Wooden Brake

[B_Uly]

It's a good thing the front brake on these bikes kicks ass, 'cause the rear brake is lifeless! Stand on it waiting for something to happen . . then it locks. Any luck with a more aggressive and progressive pad compound? Or some ratio changes in the system?

[nilla]

it's the REAR brake. it's gonna suck compared to teh front brake. once the pads are bedded to teh rotor it'll slightlty improve, but it will still be the REAR brake.

obviously it will lock the rear wheel, so it's not that the pads/caliper isn't strong enough. if you really wanna stop fast, use the front brake

[jimijeans]

Using the brakes on any bike is tricky if you get in a situation.Most are Riding to fast for the quick Crap that happens right in front of us on the Roads,and Grab the Front Lever cause it's in your hands grasp. The trick to good Braking is applying both at once every time, with small pressure on Rear & gently squeeze the front with more applying of pressure as needed.Remember the bike is only doing what you do.A seasoned rider is always looking,make good habits & road riding is easier, simply cause it becomes 2nd nature.The mainstream public just does't look,AND some don't even Like Bikes or Bikers.Too much is going on when people are inside 4000lbs.of rolling steel.Wear your protection even when it's hot,I've been riding for 40 + years on Sport Bikes and still see some stupid and always will driving. We can always shower later.`Jimi[smirk]

[upthemaiden]

I hate the back brake on my bike. The back brake on the gs500 had a ton of feel to it and you could tell exactly what it was doing. The XB brake is sad by comparison.

[BuddhaBuell]

The trick to good Braking is applying both at once every time, with small pressure on Rear & gently squeeze the front with more applying of pressure as needed.Remember the bike is only doing what you do.A seasoned rider is always looking,make good habits & road riding is easier, simply cause it becomes 2nd nature.
The mainstream public just does't look, AND some don't even like Bikes or Bikers.Too much is going on when people are inside

[up]
personally I just 'feather' my rear brake with a slight motion and remember correct foot position (balls of your feet, NOT heels wedged against footpegs) helps with handling and control of your bike
;)

[driftingswiftly]

Feel is one thing, but you no one can say its not strong enough. If you can lock up the back wheel, you have already reached the limit of what is possible. At that point, the only way to improve breaking is body position. A more "powerful" break will just reach the limit of friction sooner and actually give you less range for precision.

[xtremelow]

I actually use the hell out of my rear brake, but like mentioned above you need to be light on them to have the desires effect.

[J_Undisputed]

I use my rear bake a lot too. It keeps the bike from nose diving and prematurely wearing fork seals on hard abrupt front braking.

[Scuzz]

I use mine a lot more these days since my rotor is slightly warped. This happened at around 10,000 kms. Now at 17,000 kms. Waiting to see if HD gives me a new one. Back brake seems a bit feable but if you stand on it enough, it'll bring you to a stop. I wonder if there are any better pads to replace the stock ones? By the way, I really love this forum...easy to get info without searching for half of the night. Thanks!

[henri66]

What are you talking about?

That little right foot toe support?

I have hidden that ugly thing on the rear. As it hardly brakes.

No, honest, I have to tell that slowly I start using my rear brake after doing the brembo mod. It is not doing that much as braking, but I feel it helps in stabilizing my bike.

[Loki]

I feel bad for you all. My brake is the stock 08 rear brake and my is pretty decent. Decent enough for no complaints. I can even modulate the pressure. Great for slow speed tight turns

[steve92106]

Have to say I get more use out of the rear brake on my 2010 HD Softail but, OTOH, the Softie front brake needs a lot more help. The Uly rear brake to me seems just intended to balance the bike with the front doing maybe 90% of the work. Thankfully, that front brake is more than up to the task so, no complaints from me.

[BuellyBagger]

Not that mine needs more back brake bcuz it does feel balanced enuff, but i was surprised when i bought my bike that u could stand on the rear brake and not slow much. Although it combined with a hard downshift is plenty to slide the back tire (hard on the tires but its kinda fun comin into a 90 degree turn)

[1972c10]

brembo rear caliper improved my rear brake feel alot, doesnt stop the bike any faster but just feels better