Brakes - WTF have they done to mine?

Help & Advice
1

I’m fairly new to bikes so help me sanity check this.

I took my Fazer '04 in for a service.

It had rear pads worn almost totally down and a rear brake disc which is badly degraded. They had pads but no disc. I need the bike tomorrow so I told them to do the pads and leave the current disc on (rather than waiting for the part).What kind of stopping power should the rear brake provide?
At what speed should I be able to stop using only the rear break?Do I simply need to break the new pads in?Is this related to the scorred, degraded disc?
What do I do to solve this (apart from take it back in)?Thanks In Advance

2

What kind of stopping power should the rear brake provide? …Very little
At what speed should I be able to stop using only the rear break?.. in theory 3000mph in practise around 10mph and not very well
Do I simply need to break the new pads in?..it will help .
Is this related to the scorred, degraded disc?.. Yup
What do I do to solve this (apart from take it back in)?..Use the front brakes that you have 2 of and are twice the size like your supposed to .

3

+1 what he ^ said

In an emergency stop situation, both brakes fully on, your breaking split would normally be something like 80% front 20% rear

4

Why would you want or need to stop just using the rear brake. I only ever use mine for filtering or keeping the front wheel down.

5

What is this rear brake you people keep talking about :smiley:

6

Well, my instructor said never use the front brakes on a bend or you go over.

So if you find a tree half way round the bend?

7

On a bike you do all the braking when riding in a straight line and upright (normally) if you are using brakes during the cornering process (except In an emergency and even then be careful) it won’t be long before you’ll need more than new brake pads and a disc…

And as already said front brakes do 99.99% of the braking on a motorcycle.

Well that’s how I generally do it :w00t:

8

I’m sure what your instructor meant was to AVOID using the brakes on a bend. Meaning you should plan you entry and exit, slow in fast out but never faster than the distance you can see to be clear and be able to stop in should the need arise.

If Leylandii are out performing your brakes then get them checked, TimR could do both :wink:

9

I would complain to the appropriate area council if I found a tree growing in the middle of the road.:laugh:

No, but seriously, while it is safer to use the rear brake midcorner, you still need to use it sparingly. So, in this specific situation (braking while cornering), the stopping power of the rear brake isn’t really that important, since it is highly unlikely you would be able to use that full power safely anyway.

10

I see. Thank for the information all. I will adjust my riding style accordingly.

Previously I often adjusted my speed once I had entered the corner using my worn & grippy back brake. Never had any problem.

I’ll follow Art’s advice from now on.

Cheers!