Brake power. (or not).

Ok I will report back tomorrow with the result of the lever tie! Thanks guys.

I run stainless hoses on the car and appreciate how much difference that can make, I think that will be an upgrade for next year

Fingers crossed!

[Nicky S]

Originally Posted by Jynx

I have been trying to sort out the front bakes on my SV650 (K4). The weren't particulary powerfully and the pads looked a bit glazed so I have:

Fitted new EBC pads
Rebuilt the calipers (cleaned pistons and bores)
Fitted new seals
Refilled and bled the system

The brakes now have pretty good power but they don't really come in until the lever is a long way back (about 1cm from the bar). Also it doesn't take too much strength to bring the lever back to the bar.

I have adjusted the span and I also think my lever is slightly bent (toward the bar) so that might explain why I can get it back to the bar.

So other than getting a new lever (on the case) what else is worth checking/swapping? I'm thinking master cylinder at the moment but is it possible it's still not bled properly?

How good are the standard brakes?

i had this same problem and did ever thing you have done i spent around £150 on bits and it was still crap so my last idea was the master cyclinder i ended up buying a brand new one from dealers as it was less hassle and i coudnt be botherd any more. it now works fine prob better then ever before

i also have braided lines make such a diffrence

the tie back of the lever will only work as long as your master cyclinder has not snuffed it. but then again it dose not allways work anyway

i tryed it and the next day my brake was fine i then used the bike and by the next day it was back to its crappy ways. i did this over a week tieing the lever back each night to see if it would make any diffrence but none at all

Bike brakes can be problematic due to the relative height of the master cylinder to the calipers and the limited amount of fluid displaced by the relatively small master cylinder.

You could try using an ezi-bleed type system which forces the fluid constantly though the system rather than just a 'master cylinder' full at a time or bleeding from the caliper up. You get like a big syringe full of fluid and force the fluid up through the system.

I know you will get better performance with braided lines and different pads but the system should work fine with standard or decent quality parts.

Ok well tieing the brake lever back seemed to work quite well, the lever got harder and felt better (still not great) but after a 30 minute ride is seemed to go soft again..... *cough*

Is this sounding like master cylinder?

[Dave20046]

My first guess would be brake seals, however you've done them so guess that leaves brake lines or mastercylinder. I'd verify you're using the right mastercylinder (this was nicky S 's problem above) and then swap to braided hoses.

[rowdy]

Have you bled the master cylinder?

[Taipan]

Did you clean the sliding pins? Mine were so cacked up that I dont think the caliper could slide across fully and I had a spongy lever before. Also try bleeding your master cylinder at the joint with thebrake lines. Turn you bars so it sticking up and keep cloth round it to stop it spraying over your paintwork etc.

Didn't clean the slides but they felt quite free.

So just losen the banjo bolt on the cylinder, cover with a rag and gently pull the lever until fluid comes out there and then nip it off?

Do all ages of SV use the same master cylinder?

No idea if this is going on in your case, but I had a problem on one rebuild where I used brake seals bought off ebay. It never would seal quite right. I eventually bought new pistons and seals from a genuine Suzuki part supplier and problem over...

[rowdy]

Originally Posted by Jynx

Didn't clean the slides but they felt quite free.

So just losen the banjo bolt on the cylinder, cover with a rag and gently pull the lever until fluid comes out there and then nip it off?

Do all ages of SV use the same master cylinder?

I normally give the lever a couple of pumps, then hold the lever to the bar and undo the banjo bolt a little, and look for fluid coming out, then do the banjo bolt back up while still holding the lever in, as you would with the caliper bleed nipple basically. It's also worth giving the calipers and master cylinder a quick bleed just after leaving the leaver tied back over night as well.
Not sure about the master cylinder fitments on all sv's, but if you have a look in the stuff wanted section of the forum Grinch has put up a link to a site that gives you part numbers for spare parts, that might help you find out. HTH.