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Jraice
Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 - 05:14 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I feel as though my braking power has fallen significantly. I cannot recall when I was last content with it but now it has gotten to the point where I am squeezing nearly as hard as I can to get a hard stop into a corner, or even just to stop for a yellow light.

Running Vesrah pads right now, they are at around 1/2 worn. Have ran Lyndall Gold and EBC before this. I recall with the OEM pads I used to loft the rear wheel on really hard stops, now I can't even get it to chatter.

Used to be something I wanted to take care of before my next track outing but now I am starting to feel like it is even affecting my street riding, even around town (stopping for cars/lights).

New pads? Could it be rotor related at all? Pads are wearing very evenly so I don't think its the calipers. Brakes are bled every time I install new pads.
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Gschuette
Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 - 05:20 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Clean that rotor with some steel wool. When you say EBC, do you know which compound? I can not stand the Lyndall gold pads but I love the EBC HH. Also a master cylinder and caliper rebuild along with fresh fluid makes a world of difference. I try to do that about once every 7-8k miles. I can tell I am getting close to needing to do that again.
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Jraice
Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 - 07:03 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

They were HH pads.

I am a bit over 13,000 miles so perhaps some rebuilding is needed but I have a road trip planned for mid august so the bike needs to stay fairly together until then. Maybe I'll order some EBC HH's though and give the rotor a good cleaning... never touched it with anything more than brake cleaner and a towel.
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Greg_e
Posted on Thursday, July 29, 2010 - 09:49 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Bleed lines and change fluid. Pads do go bad with time and heat cycles so maybe the pads are just done until you get them really hot again.
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Jraice
Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 - 12:42 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Thanks... pads are fairly worn. Might change fluid, clean up rotors and do EBC HH pads and see how that performs, and maybe plan some rebuilding in the future.

Thanks guys!
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Xbgeorge
Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 - 01:34 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

New fluid made mine work like new again. The old stuff was black after 10,000 miles.
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Jraice
Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 - 03:26 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Changed fluid before trackday in April.
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Jbolt
Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 - 09:40 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I picked up some EBC HH pads, going to put them on this weekend. Hopefully they work as good as I've heard.
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Andymnelson
Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 - 11:37 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)


quote:

Changed fluid before trackday in April.




Is that about the time you saw degraded brake performance? Bleeding our brakes can be a real pain, a fluid pump is almost a necessity to do it properly. Just 1 tiny bubble can cause your symptoms.
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Rah7777777
Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 - 11:52 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Flushing and bleeding the brake lines made a big difference for me!! Of course the fluid was 5 years old when I did it ( previous owner never did it )

It's a super easy job! I run 1/2 quart of new fluid in front and half in the back.
Just do slow pedal pulls and keep the reservoir full then while hitting the pedal slowly, close the screw
( after youve ran that 1/2 quart ) real fast to ensure air doesn't creep into the system before closing that screw.

I now flush mine annually.
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Jraice
Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 - 03:26 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

No it was not the time of decreased performance. I bleed/change my brakes so often I never notice any difference, but then again I usually do it every time I am doing a pad change so its obviously not going to feel the same.

I have speed bleeders, makes it a super easy job.
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Tarshi
Posted on Friday, July 30, 2010 - 05:14 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Change any kind of Radial Master Cylinder. It is big different than stock. I changed to NISSIN (ö20X21), soooo nice!
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Brightbuell
Posted on Monday, August 02, 2010 - 03:30 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

What year buell do you have? I only use one finger with my front brake, and even then it took a while to master its sensitivity. I love my front brake more then any bike i have ridden or owned. Best brake out there hands down. If you dont have the 8 piston ZTL2, then get it! Im not making shit up! When I test drove an 09 firebolt at the dealership, they did not tell me about the sensitivity, and I almost flipped over the handlebars at my first stop. WOW! I said out loud! I was sold on the firebolt after one take-off and one stop. I then did the next smart thing, I left and started looking for the best used one I could find, and I found it.
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Jraice
Posted on Wednesday, August 04, 2010 - 06:05 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I have the ZTL2.

I recall with the stock pads that it barely took any pressure... Should EBC HH be even better?

I started with stock. Stoppied all the time with hard stops, those things were touchy. Tried Lyndall because I heard it was more progressive. Too much fade at the track and I decided it was TOO progressive (I like medium touchy brakes). Used EBC on street/track, worked fine, then just finishing a set of Vesrah's, only used on street.

Sounds like going back to EBC HH (cheapest as well... OEM were expensive) but with a very thorough rotor cleaning is the best choice.

Just want some more braking power for the street but most importantly for my next track weekend (thinking early October).

Going to also be running an Erik Buell Racing race ECM and most likely slicks for the first time : ) Should be a good weekend... just want some nice effortless stops.
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Sloppy
Posted on Wednesday, August 04, 2010 - 09:26 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Your symptoms sounds like you have a stuck piston in your caliper - fairly common problem. Remove the brake pads and actuate the pistons - they should all move evenly. If not then clean them. If still the same symptom then rebuild the caliper.
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Brightbuell
Posted on Wednesday, August 04, 2010 - 09:40 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Yea, you must have a stuck piston. let us know what you find.
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