Been having some great fun on my bike. I've noticed though that I have to put more pressure on the rear break than I would have anticipated. I have to push it quite hard. Could there be an issue with the brake pad or is this normal?
For your non-ABS model I think it is normal. I have 2004 and 2011 and both seem to require undue pressure. One prob could be glazed or worn pads, another could be old brake lines - fluid bulges in lines rather than goes straight to caliper. First job might be to inspect pads and bleed rear brake.
With the greatest respect, if you have to ask that, it would be safer to have the system checked by a Honda dealer or other reliable workshop. Whilst the bleeding process is relatively straight forward, I'd had to think that any minor error and consequent accident/incident could fall back on myself or another forum member.
Yep they do require more pressure than you would think , personally i don't use mine at all , the last time it was used was for the MOT so once a year then hahaha
The first thing I noticed about the brakes after leaving the showroom with my shiny new 2014 blade was that the rear brake required a bit more pressure than I was used to. I soon became accustomed to it and now quite like the way it works. Presumably yours was working effectively enough at the last MOT.
Yeah no prob , the thing is I ride mainly with my toes on the pegs and never really bothered with rear brake , only move left foot to shift , not got time for back brake hahaha
My 2014 Blades rear brake has been pants since the day it was registered, there is nothing mechanically wrong with it, it’s just useless, and it struggles to pass an MOT requiring the tester to really apply a lot of pressure on it.
I'm surprised by these comments about not using the back brake. I was advised when learning that you should not use the front brake when going round corners as it can cause the front wheel to over turn/over rotate. Back break should be used when needing to slow the bike down whilst cornering.
There are many methods of braking. Of course you would not grab a big handful mid-corner, but there are times a 'speed adjustment' needs to be made. I favour a light application of both front and rear - and that is on both ABS and non-ABS bikes.
on the road, if u need you brake in a corner you've set the corner up wrong in the 1st place, and more than likely braking too deep into the corner usually bottoming your forks out which takes longer to settle back, don't forget when theres no more suspension travel theres no more grip!! even if u have the stickiest tyres on, your bike is most stable with a weight balance of 60%back 40%front which means u want gas not brake, lightly hood is im prob on the gas while your still messing with your brakes making the bike unstable, more then likely u never needed to brake so much in the fist place but gas and lean angle, all this is when your nailing it don't forget, so one mistake could be costly, u wont have these problems if you potter about, all the work is done before the corner , this is one of the advantages of firm suspension it sets the corner up quicker, so your on the gas sooner, making the bike stable,
its what happens when panic braking tho. u jump on the brake to much and you'll end up on other side of the road, front or rear brake, i'v done it more then once then I read a book and never done it again, thing is with a back brake is vary vague feeling, i'd fancy a thumb brake if I was on track
Depends on your riding style, experience, how quickly your riding etc etc etc. Sometimes I like to dab the rear brake approaching and entering corners just to shed off the last couple of mph whilst riding quickly along twisty country roads. As above preferably you should be setting up the entry speed before the corner and not hard braking mid corner. Braking distribution between front and rear on a sports bike is probably around 85% 25% respectively but will change dramatically as weight transfers to the front under heavy braking. Should read 75% 25% as pointed out below
I use my rear brake. Final braking when approaching a junction etc. as it gives a much smoother stop especially when you have a pillion. If I want to send a message to the wazzock behind be in traffic. When I don't need to scrub too much speed for corners or traffic. Backing in when approaching a 20mph limit near a school in order to impress all the Mum's collecting their kids from school One of the above may be total BS I've done training where the use of the rear brake was encouraged, and I've done training where it was discouraged. Brake the way you like to brake and sod the "experts"
Pretty much same as barstewardsquad... Plus there's a few of those really tiny mini roundabout's where I live and if traffic prevents cutting them then the rear brakes worth its weight in gold for getting round them smoothly. I used to use it a lot as well when commuting thru the city and filtering was v slow, it keeps the bike more stable at nearly a stand still.
