Hopefully somebody can help me out here...
When I pull my front brake, I get about 25-30% of full on braking up to a certain 'sticking' point. Once I go past the sticking point I get about 75%-85%. There is a noticeable difference in the amount of force I need to exert on the lever to get past this 'sticking' point. It makes it very difficult to come to a full stop from anything over 30 mph because the pressure exerted on the lever is not constant throughout the varying amounts of braking force required to slow myself down. Once I pull the lever to get past the sticking point, the front brake practically pitches me over the handlebars.
Anybody experience anything like this? What was the fix? New pads/rotor? Cable adjustment?
Thanks!
How old is the bike? miles? Does the brake lever feel spongey?
Without that info, it sounds like you need to bleed the brake line. Longer shot is the pads/rotor are glazed - any 'extreme' braking?
From there (if an old or outside stored bike) I'd check for sticking brake pistons (corrosion), then look at the master cylinder seals/corrosion.
- Charlie
my guess would be that
- dirt (oil) on rotor
- your rotor isn't fitted correctly
- your rotor is crooked.
clean the rotor and see if it's fixed...if not
try loosening the rotor and fasten them according to spec.
see of you still experience it...
The bike is a 2003 xb9r with 12,500 miles. I bought it used with 10,000 miles on it. It was stored in an unconditioned shed by the previous owner for five years and in my parking garage under a cover for the last year. The pads were replaced before I bought it. The brake lever does not feel spongey and used to require a linear amount of force applied to it which corresponded to the braking force at the rotor. No extreme braking that would damage the rotor either (I ride like a pussy because I had never been on 2 wheels until a year ago and still haven't really felt up to testing my limits or the bike's yet.)
This problem just started a couple of days ago after a year of riding with no issues.
Thanks for the tips, I'll check things out better on my lunch break.
Try this one. Your piston has a ring of oxidation on it because of the long layover. Either the caliper piston or maybe a piston device in the brake lever mechanism. Might be worth a look.
BR
Thi might seem elementary, but check the fluid level, sometimes if the fluid level drops, the breaking pressure graph can become very unconventional.
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