Just had my brakes bled and checked over, there was air in the system. Riding the bike home, they were obviously better, but still absolutely dead to feel.
BrakingUSA STX rotors, EBC HH pads, steel braided lines, and I was able to pull the lever almost to the bar with three fingers while rolling. There was maybe an inch and a half of freeplay before they'd actually do anything that I'd refer to as biting. Of course, the dial is set at 1. When I did get the setup done originally, the feel was incredible but has degraded over time.
The brakes themselves work fine and a good handful will pull the bike up no worries, but they were just totally dead in feel. I talked to the GM of the bike store, and I'm taking the bike back in tomorrow.
But it leads me to ask, how much freeplay do other people tolerate and am I being unreasonable in wanting my 'busa brakes to feel remotely like my track bike's brakes?
I have a similar setup but with braketec rotors and only get a couple of mm travel before they bite. You have issues buddy.
That's what I thought. I was so annoyed on the way home I was wanting to just dump the bike by the side of the road and catch a cab.
Oh well, at least I've got the attention of the head mechanic, and the GM who rides one himself. I guess I'll see if they fix it as promised
They fixed it this morning, bled the brakes again and it was much much better afterwards.
But otherwise it's very similar to most Gen I Hayabusas in lever movement. Much more feel, similar movement. I think partly I'd forgotten how crap the standard Gen 1 brakes were to start with. The suggestion was made to put on a GSXR1000 master cylinder, has anyone done this? Did a search and didn't find anything.
Maybe it's time to PM kawasuki again
Bleeding the front brakes on a busa is not a simple exercise and there are a couple of tricks to getting all the air out.
Maybe those that are in the know, could remind us of the best way to do it.
I'll see if Louwai can make it a "How to do it".
The best hardware in the world is still not much good without all the air out of the lines.
BUSGO Wrote:Bleeding the front brakes on a busa is not a simple exercise and there are a couple of tricks to getting all the air out.
Maybe those that are in the know, could remind us of the best way to do it.
I'll see if Louwai can make it a "How to do it".
The best hardware in the world is still not much good without all the air out of the lines.
A reverse bleed from the bottom is an excellent way to purge the air out of the corners it tries to hide in.
Syringe brake fluid from the bottom with the top off the reservoir, don't overflow the top.
Need more detail pm me.
cheers
Max
Yup,got to keep on pumping out the brake fluid in order for the air bubbles that are trap inside to come out.Got to keep on topping up.You can also feel by squeezing the lever.
The original bleed wasn't my fault, but as I hadn't been on a really good ride since, I hadn't noticed. City traffic doesn't really require the same amount of brake performance as the northern side of Mt Glorious or the Goat Track.
I've seen the reverse bleed suggestion, what about a vacuum bleeder? I've got two lines coming off the master cylinder to the brakes, I'm not using the bridging line across the top of the wheel cover.
just one more thing is to tie the brake lever down to the handle bar or as far as u can pull it and zip tie it and leave it overnight
kawasuki Wrote:just one more thing is to tie the brake lever down to the handle bar or as far as u can pull it and zip tie it and leave it overnight
I have to ask, how does this work?
evilRasp Wrote:kawasuki Wrote:just one more thing is to tie the brake lever down to the handle bar or as far as u can pull it and zip tie it and leave it overnight
I have to ask, how does this work?
Air comes to the top... about an hour will do it though... you'll feel the difference!
With respect to my particular problem, kawasuki wins with the correct answer
Grabbed a velcro strap, pulled the lever in and after just over an hour, removed it. There was a visible shift in the fluid level through the window, and the lever felt exactly like it should. Very little travel before bite, and not much pressure required to apply endo-ing amounts of braking force, all while being very smooth and controllable.
Thanks for all the tips.
careful no face plants wanted
bigfoot Wrote:careful no face plants wanted
Nar, I just returned the brakes to what they were like when the work was originally done, and how I like it best. They're not quite track grade (my CBR has brakes that only require me to uncover the lever from the on-coming air), but they're damn fine for even wet weather riding.
And yes, when it was first done, I did learn I could endo my 'busa with only my pinky finger.