tire and tube questions

[Luc Legrain]

I was watching this guy on UTube going back and forth in front of the camera,may be he was showing off, but when he was using the rear brake his rear wheel would lock up,I could hear the squeaking tire, I have never been,as long as I have owned my bike,able to do that,not that I want to lock the rear when I stop, but it seems like my rear brake is not working properly,I changed the pads about a month ago. The brake has always been kind of soft . Any suggestions ? Or should I drag my boot on the asphalt to stop? Thanks

[fmhilton]

You could just simply add sound effects to your bike.... Mike H.

----- Original Message ----- From: Luc Legrain To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2008 10:33 AM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] klr650: rear brake I was watching this guy on UTube going back and forth in front of the camera,may be he was showing off, but when he was using the rear brake his rear wheel would lock up,I could hear the squeaking tire, I have never been,as long as I have owned my bike,able to do that,not that I want to lock the rear when I stop, but it seems like my rear brake is not working properly,I changed the pads about a month ago. The brake has always been kind of soft . Any suggestions ? Or should I drag my boot on the asphalt to stop? Thanks [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Luc Legrain]

Haha !! Funny, but not constructive ...

--- On Sat, 11/15/08, fmhilton wrote: From: fmhilton Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] klr650: rear brake To: zrislois2klr@..., DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Date: Saturday, November 15, 2008, 11:29 AM You could just simply add sound effects to your bike.... Mike H. ----- Original Message ----- From: Luc Legrain To: DSN_KLR650@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2008 10:33 AM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] klr650: rear brake I was watching this guy on UTube going back and forth in front of the camera,may be he was showing off, but when he was using the rear brake his rear wheel would lock up,I could hear the squeaking tire, I have never been,as long as I have owned my bike,able to do that,not that I want to lock the rear when I stop, but it seems like my rear brake is not working properly,I changed the pads about a month ago. The brake has always been kind of soft . Any suggestions ? Or should I drag my boot on the asphalt to stop? Thanks [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Bill Ahrens]

When I got my new 07 KLR, I thought the rear brake was really weak. I put up with it for a couple of weeks before doing anything about it. I proceeded to bleed the rear brake. To my surprise, nothing came out of the bleeder!! I stomped on the brake pedal and behold .it moved and a bunch of fluid belched out. The piston was stuck in the master cylinder! I stroked the pedal a few times, bled it and put all back together.. No problems since. One year plus. Not really strong brake, but I can slide the rear wheel. Bill Ahrens 07 KLR 650 06 Concours 1985 K100 RT [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Luc Legrain]

I just got me a small plastic hose( hook it on the bleeder, the other end goes into a glass half full of fluid, pump pedal,no air goes back in) , new brake fluid,tomorrow ( too dark now ) I'll find out what the deal is. The sarcastic ones in this group thought they were gonna have a field day with my question, BUT thanks to Bill's reply, other folks may have the same problem and not even know it. Thanks Bill

--- On Sat, 11/15/08, Bill Ahrens wrote: From: Bill Ahrens Subject: RE: [DSN_KLR650] klr650: rear brake To: zrislois2klr@..., DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com Date: Saturday, November 15, 2008, 2:30 PM When I got my new 07 KLR, I thought the rear brake was really weak. I put up with it for a couple of weeks before doing anything about it. I proceeded to bleed the rear brake. To my surprise, nothing came out of the bleeder!! I stomped on the brake pedal and behold .it moved and a bunch of fluid belched out. The piston was stuck in the master cylinder! I stroked the pedal a few times, bled it and put all back together.. No problems since. One year plus. Not really strong brake, but I can slide the rear wheel. Bill Ahrens 07 KLR 650 06 Concours 1985 K100 RT [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[revmaaatin]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Luc Legrain wrote:

> > I was watching this guy on UTube going back and forth in front of

the camera,may be he was showing off, but when he was using the rear brake his rear wheel would lock up,I could hear the squeaking tire, I have never been,as long as I have owned my bike,able to do that,not that I want to lock the rear when I stop, but it seems like my rear brake is not working properly,I changed the pads about a month ago. The brake has always been kind of soft .

> Any suggestions ? Or should I drag my boot on the asphalt to stop? > Thanks >

Luc, It would be a huge mistake to think that the rear brake will not lock up. If yours won't, really, really won't or can't, then there is something wrong with the mechanism. I can lock up the rear on both my KLR's (dirt, sand, gravel, asphalt, concrete) and have seen it done on others on their KLRs as well. Now, an additional comment about locked up brakes-- The BAD: If you are not going in a (vertically upright)straight line when you release a locked up rear wheel, you are a candidate (with a very high probability) to high side the motorcycle--making you a projectile--followed by a riderless motor-missile! I witnessed this phenomena last summer at less than 30 mph during a panic stop and for the feature of plain-dumb-luck (no, it was not skill) the rider was able to keep the bike upright, and himself from being involuntarily used as a wheel chock for oncoming traffic. Others on this list have shared similar experiences--with wildly varying outcomes--some of which gave them an aerial view by helicopter. For those who have graduated from MSF, (what I took away from the panic stop/excessive speed entry into a turn) the idea they illustrate for scrubbing off speed in a turn--usually from entering to fast: 1. make the bike vertical, 2. apply hard brakes--short of locking the brakes 3. Then counter-steer the bike back into the turn 4. If the brakes lock, keep the brakes locked until the bike stops! If you take a MSF course, you actually practice this maneuver in controlled environment. It alone is worth the trouble to take the course. There are numerous utube illustrations of guys highsiding their bikes from over-aggressive braking. Perhaps a MSF instructor can offer more-- Somewhere in my distant memory was a guy named Dan Gurney that wrote in Popular Mechanics (I think) and said, "the best braking action occurs, just above the threshold of locking up those brakes. A skidding tire has less coefficient of braking than a tire that is not locked up." Hence the advent of anti lock brakes--though, anti-lock brakes are not particularly useful to budding teenage NASCAR drivers who like to momentarily lock up the brakes while doing power-slides on Ozark gravel roads. revmaaatin.

