braking powahhh on the gpx

[timmy]

Lately I've been noticing the brakes on the gpx don't seem to be that strong ie takes a bit of lever to get them to slow me down faster. The pads should still be good, have done 1 level 1 vitech trakdayz and 6000km's on them, and looking at them they appear to have plenty of meat left.

Does anyone have any suggestion as to ways to improve the feel/bite. Or just deal with it. I've found myself wanting/expecting betting braking when coming up to an intersection and having a car come out infront of me.

Perhaps an upgrade in pads or fluid might help the situation? Or another idea which just came to mind is I only use 2 fingers to break. Perhaps the lever is hitting my knuckles and I can't squeeze it hard enough. I'll have to give that a go on the ride into work tomorrow. Short of changing my style is it possible to adjust the lever so I can get better braking while still only using the 2 fingers. If that is indeed the problem.

[vbroom]

if you really want more braking power get braided lines.

also, i personally thing 4 fingers means you can brake harder.

i use two fingers most of the time...but when practicing emergency stops i will use four.

i find i should probably get in the habit of using four because sometimes i'll pull the lever with two and realise i need to brake harder then have to cram my other two fingers back over....and buy that time i wouldve hit the car that pulled out infront of me.

if you have an adjuster, wind it to as far out as it will go. that will make it easier and feel less 'spongy'

[likefry]

Dood its a GPX they aren't designed to have kick ass brakes.

My 89 honda spada had a bigger disc than the new gpx.

unless you can stoppy with 2 fingers i would be using more coz you never know when your gonna need full braking power.

[BlackFZR]

Three quick possabilites... glazed pads due to soft braking. Not enough lever movement due to interference as you noted. Brakes need to be bleed/fluid replaced to ensure initial brake engagement is just a small touch away....

How to fix it... glazed pads. Go to a safe environment, and do some hard quick stops from speed (please keep everything smooth, i.e progressively add pressure, don't stab the lever...). do this a few times and they should start biting harder again.... or, remove the pads from the calipers, rub them over some course paper or cement to remove the glazed surface, install them again, re-bleed the brake lines, and try again....

Adjust your levers so they don't interfere with your knuckles, or move your hand towards the end of the bar. Should minimize interference with your fingers.. or go 3/4 finger braking as you identified yourself.

Rebleed the calipers and Master Cylinder, and if necessary, replace the brake fluid. If you don't know how to do it, either ask someone to help who does, or take it to a mechanic...... don't trust your most important safety device on the bike with an assumption that you can fix it.... Hopefully they will show you how so you can do it yourself in the future....

Good Luck

[thro]

They're weak.

I had a zzr, which has a larger disc, and the brakes on that were shit too.


On one hand, this is good, as it will teach you to rely less on the brakes, and think ahead.

I did like one hard (and yes, i do mean pretty hard ) stop on the ZZR ever, and warped the front disc on it.


They're a learner/commuter bike, not a gp bike

[smeghead]

Yours is an 07 bike so its unlikely the brake system has deteriorated to any extent (they get internal build up of crud over time).

Braided lines is a good idea.

New fluid (complete flush) is also a good idea as you don't know if they old fluid has absorbed moisture (bad).

Stock pads on my ZX6RR racebike are fabulous but they do need to be 'broken in' properly to give the best action & feedback; EBC are almost as good and I use them if I can't get stock ones.

Adjust lever as suggested.

I brake with the outer 3 fingers (I don't know anyone else who does strangely enough, they all seems to use the inner 3) which means my inner finger & thumb controls the throttle for rev matching on down changes, work for me.

[reddog]

Timmy,
The brakes are crap but they will stop you. I met you at the Collie ride day and the guys mentioned there to use your whole hand to brake. I just hardly use the brake even when riding 2 up (which is most the time) unless you are obvioulsy coming up to a stop sign.

I think you are trying to get too much out of your bike as it is really only a learner, braking is your last resort remember so plan ahead and tip the bike in regardless and remember to stay smooth.

When you get your big bike you will see how far brakes have come since the inception of the GPX in the 80's. The Kwaka ZX14 brakes on my mates bike are awesome, 1 finger is enough to pull the bike and 2 of you up really quickly if that's what you're after. Sports 600 - litre bikes should be even better with less weight.

regards
Ryan

Yours is an 07 bike so its unlikely the brake system has deteriorated to any extent (they get internal build up of crud over time).

Braided lines is a good idea.

New fluid (complete flush) is also a good idea as you don't know if they old fluid has absorbed moisture (bad).

Stock pads on my ZX6RR racebike are fabulous but they do need to be 'broken in' properly to give the best action & feedback; EBC are almost as good and I use them if I can't get stock ones.

