1200 GS rear brake

[stevec]

Riding some beautiful moors roads over the weekend, there was a long downhill with several sharp bends, which often necessitated a little late braking.

Coming into a bend I often notice the back brake pulsing...I don't think I'm braking hard enough to lock the wheels, so I doubt its ABS. Is this normal with hard..ish braking?

At the bottom of the hills I had pins and needles in my right hand, so I took a moment to flex my fist and used only the back brake to slow down. At least that was the move I planned but by itself the back brake barely slows the bike. I've checked pads and discs and eveything's in order. The bike has only done 3000 miles so everything is still fairly new.

So what's the concensus...back brake hardly works and pulses when pushed, or should I make an appointment and get it checked?

 

[GSband]

In my experience :
1) the back brake doesn't do much when only your foot is applied; you really have to put your foot down to get any kind of deceleration.
2) pulses may come from ABS kicking in - but that's only if your rear wheel has started to skid, so you should have noticed.
3) if it's pulsing, but not due to ABS, something is wrong either with your rear disk, or with your rear axle (disk not sitting straight because axle not straight, in which case the pedal goes up and down while braking).

I know all 3 above. In the 3rd instance the rear axle was exchanged for a new one.

Hope this sheds some light.

 

[Schtum]

Coming into a bend I often notice the back brake pulsing...I don't think I'm braking hard enough to lock the wheels, so I doubt its ABS. Is this normal with hard..ish braking?

If you're braking with the "front" brake lever on the handlebars then the semi-linked brakes are already applying the rear brake. If you then add some rear brake pedal to this, thereby increasing the braking on the rear wheel and are going downhill where weight transfer is taking a lot of load off the rear wheel, then it's quite possible that the ABS was cycling and preventing the rear wheel from locking up.

 

[Slowdown]

If you're braking with the "front" brake lever on the handlebars then the semi-linked brakes are already applying the rear brake. If you then add some rear brake pedal to this, thereby increasing the braking on the rear wheel and are going downhill where weight transfer is taking a lot of load off the rear wheel, then it's quite possible that the ABS was cycling and preventing the rear wheel from locking up.

That's what happens on mine....

 

[NAB]

If you're braking with the "front" brake lever on the handlebars then the semi-linked brakes are already applying the rear brake. If you then add some rear brake pedal to this, thereby increasing the braking on the rear wheel and are going downhill where weight transfer is taking a lot of load off the rear wheel, then it's quite possible that the ABS was cycling and preventing the rear wheel from locking up.

And mine

 

[justdave]

me two

 

[Ash]

me three
PS
i wonder if stevec knows he has linked brakes.As i never knew when i first rode a 1200 and thought the rear brake was crap.

 

[stevec]

Errr linked brakes?

Ahh ha

Now I see what's going on.

The back brake doesn't pulse all the time, so its not mechanical misalignment

I wasn't aware that applying front brake applies some back brake. The pulsing only happens when I'm braking pretty hard and the back wheel is offloaded. My logic was to apply the back brake only to judge how much braking power I was applying but obviously with linked brakes that logic is flawed.

Of course, with ABS the wheel won't skid, so you'll never sense a wheel starting to lock up.

So what I'm feeling IS the ABS.

I am very happy with the way the bike scrubs off speed and can be slowed deep into corners, so all is well. The fact that the bike doesn't dive and maintains neutral geometry while braking hard is a real asset. Other bikes would be threatening to tuck their front wheels underneath or wash out while the GS simply turns in and holds a line.

The more I get to know this bike, the more I like it!

Thanks for all the feedback ....most appreciated

Cheers

Steve

 

[Ash]

Ahh ha

Now I see what's going on.

The back brake doesn't pulse all the time, so its not mechanical misalignment

I wasn't aware that applying front brake applies some back brake. The pulsing only happens when I'm braking pretty hard and the back wheel is offloaded. My logic was to apply the back brake only to judge how much braking power I was applying but obviously with linked brakes that logic is flawed.

Of course, with ABS the wheel won't skid, so you'll never sense a wheel starting to lock up.

So what I'm feeling IS the ABS.

I am very happy with the way the bike scrubs off speed and can be slowed deep into corners, so all is well. The fact that the bike doesn't dive and maintains neutral geometry while braking hard is a real asset. Other bikes would be threatening to tuck their front wheels underneath or wash out while the GS simply turns in and holds a line.

The more I get to know this bike, the more I like it!

Thanks for all the feedback ....most appreciated

Cheers

Steve

Steve me thinks their are a few more owners unaware of the 1200 braking system