consensus on sintered pads on OEM discs? I hear that EBC will ruin the discs.

I've recently bought organic pads to replace my OEM fronts and was told at the time that sintered pads will probably ruin my discs.

yep i stick with organic cos discs are way too expensive no piont buying the dogs pads if you aint got the dogs discs.

[vardypeeps]

Why would sintered pads ruin your disks?
Surely there just made a bit different. Is it because they make more heat?

[AndyBrad]

How much are decent disks then?

Also ive noticed scoring, can they be refaced? Or are they too thin?

[Jamiebridges123]

I've always used HH pads on my bikes and had no real issues. Yes, they go through disks quicker, but they won't ruin them and are well worth it unless you only commute...

Disks are consumables anyway and I'd rather not be a cheapskate and put longevity of a consumable above performance.. it's not like you need new disks every 10k.

There's a minimum thickness which is stamped on the disk rotor somewhere, measure it and if it's above that, then it's fine. If it isn't, it's time for some decent waveys

[boot]

Ok, when I get paid i''l be in the market for:

Sv650 Haynes manual, brake pads, brake fluid and brake cleaner and I'm going to teach myself a crash course in brake maintanance(spelling:confused:)

Nearer the time i will ask for specific details on whoch pad to buy.

RichT I also heard fast road pads chew ya disk up.

The bike has silver Goodridge braided hoses on the front, would you still recomend I change them from the problem i listed?

I'll be doing mine this weekend or next. Already have braided hoses, but will be replacing pads front and rear, and doing a full bleed. Also need to replace the rear reservoir, so if anyone's can point me in the direction of replacement parts, that'd be good.

If you fancy popping over to see how it's done, never done this job on a bike before, but can't be too difficult (famous last words Dave?) then feel free mate.

[FlyinCustard]

Cheers thats a good idea, if i can make it over i will.

pm sent

[Dave20046]

In the process of doing mine, told my mate they'd bleed up easy in 30 mins as they did last time. Been an hour or more! grrr

Rich you get that visit from the think bike fairy?

[yorkie_chris]

I don't know how people manage to take so long about it.

Pour some fluid in, bleed the bottom until you see fluid, bleed both sides several times until you're getting mostly fluid. Tap everything. Do it again. Repeat a few times. Bleed the banjos. Bleed the rest again. Job jobbed.

Most awkward one was a pointy S which took about 20 minutes.

[FlyinCustard]

Rich you get that visit from the think bike fairy?

:smt017Not yet, when would he have been?:rolleyes:

[Dave20046]

:smt017Not yet, when would he have been?:rolleyes:
oops spotted you bike parked up in chezzy the yesterday and left a couple of stickers under your left clipon. Maybe it wasn't you bike??


I don't know how people manage to take so long about it.

Pour some fluid in, bleed the bottom until you see fluid, bleed both sides several times until you're getting mostly fluid. Tap everything. Do it again. Repeat a few times. Bleed the banjos. Bleed the rest again. Job jobbed.

Most awkward one was a pointy S which took about 20 minutes.

TBH I wasted too much time bubble watching, then when I went to bleed from the bottom there wasn't even any fluid down there just air. Gonna try finish it off tonight.

Is red rubber grease specifically for brake seals or just seals in general by the way?

[Ginger 1]

Hello mate, Do you often ride 2 up? It could just be brakes are ok just double the weight you normally have on the bike for that corner? either that or it exaggerated the problem you wouldn't normally notice?

[FlyinCustard]

Hello mate, Do you often ride 2 up? It could just be brakes are ok just double the weight you normally have on the bike for that corner? either that or it exaggerated the problem you wouldn't normally notice?

It could be a lot of this but i want to give the brakes a service anyhow as the history of my bike is none existant.

And it will give me piece on mind:D

[FlyinCustard]

oops spotted you bike parked up in chezzy the yesterday and left a couple of stickers under your left clipon. Maybe it wasn't you bike??



:pnot me:p

[Dave20046]

:pnot me:p
outside adr?
must have blown away mate :(

[FlyinCustard]

outside adr?
must have blown away mate :(

this IS me:confused:

im being stalked:( orrr i'll have a look on the floor when i go home later (Here till 6pm :-()

Dave r u at work sat? i'm up for a ride out sat morning :p i need to be back for dinner timeish tho.:(

Let me know.

[DANINPLYMOUTH]

I would say get some gsxr 4pots and the sv racing adapters. I always felt the front were too weak especially as now i spend a lot of the time with the other half on the back. I cant praise enough how good they are now

[yorkie_chris]

The brakes aren't that bad, it's the naff forks which contribute too. With everything in good health they can be pretty keen.