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brake fade

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Old Jul 14, 2014 | 06:55 AM
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larry harding's Avatar
larry harding
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Default brake fade

I have an 05 road king that I bought new, just did the 35,000 oil change and service recently. new back tire and new brake pads, rear pads are usually pretty thin when it is time for a new tire and I just change them while the rear wheel is off. yesterday me and the boss lady road up hwy. 215 here in n.c. to the blue ridge parkway then down the other side towards canton n.c. lots of incline and twistys. about a mile or so going down the rear brake got spongy, I slowed down a bit and used the front brake more. after a bit the brake came back to normal. I have ridden this route before and live in the n c mountains never had brake fade since I've owned this bike. I rode a 76 superglide for 29 years before getting the road king. there were some brake issues with that bike and h. d. recommended going to dot 5 silicone brake fluid. great stuff, high boiling point, repels water, and won't harm paint. I was surprised to fine h.d. used dot 4 fluid in these bikes. dot 4 is probably js little better than dot 3, but has the same old problems, can get hot and vaporize, absorbs water, and blisters paint. I don't know why h.d. didnt stay with dot 5. any body had brake fade on these newer bikes? or any thought as to what happened?
 
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