Rear Brake Useless

As topic, my rear brake is crap, peddle is solid, genuine pads, disc perfect....just doesn't seem to bite ?.
Bit lost really.....caliper and pins perfect it floats like new, piston spotless....polished in fact
What else is there ?

Tried to put brake fluid in the system Maus?


Funny one I agree - pads too old perhaps?
Old pads can get hard over time, and also ingress of shite is just about inevitable - and your cleaning agents spring to mind here, I know you keep things amazingly clean.
If you've got a contact then have the pads milled off say 0.5mm or so (or sand them down yourself with coarse sandpaper), and see if that makes a diff?
Or, if you recognize the above 'cleaning' here, soak the pads in thinners overnight, just dunk them.
Oh, ditto disc then, wash it with thinners, the best stuff to 'refresh' brakes.
If you ever had grease-leaking wheel bearings this may have gotten onto the pads... and I would replace them then, but try the thinner-soaking first.

Mind though, although the brake fluid remark above is a joke (for blondes only, I know you know...), this stuff gets old, and best is to renew it every year. It is very hygroscopic, and if a lot of water is in it (i.e old) then it becomes soggy, 'springy' feel.
And lastly, I've not mentioned bleeding any air - but you say the pedal is hard so I'll shutup now

lol it's all perfect as you would expect, new Honda pads, disc is OEM and like new I don't use any cleaner liquid on my bikes, new fluid and no air just seems like the brake drags rather than bites....pins are stainless, sliders all greased recently, I don't go much over 30mph as you know just wondering if the pads are made for greater speeds ?.....bit lost to be honest

AHA, that must be it then: go for a WO-run in 5th, then simultaneously move to the back of the seat & brake with only the rear, just hard enough so that the rear tyre almost wants to lock. Repeat until the pads start to smoke or the disc starts to glow, whatever comes first!


Actually Mauser, that may not be a bad idea to "use" the brake so now & then.
Perhaps keep the pedal down for a short while whilst lugging around?
Such may just remove the bits of green from those green lanes

Could be too much polish finding its way onto the pads and disc

On a serious note with the rear wheel out and the pads removed the piston should move very easily when the rear brake pedal is pressed. It should be easy to leaver the piston back as well to refit the pads.
If all that is ok just fit ebc sintered pads that should give you some bite.

Hew wrote:Could be too much polish finding its way onto the pads and disc

On a serious note with the rear wheel out and the pads removed the piston should move very easily when the rear brake pedal is pressed. It should be easy to leaver the piston back as well to refit the pads.
If all that is ok just fit ebc sintered pads that should give you some bite.

Had the pads out the other day just to clean the dust around the piston and remove some harder crud...Autosol on a small thin strip of rag and it shines lol....it pops in and out easily....I have the old pads I will drop them back in....would be dissapointed if the genuine Honda pads are the problem

Hew wrote:Could be too much polish finding its way onto the pads and disc

No Hew, nonono, ol' Mausie ain't that stupid, come on now, that's an insult!
No, I suspect it's his elbow grease, but don't tell it him, the eager polishing beaver that he is


Would like to know if the old one's will cure it Mauser, pls let us know!
I mean, even the big H can drop a thing, and besides, I bet they have them made, perhaps in China these days?

Reminds me of a tech help request letter sent into a motorbike magazine once from a guy that had squeaky brakes. He had sprayed them with WD40 and although now he was very happy that the squeakiness had gone his brakes wasn't performing very well now.....

Lol Hew, in that same vain I remember a post from a guy who'd left his bike at his parent's place, and when he picked it up his father had polished the thing - super shiny!
He dropped it when leaving their driveway, for the old geezer had put tyre polish on the hoops also

Still poor as ever I will remove the master cylinder sometime and have a look inside...it's just not right

Removed master cylinder tonight; not much appeared @ fault, had a spare body so swapped over the fittings etc and re-fitted....need a test ride to see if it's helped

Following on from this issue, as advised I have lightly sanded the pads and the disc with some emery cloth and to my surprise it's helped loads....the rear brake does actually bite now

Right Mauser, makes one think hmm?
Never 'brush' the anchors again but SLAM them, this way you'll not polish the surfaces!

BuRP wrote:Right Mauser, makes one think hmm?
Never 'brush' the anchors again but SLAM them, this way you'll not polish the surfaces!

But my tyres will wear out doing this costing Mauser money

Well yes, of course they will - but, if they don't wear then they will also go smooth & slippery, exactly the same like the brakepads & disc, the pads akin to the stationary pavement and the disc comparable to the rotating tyre!

Now we will wait for Hew to remark that the above analogue goes lame due to Newton's Law, Action Equals Reaction and other very valid phenomena, but a simplemind like moi will not understand that due to, well, simplistic thinking

If you have just flipped the rear tire you will notice a decrease in rear braking ability as the sharp edge of the knob is gone.