How far can you pull your front brake back?

[Wreford Miles]

Having one of those 'is it me' moments…

Front brake pads changed on my 2013 Hexhead and all seems good - I ride with two fingers on the lever and it seems to give me the braking I've been use to.

Trouble is I noticed that if I take a full grip on the lever I can get it to pull to the bars - You never need this much and even trying a few hard brakes it never needs all that.

The 'is it me' moment is I cannot recall what it was like before the front pads were changed, it could have always been like that but I can’t recall what it was like.

So how far can you pull yours back…

Thanks W

 

[botus]

depends on lots of things

span adjuster set point
condition of the brake callipers
condition of the discs and pads
wheel bearing play
condition of flexi brake hoses
bleeding of the brakes
brand of pads

dealers always seem to get a much firmer lever than I can manage....

FYI for others reading If its an early bike...(pre 2008) you'll find the throttle cable is dangerously routed and stops the full travel of the front lever.... Later bikes have a different housing allowing its fitment safely above the lever and it doesn't try to kill you.

early bikes -
if riding gently and everything is good NOT a huge issue
if emulating rossi and braking really hard into corners, then the lever might be restricted...
or braking hard and mid way you hit low grip ABS cuts in the lever come back a bit, grip come back and you need to try and stop lever hit the throttle cable and you die... = SAFETY RECALL - except no one cares

 

[Wreford Miles]

Thanks - As a starter I wonder if anyone with a later Hexhead would go and give there front brake a good hard squeeze and let me know how far back you can pull it?

 

[botus]

if you are strong you can get ANY to the bars.... although might have bottled the effect and or has the ABS end play

I was letting them bleed mine the other day and I tested all the ones including those new one waiting to be picked up... and I could get everything they had against the bars....

 

[Wreford Miles]

Thanks - It’s probably me then never noticing before that you could do that

 

[Slipperyeel]

Just a thought, but are you reaching to the bar with the ignition on or off? With it on, I'm thinking the brakes operate slightly differently, there's more power in them...

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[adventuredon]

On a bike safe course in 2017 I got told to cover with more than 2 fingers in case I needed to do the three, two, one and at the bar...squeeze, so I guess its meant to do that. Not sure I could get my 02 abs servo one to the bar though

 

[Wreford Miles]

Bumped into a nice chap pulling into West Bay on his 120k miles 90 Year GSA - He let me have a pull of his lever and it’s the same as mine.

I’m obviously getting daft in my old age

 

[Smug]

Interesting because there would definitely be a problem if a brake pedal went to the floor in a car.

 

[theoneandonly]

i have friend , who used to do 2 finger braking ....now he can only do 2 finger braking ..... cos the first 2 got amputated in a crash.

as stupid as i am ...i use all my fingers.

 

[Steptoe]

i have friend , who used to do 2 finger braking ....now he can only do 2 finger braking ..... cos the first 2 got amputated in a crash.

as stupid as i am ...i use all my fingers.

Call me old fashioned, but i just pull the brake lever when needed and whatever pressure required at the time. Don't think i've ever thought about how many fingers i need.

 

[buncobooth]

I have aftermarket levers on my 2008 GSA and have it on number 1 (closest to the bar) and I still can't get it back to the bar. I would suggest that you may want to get that looked at !

 

[knutk]

Sometimes it helps out to pull the lever as hard as you are able to and then lock it in this position with a nylon strip or whatever works, then leave it in this state over night.
I can not explain why it works, but if I should make a wild guess I would suggest that the softness is caused by ever so tiny air bubbles that are trapped inside the system. Pressurizing the system over night will compress the bubbles and make them to rise to the top in the system, and then, when you relive the pressure the bubbles will escape into the brake fluid reservoir.

If someone has a better explanation I'm all ears and willing to be educated.
However, whatever the explanation may be, it works on my 1250, which I find a bit tricky to bleed properly for the front brake.

my 2c

 

[theoneandonly]

Sometimes it helps out to pull the lever as hard as you re able to and then lock it in this position with a nylon strip or whatever works, the leave it in this state over night.
I can not explain why it works, but if I should make a wild guess I would suggest that the softness is caused by ever so tiny are bubles that are trapped in the system. Pressurizing the system over night will compress the bubbles and make them to rise to the top in the system, and then, when you relive the pressure the bubbles will escape into the brake fluid reservoir.

If someone has a better explanation I'm all ears and willing to be educated.
However, whatever the explanation may be, it works on my 1250, which I find a bit tricky to bleed properly for the front brake.

my 2c

PLUS , turn the bars lh down , and tickle the lever in the morning , to get them all out.

 

[veso borisov]

Hello! This works, I've done it on several motorcycles ... It's called ADHESION. Greetings!

 

[Slipperyeel]

Thanks - As a starter I wonder if anyone with a later Hexhead would go and give there front brake a good hard squeeze and let me know how far back you can pull it?

Just done quite a few miles in the last 48hrs two up, fully loaded. Thought of your post.

No way can I reach the bar with the lever and that was on some steep downhill stretches and 'needing' to brake fairly heavily....

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[Wreford Miles]

Just done quite a few miles in the last 48hrs two up, fully loaded. Thought of your post.

No way can I reach the bar with the lever and that was on some steep downhill stretches and 'needing' to brake fairly heavily....

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

Just to clarify my brakes feel strong and I do not need to pull the lever back to the bar, but you can pull the lever back to the bar (with effort and of course the bike stationary) and I could not remember if it has always been like that and having just had the pads changed I was looking to check with others if they all do that and I’d just never noticed before.

If since checked another late Hexhead and yes you can pull the lever back to the bar

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Just to clarify my brakes feel strong and I do not need to pull the lever back to the bar, but you can pull the lever back to the bar (with effort and of course the bike stationary) and I could not remember if it has always been like that and having just had the pads changed I was looking to check with others if they all do that and I’d just never noticed before.

If since checked another late Hexhead and yes you can pull the lever back to the bar

Little grub screw on brake lever cam?

 

[Slipperyeel]

Just to clarify my brakes feel strong and I do not need to pull the lever back to the bar, but you can pull the lever back to the bar (with effort and of course the bike stationary) and I could not remember if it has always been like that and having just had the pads changed I was looking to check with others if they all do that and I’d just never noticed before.

If since checked another late Hexhead and yes you can pull the lever back to the bar

I'm wondering if JohnnyBoxer has a clue in his post just above?

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[JohnnyBoxer]

I'm wondering if JohnnyBoxer has a clue in his post just above?

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Adjust the tiny grub screw and it will affect lever travel
Be careful though
Don’t use much pressure and maybe has loctite applied