Adjust lever as suggested.

I brake with the outer 3 fingers (I don't know anyone else who does strangely enough, they all seems to use the inner 3) which means my inner finger & thumb controls the throttle for rev matching on down changes, work for me.[/b]

[Spock]

Just use 4 fingers and squeeze harder.

I believe that new(ish) riders are better off with brakes that require more lever pressure - especially on wet winter roads (less chance of locking the brakes and crashing in a panic braking situation).

[thro]

Agreed with spock, and also reddog.

Going from the ZZR to my CBR ... i can stop quicker on the cbr with light pressure from 2 fingers than i could on teh zzr (owned it from new) using 4 fingers, and pulling hard. If you were to panic brake on the cbr and just grab a big handful (as a noob might) then there's a pretty good chance you would go over the handlebars, i am quite sure of it

Brakes have come a long way...

[timmy]

Cheers for the advice all,

On the ride home from work today I did notice using the full hand really helped, as did moving my hand further down the bar. So I think to try and help the situation I'll move the lever in closer to the trees to try and give myself more leverage. And try and re-learn to brake using more fingers.

Oh yeah, and realise it's a gpx not a sport bike. I think the main issue is I'm expecting/trying for too much.

I think you are trying to get too much out of your bike as it is really only a learner, braking is your last resort remember so plan ahead and tip the bike in regardless and remember to stay smooth.[/b]

[reddog]

Come on GPX stands for Grand Prix eXcitement machine. Just relearn your braking technique mate and you'll be cool.

The GPX is a great learner. The only thing wrong with mine so far after 22,00 is a stiff chain link and a clutch lever that rattles like all hell at 9000-10000 rpm and drives me mad. Will have to replace both shortly but the rest of the bike is going great. My wife will soon inherit the beast once i decide what big bike I want.

Cheers for the advice all,

On the ride home from work today I did notice using the full hand really helped, as did moving my hand further down the bar. So I think to try and help the situation I'll move the lever in closer to the trees to try and give myself more leverage. And try and re-learn to brake using more fingers.

Oh yeah, and realise it's a gpx not a sport bike. I think the main issue is I'm expecting/trying for too much.[/b]

[thro]

One other thing.... if you're not using the rear brake as well - it will help slow you down a bit.

On my zzr, the brake was nowhere near powerful enough to lift the rear or anything like that, so i could get a far bit more braking force by using the rear as well.

If you haven't been using the rear (not sure if you do or not), find somewhere safe to practice - last thing you want to do is try it in an emergency situation and lock the rear due to inexperience, and go down/highside....

[timmy]

In regard to thro and the rear brake I tend not to use the rear brake unless I'm in an "oh shit" situation and I really need to extract every ounce of braking I can get, or I'm just about to come to a complete stop and I'll ease the front pressure and apply more back to stop the nose diving down and then popping back up once I've stopped. Otherwise its pretty much just the front.

[druu]

I use the rear all the time, and I have dual front discs on the CBR.

[gr33nm0nk3y]

i use both, little bit on the back and heaps on the front coming to a dead straight stop, touch more on the back and little bit less on the front braking around a bend.. rather the back come out than the front..

-bc

[Nero Diablo]

Flush and bleed your brakes. Brake fluid does go off should be done after 10000 kms or 6 months but if they have had a couple of track days the fluid will most likely be cooked. Most bike shops don't do it as a service item unless requested too fork fluid is the same regarding service intervals.

[Jedi]

I just had an AHG Ride day. I wasn't pulling up very quick, like as in i would have failed a license test, during the little 'this is what you did wrong' talk he squeezed my front brake really hard. I took off and as soon as i went into the next corner i could feel the difference, It was biting like 1cm into the pull whereas before it was almost 3-4 cm. The difference was unreal. The next quick stop i did fine. Unfortunately I never got a chance to talk to the guy again (it was Gordon) so I have no idea if he did something to them. This was also after a few quick stops, so the glazed pads thing above is possible, but that stop was just as weak as the others, only after I left and he had squeezed it did i notice a difference.

I posted in here because maybe the OP could try pulling in the lever really hard and see if that helps. But does anyone have any theories as to why squeezing the brakes may have helped? It's not an old bike.

[likefry]

squeezing the brakes really hard helps get the air bubbles out of the line if there at the top of the line.

it opens up the master cylinder and allows the bubbles to go to the top of the resevoir so there not in the line.

you can use cable ties to hold the brake on overnight or something and in the morning they'll probably feel firmer.

Alternatively you could just bleed the brakes and they will be better. Which is what you really should be doing.