Front Brakes...
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Road Captain
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 686
Likes: 0
From: Indiana
Front Brakes...
Are the HD front brakes supposed to suck? My RKC front brakes dont do their job too well I feel. How should they be? I am used to riding a Buell XBR and rice rockets where I could stop on a dime with my front brakes. I can hit my RKC hard and not do much. Is it my rotors? My pads look good and seem to have a lot of life left.. Help please. Thanks.
Road Captain
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 666
Likes: 5
From: Bay Area, CA
Yeah, they are not the best stoppers in the world even though they are made by Brembo, and even with the ABS option. Unlike my other bikes, I have found my 09 RK is a front and rear brake kind of bike when you want to slow down, and even then it's best to leave plenty of room.
Love my beast, but it doesn't stop like my other bikes.
Love my beast, but it doesn't stop like my other bikes.
Cruiser
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 139
Likes: 0
From: Winter Springs, FL
The pistons in the brake calipers do not have dust boots on them. Bad design. The brake dust builds up on the pistons and causes them not to retract fully and makes the brakes feel very mushy. Here is a link on how to go about cleaning them.
http://www.lyndallracingbrakes.com/service_tech.htm
I did mine a while ago and the difference is amazing.
http://www.lyndallracingbrakes.com/service_tech.htm
I did mine a while ago and the difference is amazing.
Former Sponsor
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 1,070
Likes: 1
From: Lake County FL
Brembo is a nice step up from the previous Hayes calipers but like previously stated, stopping power on a Harley just isn't the same as a sportbike. If you think yours are bad, try a Cross Bones which has a single piston caliper. It sucks!
Road Captain
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 561
Likes: 0
From: Amelia, Virginia
The pistons in the brake calipers do not have dust boots on them. Bad design. The brake dust builds up on the pistons and causes them not to retract fully and makes the brakes feel very mushy. Here is a link on how to go about cleaning them.
http://www.lyndallracingbrakes.com/service_tech.htm
I did mine a while ago and the difference is amazing.
http://www.lyndallracingbrakes.com/service_tech.htm
I did mine a while ago and the difference is amazing.
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Tourer
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 383
Likes: 0
From: Boston & thereabouts
Try Brembos
Looking at your signature pic, I'm thinking you have a 2003 that came with the same crappy brakes my 2004 came with. In 2008 H-D went to a new design Brembo brake set that is much improved over the older brakes (like ours).
If you're really into it, you can buy a complete (slightly used) 2008-2010 H-D Brembo front brake kit on eBay for about $350, calipers, rotors, master cylinder, and matching clutch lever. the new rotors are larger, but bolt right onto the old front wheel. The new calipers fit the new larger rotors and also bolt right onto the old fork. The new master cylinder is a bit larger, to move more fluid, and also bolts right on. I have a complete set sitting in my living room waiting to be installed on my 2004 RK.
There are lots of good posts on this retrofit/upgrade, like this post: https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touri...d-at-last.html
JR
If you're really into it, you can buy a complete (slightly used) 2008-2010 H-D Brembo front brake kit on eBay for about $350, calipers, rotors, master cylinder, and matching clutch lever. the new rotors are larger, but bolt right onto the old front wheel. The new calipers fit the new larger rotors and also bolt right onto the old fork. The new master cylinder is a bit larger, to move more fluid, and also bolts right on. I have a complete set sitting in my living room waiting to be installed on my 2004 RK.
There are lots of good posts on this retrofit/upgrade, like this post: https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touri...d-at-last.html
JR
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Grand HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 4,928
Likes: 285
From: Edmond Oklahoma
Yes but he is right, they don't retract enough and I had to clean pistons about every 2500 miles. I haven't seen the problem as bad with the brembos.
Beary
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 8,852
Likes: 2,493
From: Decatur, Alabama
The pistons in the brake calipers do not have dust boots on them. Bad design. The brake dust builds up on the pistons and causes them not to retract fully and makes the brakes feel very mushy. Here is a link on how to go about cleaning them.
http://www.lyndallracingbrakes.com/service_tech.htm
I did mine a while ago and the difference is amazing.
http://www.lyndallracingbrakes.com/service_tech.htm
I did mine a while ago and the difference is amazing.