question about brake lever travel

MaxPower · 09-11-2004, 08:09 PM

Greetings,

I generally ride with my right hand thumb, ring finger, and pinkie on the throttle and index and middle finger on the front brake. When I squeeze the brake lever with my index and middle finger, I can only get light braking before I start to squash my throttle fingers. Generally, I have to squeeze to maximum brake lever travel (all the way to the throttle) to brake hard.

I've got new brake pads and have thoroughly bled my brakes.

Just wondering... is this the same with all 500's or is there something needing repair on my bike? If my bike needs repair, I figure it's the brake hose, since it's about 16 years old.

HalfLiterBeater · 09-11-2004, 10:20 PM

Hey man. First off, you *should* use proper braking technique...which is all 4 fingers on the lever. This will give you better control over the front brake, and in case of you needing EMERGENCY braking use....well, you won't have the problem of squishing your fingers. ;) If you keep your right elbow cocked down a little, so your forearm sits lower, then you can ride without covering the brake and when you rock your hand off the throttle to grab the front brake, it will return the engine to idle so you wont have to worry about the embarassing over-rev stop... I'm not trying to be a douche...just passing on things I've picked up from MSF, etc.

The lever should definitely NOT be going all the way back to the bar....if that were to happen on mine, I would be in an endo, or worse, a high-side. I'll bet your cable has some bad slack on it and needs to be adjusted. Try that before you go for hoses. I'm assuming yours has the adjustable lever position knob also...if you pull the handle OUTWARDS and turn that, it has 1 of 4 notches...one will bring the lever closer to the bar, the other way will bring the lever further out. That might be a TEMPORARY fix for your problem....I think 1 is fully extended, but don't quote me on that.

MaxPower · 09-12-2004, 10:35 AM

When I'm braking, I downshift to the appropriate gear and let the let the clutch out at each gear so that I'm always in the right gear. That's easiest to do with two fingers on the brake and three on the throttle. Most people just release the throttle and use their fingers to brake.

I can't adjust the brake lever on my '88 EX500, so that's not a fix for me.

But you're right that I should get all fingers on the brake and out of the way... so for now, that's what I'll do.

Thanks for the advice!

squaly · 09-12-2004, 02:23 PM

I have an 88, and my brakes work find. Try bleeding the lines.

Kawasaki_Kid · 09-20-2004, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaxPower

When I'm braking, I downshift to the appropriate gear and let the let the clutch out at each gear so that I'm always in the right gear. That's easiest to do with two fingers on the brake and three on the throttle. Most people just release the throttle and use their fingers to brake.

I can't adjust the brake lever on my '88 EX500, so that's not a fix for me.

But you're right that I should get all fingers on the brake and out of the way... so for now, that's what I'll do.

Thanks for the advice!

First off, good start, always do the downshifting thing... technique i've picked up from racers is to blip the throttle a bit before letting the clutch out in a downshift, to match the revs and such. always have the hand on the brake, it takes practice but its great technique on and off the track... once you get it down smoothly of course. AAAANYWAYS, i've always noticed the brakes to be soft on the ninja, but thats an extreme case, check the cable and such

HalfLiterBeater · 09-21-2004, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kawasaki_Kid

First off, good start, always do the downshifting thing... technique i've picked up from racers is to blip the throttle a bit before letting the clutch out in a downshift, to match the revs and such. always have the hand on the brake, it takes practice but its great technique on and off the track... once you get it down smoothly of course. AAAANYWAYS, i've always noticed the brakes to be soft on the ninja, but thats an extreme case, check the cable and such

The reason for blipping the throttle is to synchronize the engine and transmission. If you don't blip it and downshift, without careful clutchwork you can have a harsh downshift and spin your tires. You wouldn't believe how much of a difference the throttle blip will work until you try it. I compression-brake at nearly every stop...sometimes I even downshift all the way down to 1st gear so that I only have to apply brake from like 5 mph to 0. It's just a TAD tricky to get into 1st without tirespin.

Yeah again...the brakes are soft, but not to the point that you should EVER have problems applying full brake.

nibbs · 09-21-2004, 12:34 AM

is it normal to have a little squeeking when coming ot a stop?

Kawasaki_Kid · 09-21-2004, 12:47 AM

yeah, first gear is super touchy, just takes practice tho to get it perfect... i've never heard a bike brake squeak before, i can tell you its not normal, but i dunno if its bad, check your fluid?

HalfLiterBeater · 09-21-2004, 12:56 AM

Squeaks can be made with any brake system....it's caused by pretty much one of two things. Either your wear indicator needles hitting, or the pad material itself. Inspect your brakes for good pad left...if it's low, or you can see any part of non-brake pad, like an overhanging metal hook, physically hitting the rotor...it's time for new brakes.

If it's just pad noise...a small amount of brake de-squealer should fix it. Just apply it sparingly and take the bike out for a quick spin...it will probably affect your braking performance for a few seconds until it's wiped off of everything, so make sure you give yourself good braking room. See if that won't make the noise disappear.

Because the brakes are OPEN on a bike, you will always head SOME noise from your brakes...usually you just hear pad noise though, not squeaking.

kraeji · 09-22-2004, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HalfLiterBeater

Hey man. First off, you *should* use proper braking technique...which is all 4 fingers on the lever. This will give you better control over the front brake, and in case of you needing EMERGENCY braking use....well, you won't have the problem of squishing your fingers. ;) If you keep your right elbow cocked down a little, so your forearm sits lower, then you can ride without covering the brake and when you rock your hand off the throttle to grab the front brake, it will return the engine to idle so you wont have to worry about the embarassing over-rev stop... I'm not trying to be a douche...just passing on things I've picked up from MSF, etc.

I think that's just a matter of preference. They taught that at MSF when I took it too but it's easier for me just to use 2 fingers for the front brake. I've got it adjusted very sensitive so I have no problem with hard braking at the track.. or even doing stoppies using 2 fingers ;)

Kawasaki_Kid · 09-22-2004, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kraeji

I think that's just a matter of preference. They taught that at MSF when I took it too but it's easier for me just to use 2 fingers for the front brake. I've got it adjusted very sensitive so I have no problem with hard braking at the track.. or even doing stoppies using 2 fingers ;)

we're talking stoppies with your gixxer right?