Rear brake overheated

[shadow]

Hey didn't see this asked or ans. anywhere. Need a few opinions. Wife and I are in Asheville rode the Parkway here yesterday and my rear brake overheated. It's an 09 RSV and this has never happened to me before. We had planned to ride the Tail of the Dragon today and I was wanting to know what others thought. Would it be safe? Does them overheating once make it easier to do again? I think once they have colled they should be fine but I'm not 100% sure. Need thoughts

[Power Trippin]

My first thought was, and maybe others might wonder, what exactly do you mean, "overheated"? Smoke coming from brakes? Lost rear braking all together?

[Yammer Dan]

Rear Master overfull? This happens on the 1st Gens. No place for fluid to expand and it will lock brake up.

[Flyinfool]

:sign yeah that:

 

Or are you unconsciously resting your foot on the brake to be ready for what is around the next curve.

[Condor]

If you trully overheated, and you didn't lock the rear brake up, I'd suspect the pads are not retracting and dragging on the rotor. Probably from lack of use they may have built up some grunge on the piston.... I don't know about others, but I very seldom use the rear brake on my 2ndGen. You might try spreading the pads away from the rotor and then pump the pressure back up. It might clean what ever's keeping them extended off...

[frankd]

The big question is why did it overheat?? Brake usage on the Parkway isn't that much, so I doubt that you overworked it. As has been suggested by others, maybe you were riding the brake pedal OR you overfilled the master cylinder. If the answer to these is NO, then your rear calilper is probably binding. Sometimes you get by with retracting the pads somewhat, pumping the pedal, and then repeating a couple of times more. Without a center stand, it'll be hard to tell if this helps though. Seeing that the bike is in warranty, maybe you might want to find a local Yammie dealer It looks like there are several Yammie dealers around there.

 

Frank D.

[GeorgeS]

Have you " recently " had the rear wheel off for a tire change ??? or something.

 

Check to see if that Thick Washer, on the right side of Axel, is installed in the correct place, or is it installed at all ???

 

But, also, be sure to check the rear master cylinder, for being Overfilled !!!

 

Also, your pads might be worn down to bare metal ( well , maby )

[Guest]

I think he means he boiled his rear brake fluid to a point of having no pedal but the pedal returned once it cooled. That happened to me in Knoxville. Coming off a really steep drop I had a tendency to ride the rear brake while 2 up. Near the bottom I lost my pedal. Once it cooled down the pedal returned. You reached the fluids boiling point. Most likely the rest of your trip should be fine. I rode another 800 miles before I got home and had the chance to flush out my rear brakes with new fluid. You are probably running DOT4 fluid. I now run DOT 5.1 fluid which has a higher boiling point. Dont confuse this with 5 brake fluid. Thats not compatible with DOT fluids. Most shops dont carry 5.1. I had to order mine online. I used Motul 5.1 however DOT 4 is fine if you remember not to ride your brakes.

[shadow]

Sorry I haven't gotten back sooner. Ruffy is right. I should of been more specific at the time. What happened was I was 2up and low on gas so rather than gear down, or use the front in the curves, I was using the rear brake down hill more than usual.( I didn't think is was THAT much) but all of a sudden I have no rear brake. Well, it cooled and came back and we rode the Dragon and the Cherohalla Skyway the next day and never had another problem. I plan to flush out the old and replace it tomorrow. Probably just stick with the DOT 4 since this is 1st time in 30 yrs. of riding this has happened to me. Thanks for all the responses.

Dan

[RJD]

Last year while riding rt 12 in Utah I lost my back brakes. this has never happened before. that evening I found some new brake fluid and a plastic hose and changed the fluid. It did happen again later in the year. I have since changed to a high temp fluid and just got back from a 2 week ride with no problem. the truth of the matter is I have had to teach myself to use my front brakes more and not depend on the back brakes, even though they seem to give you smoother stops. I have trained myself to use the front and backs together and I have not had the problem again.. I do think the R1 upgrade to the front brakes is in my future especially since I use them for probably 70 to 80 % now.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

I was using the rear brake down hill more than usual.( I didn't think is was THAT much) but all of a sudden I have no rear brake. Well, it cooled and came back and we rode the Dragon and the Cherohalla Skyway the next day and never had another problem.

 

 

This is called 'brake fade' and the way you have described it, the brakes will be fine. What happens during brake fade is that the pads get RED HOT (or close to it) and no longer provide any grip on the rotor. If they cooled down and started working again, thats probably all it is.

 

But it wouldnt hurt to look them over, by pulling the rectangular plastic cap, and peer in there with a flashlight. Make sure that you still have plenty of pad material on both sides. You will need to remove the right saddlebag to do this.

 

Shadow, you should NEVER use only one brake or the other on a lengthy downhill grade, and you should ALWAYS use engine braking to keep the load on the brakes at a minimum, so they are available when you need them. Were you coasting, with the engine off? Your very lucky that nothing more severe happened.

 

Preach mode off, but dammit..we dont want to lose another member!

 

 

 

 

Edited July 6, 2012 by tx2sturgis

[DragonRider]

:sign yeah that:

 

 

 

This is called 'brake fade' and the way you have described it, the brakes will be fine. What happens during brake fade is that the pads get RED HOT (or close to it) and no longer provide any grip on the rotor. If they cooled down and started working again, thats probably all it is.

 

But it wouldnt hurt to look them over, by pulling the rectangular plastic cap, and peer in there with a flashlight. Make sure that you still have plenty of pad material on both sides. You will need to remove the right saddlebag to so this.

 

Shadow, you should NEVER use only one brake or the other on a lengthy downhill grade, and you should ALWAYS use engine braking to keep the load on the brakes at a minimum, so they are available when you need them. Were you coasting, with the engine off? Your very lucky that nothing more severe happened.

 

Preach mode off, but dammit..we dont want to lose another member!