Hi all,
So I finally got sick of my 96 softail rear brakes hardly working, i took the entire system apart, replaced brake lines, cleaned out all components, rebuilt the caliper and master cylinder. After all that the brakes still don't feel that great, this is the only evo Ive ridden so Ive got nothing to compare it against. Are the rear brakes just not that good or could there be another issue?
Thanks

 

They really do suck!! Make sure the pedal is set high so you can press it hard. That was my solution. Or replace it with a good one like wilwood or some other preferred brand.

 

Haha ok so its not just me then. Yeah its set as high as possible and slows down when you push it hard. Ill just learn to live with it for now. Cheers mate

 

Just a though... while you were bleeding the rear brake did it seem to have a good flow rate of fluid through the bleeder? If not then maybe the master cylinder still has issues. And does the pedal have any fade when you hold it down? Another sign of an issue with the master I think.

Good luck

 

What brake pads are you using and is the rotor glazed over.. I have no issues locking the rear... I use organic Kevlar pads and have replaced the rotors 4k miles ago.. OEM single piston calipers are not the greatest but they are quite efficient.. a little side note, I personally don't think sintered pads are the way to go..

 

I had no dramas bleeding the brakes so i dont think theres an issue with the master cylinder. Its been completely rebuilt and it bench tested fine as well.

I just run bendix pads, nothing fancy just an oem replacement. It will lock, just needs a lot of pressure. Its the initial bite point that puts me off, I need to apply a fair bit of force before it slows. Unlike the front which you feel straight away.

 

Definitely the front works better than the rear and you should be using the front as the primary brake..

 

Did you replace the rubber hoses? I had to replace them on my old farm truck 2003 Ram this summer because both fronts were plugged off inside.

 

Good topic, hoping to learn more about this subject.

When I test rode my project bike a few times before tear down, the rear brake was at the top of my very short list of concerns. The last 5 years on my 2014 Limited I can stop on a dime while towing a freight train. On a previous 2003 Heritage you hit the rear brake a bit too hard and that sucker locked up and skidded every time. It was a hoot with slick, oily roads. Not too far down the road when I start the wheel/tire/brake phase on this bike I'm putting extra effort into beefing up the rear stopping power.

 

Rear brakes only contribute 25% of your stopping power the other 75% is your front brakes which IMO absolutely suck!!!
When I converted my Heritage to dual front disk brakes it got a lot better.
You can probably get the same result for far less money using a different caliper than the single piston OEM one.