Burning Smell

To see if brakes are dragging , go for a ride and don`t use them , come home and when you get off bike , very quickly tap the back of your fingers on the rotor as if you are expecting an electric shock , this way if it is hot it won`t burn you and you wont leave finger grease on the disc .

If you own a paddock stand then just lift the rear up and spin the wheel it should do about a whole rotation and you might hear the brakes dragging or it will just stop dead almost right away . If it doesn`t then pump the rear brake a couple of times and try again as the piston in the caliper may be a bit reticent . These are just generalisations of course and done at your own risk etc etc yadda yadda

[mattSV]

Originally Posted by xXBADGERXx

To see if brakes are dragging , go for a ride and don`t use them ,

Originally Posted by xXBADGERXx

To see if brakes are dragging , go for a ride and don`t use them

I understand what you mean but this is easier said than done not using brakes.

Normally if you look down through the calipers you should see an air gap between the pads and the disc. Very slight but about 100 micron or the width of a piece of paper.

You can easily ride the SV and not use the rear brake , I`m not talking about going for a hoon here , I`m talking about a mile tops , local wise , just use the front brake . I can sometimes ride to work and back and only used the brakes a couple of times and control the bike on the throttle .

The explanation doesn`t work so well with front brakes though I kinda forget to make that clear , but you get the gyst of what I was getting at there ........ don`t do this with front brakes .

Hi All,

Thanks again for the responses. I will check out the brakes next time I ride. If the brakes are dragging, what type of danger is there? Obviously the pads will wear out quicker but what else can go wrong while riding? Reason for asking is my work/school schedule is very busy and probably won't have time to take the bike to get fixed for another few weeks + bike is my only method of transportation.

Thanks so much!

Well they can actually bind onto the disc and drag even harder , mine did this a couple of weeks ago , came out of a junction and had to wring it`s neck to get away from a car , managed to hook my foot under the brake lever and lift it upwards which released the brake . Managed to check the caliper piston that weekend and it had winter crud all over it so gave it a whiffle with a brass brush and a little polish with scotchbrite , cleaned out with brake and clutch cleaner , cleaned the caliper and springs , dropped a new pair of pads in for good measure and re-assembled with a dab of Copperslip on the threads of the pad retaining pins and the little allen screw that goes in after the pins , job done

They operate with friction, friction causes heat and the hotter it gets the less friction the pads and disc will create.

Still didn`t stop my rear Disc from going Blue and stinking the driveway out

Hi,

It sounds like the main problem that could occur due to the brakes dragging would be that they work less effectively due to the excess heat. Is this a safe assumption to make? I suppose if they are dragging I will have to be extra careful when commuting to and from work/school. Any idea what the chances of brake failure/loss would be?

Thanks for the help and advice.

[rictus01]

Doesn't sound to clear really where are you perhaps someone local could take a look, you really don't want to be neglecting brakes, not this time of year especially.

( Oh and if you add your location to your profile it'll save people asking it again.).

Cheers Mark.