Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Hi ALL,

I have been practicing my braking on the bike lately.


Been working on braking from a high speed to avoid an obstical.


I have noticed the past couple of weeks now that when I apply my rear and fronts brakes that i feel I have to squeeze more to get them to bind better.


Have I glazed them?


The braking pressure I am puttin on them is uncomfortable to the point where I feel just a little more pressure may result in a lockup.


What to do?

The brake pads are the OEM pads and I am at my 12,000km mark on the speedo. I pulled out my manual and did an observation on the brakes and the wear indicator is still ok so I would assume they wouldnt be worn out.

Advice appreciated as I feel a bit unsecure. You know the feeling when something has changed about your bike and you cant put your finger on it but deep inside you do feel a difference.



Rocc

as pads wear.... they get thinner..therefore u have to squeeze harder and force more fluid thru the lines to make the pads grab... this may be why they are a bit softer..a bleed and top up may fix it??

extreme high speed braking can cause brake discs to over heat, and warp etc...but i kno a few ppl who REALLY work the front hard and havent caused it yet!!

check ur fluid level, and brake adjuster..see how that goes...

this all started when i was reading the chapter on braking which was in a book called Sport Riding Techniques by Nick Ienatsch.


The book outlined exercises in good braking technique and I practised these exercises over and over again on a quiet back road trying to achieve the level of sensitivity before lockup.

100% Recommend this book. Very informative and full of common sense advice on riding techniques on the track and most of all the open road

neka, this is also offset by the pads slowly being pushed in to compensate for wear. hence a large reservoir of fluid at the master cyl, so when it get slowly pumped to the slave cylinder at the caliper it doesn't run out anytime soon.

firstly bleed the brakes there is prob air or moisture in there and anyway after 12K it would be a good idea anyway

if that doesnt not fix it then pull the caliper off , remove the pads , clean the caliper and if the pads are glazed then get some 80 grit sandpaper or rub them on the concrete to take off the glaze and refit

oh and also worth doing the front as well , nice new fluid costs $5 and makes a world of difference

You're probably just getting better at it if you've been practising heaps. When you say you feel they'll lock if you apply more pressure then you've likely reached the maximum amount you can brake anyway. So long as your progressively squeezing harder, if the wheel is about to lock then that's about where you want to be.