rear brake

so here's a question...
the tune update has the Norge running like a top! many thanks to Mark & crew.
so, only 2 more things to sort out on the old girl.

1) she's got the pulsie front brakes. I have a new set of pads to try, and then it's new rotors I guess... not sure I want to splash out
2) the rear seems to go away occasionally. away as in "pedal all the way down no brakes" away. seems a bleed issue, but bleeding only brings it back for a while. do GRiSO's have these issues too?

just curious.

Front brakes may be warped rotors but it may also just be that the discs are sticking on the bobbins. Give them a good wash with brake cleaner while wiggling the disk and then go out and find a deserted road and do several quick stops from high speed braking as hard as you can to get the discs really hot. This will sometimes free them up.

With the back it may be a dud master cylinder or it could be the big bearing failing in the bevelbox that supports the rear wheel. Grab the wheel as you would if you were checking wheel bearings on a conventional wheel and rock it too and fro. There should be no appreciable movement. For some reason Norges in particular seem to suffer from this brake vanishing issue at the rear. I have to confess I don't have a clue why! One thing that seems to help is pre-loading the pedal when the bike is garaged. Get something like a half brick and hang it off the pedal when the bike is parked. This seems to prevent the problem!

Pete

similar to BRICKING a camel ??????  

g®eg wrote:

the rear seems to go away occasionally. away as in "pedal all the way down no brakes" away. seems a bleed issue, but bleeding only brings it back for a while. do GRiSO's have these issues too?

I am getting the same. If I pump the pedal prior to braking it's fine but goes back to mushy if I not done. The pedal is firm on first application or after parked.
If the bike wasn't "new" zero Kms when I bought it I would suspect warped rotor or bearings its all looks feels fine.

Did you find a fix ?

Check both the rear wheel nuts and the disc mounting bolts for tightness. If either the wheel or disc can run-out they will push the pads back causing the brake to need priming before use.

Pete

sadly never got around to sorting it before I binned the Norge.
there was some discussion of heat from the cat being and issue & the addition of a heat shield (tinfoil) would help.

Had the first service at what could only be described as an "arm ripping cost"

For said service I mentioned about the mushy rear brake.
The explanation, Brake fluid was boiling. Fluid replaced with Dot 4. instead of Dot3 as fitted at factory. (rolls eyes)

While I hope this is a fix as the defect would present on long winding rides such as the Putty Road, National park (Nasho) or back roads on the south coast south of Sydney. The bike is a 2012 model and purchased in March 2014. I suspect in the time while the bike was dormant the brake fluid has absorbed moisture and therefore boils under heavy use. I have my doubts, as I am surprised a rear brake could get hot enough to boil the fluid but fingers crossed.

Dot 3 fluid in a bike like this from the factory?

Has anyone tried using the Dot 5 Silicone based stuff? Or is the risk greater than the benefit ?

Mike

(yes I know I should have bled the brakes myself but the bike is under warrantee and I did not wish to tamper with anything to allow the work shop any reason to wriggle out of their obligations )

Far, far more likely are one of two scenarios.

Either you are inadvertently pre-loading the brake pedal when riding or the actuating plunger is mis adjusted and the piston is in such a position in the master cylinder that the relief valve bleed is not uncovered when the pedal is fully released.

This is a safety issue. If, after riding for a bit and using the rear brake does the disc get terribly hot? Does the brake begin to bind?

How much were you charged and by whom? I just want to know how much I should be raping people for? ;-)

Pete

Gday Pete.
I checked my toes are well away from the brake pedal when I am not using the brake and I tried to check/ feel if there was any excessive heat in the disc after run up the Putty Road. I didn't actually put my skin on said disc but could feel no heat radiating.
The issue is the pedal loses feel or needs pumping up after a while. Cant fault it when the bike is cold or at urban speeds. I am hoping the bleed fixes things as the disc and wheel were checked true.

I will PM service details

Mike

there was some suggestion that the catalytic convertor heat was overheating the fluid in the reservoir (on a Norge anyway). Some people suggested a heat shield... I never got round to it.