[oldwing@cox.net]

> > For those who have graduated from MSF, (what I took away from the > panic stop/excessive speed entry into a turn) the idea they > illustrate for scrubbing off speed in a turn--usually from entering > to fast: > 1. make the bike vertical, > 2. apply hard brakes--short of locking the brakes > 3. Then counter-steer the bike back into the turn > 4. If the brakes lock, keep the brakes locked until the bike stops! > > If you take a MSF course, you actually practice this maneuver in > controlled environment. It alone is worth the trouble to take the > course. >

This is not entirely correct. What is recomended is that if you need to stop quickly in a turn, bring the bike upright and stop in a straight line. On pavement, all braking/slowing should be in a straight line. What to do if a brake locks up is in a different segment and depends on which brake. If the front brake, release immediately and reapply with less pressure. If the rear brake, keep it locked until you stop. Keep in mind that this is on pavement or another hard surface. Dirt is different. -- Bill Lewis Roanoke, Virginia Professor of Motorcycleology 2004 R1150RT 1990 R100RT 2002 KLR 1978 Oldwing w/Friendship 1

[revmaaatin]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, wrote:

> > > > > For those who have graduated from MSF, (what I took away from the > > panic stop/excessive speed entry into a turn) the idea they > > illustrate for scrubbing off speed in a turn--usually from

entering

> > to fast: > > 1. make the bike vertical, > > 2. apply hard brakes--short of locking the brakes > > 3. Then counter-steer the bike back into the turn > > 4. If the brakes lock, keep the brakes locked until the bike

stops!

> > > > If you take a MSF course, you actually practice this maneuver in > > controlled environment. It alone is worth the trouble to take

the

> > course. > > > This is not entirely correct. What is recommended is that if you

need to stop quickly in a turn, bring the bike upright and stop in a straight line. On pavement, all braking/slowing should be in a straight line. What to do if a brake locks up is in a different segment and depends on which brake. If the front brake, release immediately and reapply with less pressure. If the rear brake, keep it locked until you stop. Keep in mind that this is on pavement or another hard surface. Dirt is different.

> -- > Bill Lewis

Hi Bill. Thanks. As the original discussion was about back brakes and pavement, I did not use back brakes as further discussion item--which of course, you are right to point out there is a difference. and yes, size matters. cough. I should have said, or added 2a. Release the brake 3. Counter-steer into the turn (if able) 4. If the back brake locks, keep the [back]brakes locked until the bike stops! My point #1. Make the bike vertical is the same as bring the bike upright. and if you get the bike slowed down, make the turn! Yes, stopping in a straight line--but ultimately, get back into your own lane as quickly as possible, thus the countersteer. We are talking about curves, and likely limited sight distance--and you are very likely, now in the wrong lane. Thanks for adding/clarifying, front and back brake--application. During 2006, One of the KLR posters here [while riding a 'busa'] 'validated' this discussion when riding through one of the hideous reverse camber curves on "The Dragon". He locked the rear brakes in a turn, released the rear brake and the bike spit him into a rock face--which was better than the alternative of being spit across the guard rail into an abyss. He won first prize on life- flight that day for pain management of 11 on a scale of 10. revmaaatin. your pain management may vary

[Doug]

Just reading the Rear Brake letters reminds me of back in the 80's when cycles were more to have drum brakes on the rear than disk, once a year I remember when you went through MV Inspection in New Jersey you would be told to skid the back tire or they could not see that the back brake was working at max. No skid, no Pass. Now every two years you pull up outside the Inspection building , they check the horn, tires, the lights, brake light, your credentials and your on your way. Works for Me. ;> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Rick Blair]

>Luc thanks for bringin up this rear brake thread! I've had allot

(ALLOT) of bikes and guess what...my 05 A19 had mushy brakes too, after I switched my 2nd set of rims from my dirt tires to my 70/30 set. Bleed them several times w/o any change. I'm not sure how it happened but I suspect I must have pushed on the the pad retainer closest to the caliper last time I changed the rim...so it was never seating all the way...Listers, is this a common issue with KLR's and sommertime wrenchers? So anywho, you inspired me--between replies here and my aircraft mechanic buddy's advice, I took the assembly off and pushed/cleaned the calipers-re-bleed and now it locks up like your mom did on prom night Just kiddin! Thanks again and tell your Mom I miss her Rick in Vacaville 05 A19 07 DL1000

>