10000 Miles

[sonnie]

21,000km and 3-rear tires, and still running strong, was due for the brake bleed recall, and 2nd service 5000km ago, but the stealership can't get it in until the mid-end of August, might be due for my 3rd service at that point

Have u been in for a valve shim adjustment yet.. They are pretty greedy here in the US ..

 

[Frosty Rider]

Have u been in for a valve shim adjustment yet.. They are pretty greedy here in the US ..

not yet, the only thing that the shop has done so far is the first service and oil change, they are apparently extremely backed up, everything i have done myself, much quicker that way, and i know exactly what has been done.

 

[maurice]

Stay off those rear brakes guys... This torquey engine does enough damage to the rear.

Sonnie. I was always told even though brakes linked to use both brakes when braking. Otherwise front will wear out quicker. Vtx1800 stated so in manual. You say otherwise. You tried both ways and just front is better? Not doubting just curious.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

With out ABS 80% to 90% of your braking when stopping suddenly or at a red light should be with the front brake. The rear should just be feathered while stopping. Most all of the bike and your weight will be on the front tire. When hitting the back roads the rear brake is once again feathered to cut speed going into turns and in some instances to upright the bike coming out of a turn. With ABS active the linked brakes I believe it's 40% rear and 60% front stopping although I may be wrong. I very seldom touch the rear brake from years and years of riding without ABS so old habits are hard to break but in the case with active ABS it doesn't really matter. Some rest their feet on the rear brake so it's always in use. In my opinion only the rear brake pads should never be worn down before the front for normal riding/touring. For back roads riders that are constantly in the twisties then that is a different story and the rear will most likely get worn down first. I'm not an expert but I did in fact stay at a Holliday Inn this week. Cheers.

 

[sonnie]

With out ABS 80% to 90% of your braking when stopping suddenly or at a red light should be with the front brake. The rear should just be feathered while stopping. Most all of the bike and your weight will be on the front tire. When hitting the back roads the rear brake is once again feathered to cut speed going into turns and in some instances to upright the bike coming out of a turn. With ABS active the linked brakes I believe it's 40% rear and 60% front stopping although I may be wrong. I very seldom touch the rear brake from years and years of riding without ABS so old habits are hard to break but in the case with active ABS it doesn't really matter. Some rest their feet on the rear brake so it's always in use. In my opinion only the rear brake pads should never be worn down before the front for normal riding/touring. For back roads riders that are constantly in the twisties then that is a different story and the rear will most likely get worn down first. I'm not an expert but I did in fact stay at a Holliday Inn this week. Cheers.

Your right.. The linked brakes on the 2500 are 60/40.. I never use my rear brake only to stop.. Because they are proportioned, you are using your rear brake 40% anyway
by just using the front lever. The rear tire takes sooooo much abuse by the engine, it causes a lot of tire tread loss.. I have been getting close to 9k before replacing the rear.
The front has so much more stopping power because of the weight transfer as u mentioned also. Lots of newer riders for some reason avoid the front brake but at the peril
of having to replace the rear tire much too soon. To make matters worse for the rear tire, this bike has a ton of engine braking with the throttle closed.. Some of my riding buddies
that ride behind me actually think my brake lights arent working because i dont use the brakes coming into most corners because the engine does most of it for me.

 

[maurice]

With out ABS 80% to 90% of your braking when stopping suddenly or at a red light should be with the front brake. The rear should just be feathered while stopping. Most all of the bike and your weight will be on the front tire. When hitting the back roads the rear brake is once again feathered to cut speed going into turns and in some instances to upright the bike coming out of a turn. With ABS active the linked brakes I believe it's 40% rear and 60% front stopping although I may be wrong. I very seldom touch the rear brake from years and years of riding without ABS so old habits are hard to break but in the case with active ABS it doesn't really matter. Some rest their feet on the rear brake so it's always in use. In my opinion only the rear brake pads should never be worn down before the front for normal riding/touring. For back roads riders that are constantly in the twisties then that is a different story and the rear will most likely get worn down first. I'm not an expert but I did in fact stay at a Holliday Inn this week. Cheers.

So are you saying you need to be using rear
brake since bike has abs? Just a touch to bring ratio 50 50?
Page 100 of owners manual states most efficient braking using both pedal and lever.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

So are you saying you need to be using rear
brake since bike has abs? Just a touch to bring ratio 50 50?
Page 100 of owners manual states most efficient braking using both pedal and lever.

Nope. With ABS it doesn't matter. Everything is done for you. Most of my post was about bikes without ABS. I didn't like ABS at first as a good rider can stop a hair quicker without ABS. Now as I get older my perception and reaction time is slower and I welcome ABS. You just grab a handful and the ABS does the rest.

 

[Tripps]

My BMW has linked, antilock, abs, and believe it or not, power brakes. But you can still use rear brake, and it shifts the bias toward the rear brake, I'm not sure if it's partially or fully. They only did it a few years, and only on the K1200GT. It was way overkill, power assist on a motorcycle, second generation 2006 on, they dropped that. Guzzi Dan calls it the spaceship, its almost 20 years old, way ahead of its time, he flew out to Arkansas and rode it back for me, I was busy at work.

 

[sonnie]

Nope. With ABS it doesn't matter. Everything is done for you. Most of my post was about bikes without ABS. I didn't like ABS at first as a good rider can stop a hair quicker without ABS. Now as I get older my perception and reaction time is slower and I welcome ABS. You just grab a handful and the ABS does the rest.

If i remember correctly 60 and 40 is 100... using front brake lever only.. Using front, and back will still only give you 100%. The problem without having ABS
on a bike especially as big as this one, is most riders will tend to lock the rear brake in a panic stop and start a skid.. ABS prevents that AND applies both brakes at the same time
for the best stopping distance for even inexperienced riders.. Some older sport bikes (read ****** rocket) will do an unintended stoppy with a handful of front brake.
ABS prevents that too. I'm 75, and just dont have the perfect reaction time anymore in a panic stop situation, so i keep the ABS on all the time and two fingers on the
front brake lever all the time.... The front tire has two discs that are larger than the back because it does most of the stopping power.

 

[Frans]

ABS prevents that AND applies both brakes at the same time

Not that i'm aware off. ABS only makes sure that there is no lockup while braking, linked brakes or combined brakes will engage both brakes. The ratio is normally 60 front /40 rear. However depending on the system those linked brakes will do that only when using the front other systems will also do that when using the rear. Nop idea how it is with the new R3

Combined braking system - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org