Geek_Law
Supercharged
If you don't want to read the whole thing ... the short version is that I now have AWESOME brakes. My front will easily lock up, with the sidecar, with just a quick squeeze. The back and sidecar brake combo will also lock up no problem now, although I do need to bleed the sidecar caliper again. There are some juicy pics below.
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Here's the long version:
So I posted earlier in the week that my back brakes failed my on my 900 mile road trip. The brake material was missing, and only the backing plates remained. I still don't know what happened, but I have a picture of the aftermath below. My rotor is just fine. I'm not going to turn it or replace it.
I also noted that I burned up my front brakes in the mountains, by using them way too much in an effort to avoid the rear brake, which is unfortunately also controlling the sidecar brake. So basically I was pushing a 1000 lbs bike, a 250 lbs sidecar, about 300 lbs of human cargo, and about 100 lbs of static cargo ... all on my poor little front brakes.
It appears that I boiled the fluid and probably glazed the front pads as well. This week I bled the front system and replaced the fluid with some high temp 450 boiling point DOT 4. I've got some better stuff coming, about a 550F boiling point, but I had to get them working as the brake handle would go clear to the throttle and not even lock up the front ... or slow down much. The new stuff coming this weekend, and I'll bleed the front and back next week.
Anyway, after the bleeding, using Doc's idea of the vibrator, which worked great, and a long tube to keep fluid against the nipple so I could see whether bubbles were coming out, I got my brakes so that they were very stout. I tried the vacuum pump and was left quite unimpressed. The tube and vibrator however worked amazingly well.
In the garage, the handle felt firmer, but I could easily pull it back to the throttle. On the road however, the handle was very firm, but with the sidecar, the front wheel has lots of weight, and the OEM brakes were just not up to the task, despite having a very firm brake handle. The bike was stopping well, but I was still using only the front brakes, and it took a whole lot of force to get the bike to slow down from the speeds at which I drive, and I could smell the brakes getting quite a work out.
I had ordered sintered HH racing brake pads for the entire bike and also the sidecar. The ones from flipmeisters came this afternoon (I only ordered them Monday night ... so that was pretty ****ed fast) and I threw them on.
HOLY SMOKES. My front brakes are amazing. I could not be happier. These things are stout and VERY aggressive. Even with all the weight of the sidecar, the front brakes will easily lock up the front wheel, and I now have much more control and can get very aggressive with my braking. This is important given that I tend to hit pretty serious speeds out on the farm roads near my house. Those corners come up quick!!!
The Rear brakes still need to be bled. I've got some air in the sidecar caliper I think, but nevertheless, the sintered rear brakes really grab hold and will lock up the bike's rear tire as well. I don't think anybody else would really benefit from sintered rear pads, but I need the extra stopping power due to the weight of the sidecar. That back brake really does a lot of work.
I would however strongly recommend that folks consider the sintered brakes for the front if they are having braking issues. My bike was ok without the sidecar, but not great. I think with these brakes you'd have all the power you need. Although I think a bit of caution may be required as these things really are aggressive.
I'm still waiting on the brembo sidecar caliper sintered pads to come, and then I also need to sort out my squishy rear brake problem, but all in all, I'm very happy with the new pads and my very firm brake handle.
Here are some pics of the toasted rear brake pads:
I really don't know what the heck happened. These things cannot have more than 2000 miles on them.
After putting in the sintered pads, I tried to "bed" them in. You can actually see the discoloration of the backing plate in this photo from the heat that I generated while giving the brakes a work over. (note: they don't normally hang down like that
... I knocked them loose when I removed the rear wheel this evening for my new big ass 245 tire.
Here are the front pads that I removed. They went on at the EXACT same time as the rear brakes. You can see that they obviously have tons of material left. They are practically brand new. I really cannot for the life of me figure out what happened to the rear pads.
#########################
Here's the long version:
So I posted earlier in the week that my back brakes failed my on my 900 mile road trip. The brake material was missing, and only the backing plates remained. I still don't know what happened, but I have a picture of the aftermath below. My rotor is just fine. I'm not going to turn it or replace it.
I also noted that I burned up my front brakes in the mountains, by using them way too much in an effort to avoid the rear brake, which is unfortunately also controlling the sidecar brake. So basically I was pushing a 1000 lbs bike, a 250 lbs sidecar, about 300 lbs of human cargo, and about 100 lbs of static cargo ... all on my poor little front brakes.
It appears that I boiled the fluid and probably glazed the front pads as well. This week I bled the front system and replaced the fluid with some high temp 450 boiling point DOT 4. I've got some better stuff coming, about a 550F boiling point, but I had to get them working as the brake handle would go clear to the throttle and not even lock up the front ... or slow down much. The new stuff coming this weekend, and I'll bleed the front and back next week.
Anyway, after the bleeding, using Doc's idea of the vibrator, which worked great, and a long tube to keep fluid against the nipple so I could see whether bubbles were coming out, I got my brakes so that they were very stout. I tried the vacuum pump and was left quite unimpressed. The tube and vibrator however worked amazingly well.
In the garage, the handle felt firmer, but I could easily pull it back to the throttle. On the road however, the handle was very firm, but with the sidecar, the front wheel has lots of weight, and the OEM brakes were just not up to the task, despite having a very firm brake handle. The bike was stopping well, but I was still using only the front brakes, and it took a whole lot of force to get the bike to slow down from the speeds at which I drive, and I could smell the brakes getting quite a work out.
I had ordered sintered HH racing brake pads for the entire bike and also the sidecar. The ones from flipmeisters came this afternoon (I only ordered them Monday night ... so that was pretty ****ed fast) and I threw them on.
HOLY SMOKES. My front brakes are amazing. I could not be happier. These things are stout and VERY aggressive. Even with all the weight of the sidecar, the front brakes will easily lock up the front wheel, and I now have much more control and can get very aggressive with my braking. This is important given that I tend to hit pretty serious speeds out on the farm roads near my house. Those corners come up quick!!!
The Rear brakes still need to be bled. I've got some air in the sidecar caliper I think, but nevertheless, the sintered rear brakes really grab hold and will lock up the bike's rear tire as well. I don't think anybody else would really benefit from sintered rear pads, but I need the extra stopping power due to the weight of the sidecar. That back brake really does a lot of work.
I would however strongly recommend that folks consider the sintered brakes for the front if they are having braking issues. My bike was ok without the sidecar, but not great. I think with these brakes you'd have all the power you need. Although I think a bit of caution may be required as these things really are aggressive.
I'm still waiting on the brembo sidecar caliper sintered pads to come, and then I also need to sort out my squishy rear brake problem, but all in all, I'm very happy with the new pads and my very firm brake handle.
Here are some pics of the toasted rear brake pads:
I really don't know what the heck happened. These things cannot have more than 2000 miles on them.
After putting in the sintered pads, I tried to "bed" them in. You can actually see the discoloration of the backing plate in this photo from the heat that I generated while giving the brakes a work over. (note: they don't normally hang down like that
... I knocked them loose when I removed the rear wheel this evening for my new big ass 245 tire.Here are the front pads that I removed. They went on at the EXACT same time as the rear brakes. You can see that they obviously have tons of material left. They are practically brand new. I really cannot for the life of me figure out what happened to the rear pads.
