Posts
4
Joined
1/1/2016
Location
CH
Edited Date/Time
1/3/2016 2:53pm
Hi guys,
Currently I'm stuck with my front brake not providing any feel.
Also it doesn't help that I rode my brothers KTM which has the best brakes I have ever felt on any dirt bike. I myself ride a Honda CRF 250 R from 2011.
I tried pretty much all the common mods:
-Goldfren SS Braided Brake Line
-MotoStuff 280mm oversized rotor
-New Genuine Honda Brake Pads
-Fresh Motul Dot 5.1 Brake Fluid out of a sealed container
-M/C rebuild kit (those were AllBalls though)
-Bleeding for hours and hours
I wanted to put a complete KTM Brembo set on my Honda but that would be to expensive I think. So after reading the following post I think buying a brand new Brembo M/C off ebay might help.
http://www.vitalmx.com/forums/Moto-Related,20/FC-Honda-running-Brembo-K…
Also I'm using the bendable Arc Levers which probably only contribute to the lack of feel. Does anyone have any other ideas?
Currently I'm stuck with my front brake not providing any feel.
Also it doesn't help that I rode my brothers KTM which has the best brakes I have ever felt on any dirt bike. I myself ride a Honda CRF 250 R from 2011.
I tried pretty much all the common mods:
-Goldfren SS Braided Brake Line
-MotoStuff 280mm oversized rotor
-New Genuine Honda Brake Pads
-Fresh Motul Dot 5.1 Brake Fluid out of a sealed container
-M/C rebuild kit (those were AllBalls though)
-Bleeding for hours and hours
I wanted to put a complete KTM Brembo set on my Honda but that would be to expensive I think. So after reading the following post I think buying a brand new Brembo M/C off ebay might help.
http://www.vitalmx.com/forums/Moto-Related,20/FC-Honda-running-Brembo-K…
Also I'm using the bendable Arc Levers which probably only contribute to the lack of feel. Does anyone have any other ideas?
Edit: also found once I had got fork oil on the pads and rode out a few sessions I could never get the 'feel' back, can the caliper body become soft from excessive force don't know, one for the experts.
And agree with the 5.1... 4 is the stuff
The Shop
I agree that you need to check the rotor and pads. I ruined a set of pads by getting a cleaner on them once. Don't remember what I had gotten on them. But once I took scotch brite to the rotor and new pads, the feel was awesome again.
Sadly, your Honda brakes will never be as good as the KTM brembo setup.
Shane
I have a stainless line and Galfer o/s kit on a stock 07 450 Suzuki master cylinder. I wouldn't say it's as strong as a newer Brembo, because I've ridden a KTM, but it's not far off. I can tell you from experience, it's not a 2 finger system. One finger, with a good pull, and it will stop the 290 pounds of lard sitting on that bike.
I find a dry or worn pivot bushing reduces the feel of the front brake drastically. If you pull the lever and it is dragging on the pivot you feel resistance, causing you to be tricked into thinking you feel brake pressure. The effort used in pulling the lever to apply the brakes is wasted on overcoming the friction in the pivot.
-zip tie the lever to the grip over night
-force fluid through the caliper with a syringe
easy ways to determine if air is present
Next time your ride you need to "bed in" the pads. Go from slow speeds to high speeds gradually increasing braking force. After this your brakes should be as good as they can be (very good).
And there's a reason Brembo is the best. Maybe try and find a used Brembo MC off KTM and try it out.
As scooter5002 said the only difference between Dot 5.1 and Dot 4 is the higher boiling point so that should actually be better or at least equal to Dot 4. Anyway the container in which my fluid is in has been opened for quite some time so I'd have to buy new fluid anyways.
@Andy_Grenney I think Goldfren is a pretty decent brake line. I only ever read about the genuine Honda Pads are by far superior to aftermarket brake pads so that was one of the first things I changed as the "Braking" Pads I was running were really bad. I didn't know there were Pads might by Nissin but I'll definitely look into it.
@PhilG Hanging up the complete assembly sounds promising. I haven't tried that yet but will definitely.
@Scooter5002 I tried reverse bleeding multiple times and it didn't really help much. I normally don't buy anything made by AllBalls but I couldn't get genuine parts in the needed time span.
@fulltime wrench The lever isn't hard at all it's rather spongey.
@Twist1 It sucks all the time... I tried the "ZipTieTrick" multiple times it felt a bit better on the first couple of pulls but goes back to bad in almost no time.
@mb I think I'll have to put on new Pads as my fork seal has to be redone as well. I have never tried to bleed it conventionally right after reverse bleeding so that's something to look into as well. I did bed in my pads and rotor when I got the new rotor and put on new pads.
@KICKERMAN360 I don't have anymore stock levers here sadly... Also I don't want to "waste" the money for a stock lever now if I would be getting a Brembo M/C.
Could there be something wrong with my caliper?
Again thank you all for your support! I'll try everything.
Thanks again and a happy new year everyone!
my guess the braided line has a small leak
Pit Row
Nothing compares to new stuff too. On my 2012 rmz I had an oversized roto and SS line, lever felel was excellent, they always had fresh fluid, yet they still were rubbish compared to the stock components of my 2015 when it was new. Then I tossed those parts on the 15 and I've got all the brakes I've ever needed.
Not the bottom banjo as well?
Post a reply to: Wondering why my brake still sucks