Brake lever feel improves after inspecting pads

Ok so yesterday I decided to have a good look at my brake pads to see how they were wearing.

After swinging up the rear calliper and removing the pads for a good look. I slightly pressed the piston back to make easier getting the calliper back on.
I did the same thing with the front.
As all the pads were no more than 50% used I reinstalled them
Of course afterwards I pumped up the brakes to pressurise the pistons again.

Today I noticed the bakes feel much firmer when applied! Particularly the front

I don't see why pushing the pistons back would improve brake feel afterwards???

I cant explain it mate but I have a much better leaver for a couple of weeks after a front tyre change. Its happened a couple of times now. It doesn't last long though.

Your experience would probably be the same thing, as they're likely to have pushed your front pistons back to reinstall the wheel.

The improvement you feel in the levers is common on most brake systems when the pistons in callipers or cylinders are moved past or returned from their operational position. The same thing applies to cars.

The reason is that they are only ever moved a very short distance (.5mm approx. or less) during normal road operation. This causes them to become sticky in their bores, therefore requiring a bit more effort to move the pads.

The other reason is that most modern systems use more than 1 piston in each calliper & are also different sizes (1 maybe 30 mm while the other is only 26mm). The different sizes means they will apply a different amount of pressure to the pads. This allows 1 end of the pad to touch the disc sooner so you get a more progressive feel to the lever as you apply the pressure. Next time you take your pads out to inspect them you should notice that they have worn with a slight taper.

Most of us should be able to remember the disc brakes from the 70's & early 80's with only single piston callipers & how the levers always felt very "wooden" and hard. Wet weather performance also suffered.

The best way to over come this problem is to replace the brake fluid on a regular basis (no longer than 2 years). Even better is to do it annually & each time flush the system through with clean brake fluid or metho.

Another way is to pump the lever & pedal hard several times before you ride off if the bike has sat for a week or more. This should apply enough pressure to free up all sticking pistons. Try it some time.

Well, I hope I haven't bored to many of you that have read this but this is just 1 of the things you pick up when working in the mechanical trade for 40 years!

I have never felt the same in a car before, maybe because of the vacuum assistance.

I have over the years changed and rebuilt plenty of car braking system but have little experience with motorcycle systems

madmax wrote:I have never felt the same in a car before, maybe because of the vacuum assistance.

I have over the years changed and rebuilt plenty of car braking system but have little experience with motorcycle systems

It's not quite as noticeable in a car but I've had several customers over the years coment on how much better their brakes feel after a service which includes a brake fluid change.

Noticed the same thing after I had a new front tyre fitted. When discussing this and the poor performance of the front brakes with the tyre fitter (x Suzuki mechanic) he suggested the following:
- change calipers for one off a gsx/gsxr 1000 
- fit a master cyl from a gsx/600/750/1000

I have no experience with these bikes nor any expertise in this area so I offer his comments for your comments.

cheers

george

aussie wrote:Noticed the same thing after I had a new front tyre fitted. When discussing this and the poor performance of the front brakes with the tyre fitter (x Suzuki mechanic) he suggested the following:
- change calipers for one off a gsx/gsxr 1000 
- fit a master cyl from a gsx/600/750/1000

I have no experience with these bikes nor any expertise in this area so I offer his comments for your comments.

cheers

george

Braided lines and OEM pads are all that's needed.
The big lump will never stop like a sports bike and with the stock front end OEM is about its limit.

With the one proviso of; read up good and thorough before replacing the ABS lines with braided.

aussie wrote:Noticed the same thing after I had a new front tyre fitted. When discussing this and the poor performance of the front brakes with the tyre fitter (x Suzuki mechanic) he suggested the following:
- change calipers for one off a gsx/gsxr 1000 
- fit a master cyl from a gsx/600/750/1000

I have no experience with these bikes nor any expertise in this area so I offer his comments for your comments.

cheers

george

Hi George,

I can tell you from personal experience (a big word for trial and error), that the suggested changes will make little difference.  What will make a HUGE difference is a Brembo RCS19 master cylinder.

Cheers Peter

^^^Listen to the guy in the clown hat with the evil smile. He speaks wise words.

(Dekenai - just to steal the thread - do you run yours on 18 or 20?)

Wide words?


Using the 20 mm (Black) fulcrum on the Bandit.  I have just got another (for the Gixxer) and will be interested to see which works better.  Brembo recommend 20mm for street use with 4 pot calipers, or 18 mm for track.  The K9 radial master was replaced under recall but even after fitting Galfer Superbike lines was still very inferior compared to the setup on the Bandit.


Going to Eastern Creek on Monday (17 Nov) and will see how it works.

So, I cleaned my glasses and got the previous post to make a bit more sense

If your Bandit's model switches ratio by exchanging bits they've changed it for my model. Mine switches with an inbuilt screw adjuster.

The recommendations by Brembo just stated  - 18 for 4 piston sytems and 20 for 6 pistons.

I went for 20 to give less movement with more effort rather than vice versa.

Be interested to hear how the gixxer's goes.