Pryda Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Hey guys, over the past month or so I've noticed that my front brake doesn't really engage until the lever is almost all the way in. A guy I know who drives a Triumph Rocket III (just had to get that in there, what a beautiful piece of machinery) knows a thing or two, and told me to take the lever off. Beneath there, should be a hole kind of thing somewhere which will let me move the little brake thing left and right to adjust sensitivity. He showed me on his bike, it had a fancy controller with numbers to indicate the sensitivity. Anyway, I got home and took my brake lever off to find that there's no hole or any real way of adjusting the sensitivity..unless I'm missing something. The bike has only done just over 4000km in 9 months (brand new). Surely it wouldn't need new pads, right? So..do you guys know how to increase the sensitivity of the front brake on a Yamaha YBR 125? btw, my bike is actually a replica of a YBR (SYM XS 125). Thanks in advance for any info you can give me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nio Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 The only reason for the lever to engage so close to the throtle is that either your brake pads are worn out or you have a leak and the oil level is low. Any other way thw lever sould engage normaly and not by poulling it all the way in. I've heard about people changing their pads in about 4-5.000 KMs so you are not the first one. Did change my pads at 15.000KM and regret doing that cause they had enough paste on them... It depents on how you use your brakes. I use the gear box a lot on braking so the brakes don't get tired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pryda Posted April 6, 2009 Author Share Posted April 6, 2009 The only reason for the lever to engage so close to the throtle is that either your brake pads are worn out or you have a leak and the oil level is low. Any other way thw lever sould engage normaly and not by poulling it all the way in. I've heard about people changing their pads in about 4-5.000 KMs so you are not the first one. Did change my pads at 15.000KM and regret doing that cause they had enough paste on them... It depents on how you use your brakes. I use the gear box a lot on braking so the brakes don't get tired. There aren't any leaks, and the oil level looks okay on the little black box (only a small bubble at the top). To be honest, I did learn on this so maybe the brakes wore down so much when I was learning but seriously, they must have been shitty pads right? I was hoping that wouldn't be the problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cov_AL Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 The only reason for the lever to engage so close to the throtle is that either your brake pads are worn out or you have a leak and the oil level is low. Whoa! It's not oil - its break fluid (hydraulic fluid) DON'T PUT OIL IN YOUR BREAK SYSTEM!!! Before you adjust your brake leaver - check your pads, It really comes down to how you ride/brake more than the distance you've done... See the lines on the pads? They are indicator lines, if you can still see them - you've got enough pad left. You should be able to see the edges of the pads just by looking down between the brake caliper and the brake disc. - just to complicate things, not all pads have these helpful lines. in any case you should have at least 1mm of pad all round) Now for the leaver - some have a dial on them, like this: Where you just turn the dial to adjust. others will have a screw to adjust like this: or this: And guess what? you just screw it to adjust... has that helped? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pryda Posted April 6, 2009 Author Share Posted April 6, 2009 Whoa! It's not oil - its break fluid (hydraulic fluid) DON'T PUT OIL IN YOUR BREAK SYSTEM!!! Before you adjust your brake leaver - check your pads, It really comes down to how you ride/brake more than the distance you've done... See the lines on the pads? They are indicator lines, if you can still see them - you've got enough pad left. You should be able to see the edges of the pads just by looking down between the brake caliper and the brake disc. - just to complicate things, not all pads have these helpful lines. in any case you should have at least 1mm of pad all round) Now for the leaver - some have a dial on them, like this: Where you just turn the dial to adjust. others will have a screw to adjust like this: or this: And guess what? you just screw it to adjust... has that helped? Damn dude, thanks a bunch! That stuff really helped. So I went to check if my pads have the lines, and they do! And I can see them very clearly, so I took a pic to show you: disc on the right The pad doesn't touch the disc until the lever is almost all the way in. To me, who knows virtually nothing about this stuff, it seems obvious that the pad is actually in good nick. What's going on? Brake fluid problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cov_AL Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 You might need to replace the brake fluid - how long since it's been changed last? it's a cheap and easy job - it's worth doing every 6 months or so and especially if your brakes feel unresponsive in any way! Does it feel a bit spongy when you brake? could be moisture or air in the system (change the brake fluid) Does it have the right grade brake fluid? it comes in "dot" grades 3, 4, 5, 5.1, 6 - you probably want grade 4 - but check your manual or your local bike shop should be able to tell you. Did you work out how to adjust the lever? if not - take a pic of it and we should be able to point it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragstar_125 Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 Damn dude, thanks a bunch! That stuff really helped. So I went to check if my pads have the lines, and they do! And I can see them very clearly, so I took a pic to show you: disc on the right The pad doesn't touch the disc until the lever is almost all the way in. To me, who knows virtually nothing about this stuff, it seems obvious that the pad is actually in good nick. What's going on? Brake fluid problem? Hey buddy how goes it!!! Nice pic you took!! your problem must lie within the wire, must be too much/not enough slack somewere (if you cant adjust it anywere else) we should have a look to see....two newbs better than one haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cov_AL Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 your problem must lie within the wire, must be too much/not enough slack somewere What wire? it's hydraulic... no wire, just hoses and brake fluid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragstar_125 Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 What wire? it's hydraulic... no wire, just hoses and brake fluid. ok Ok the HOSE then lol , nah good point i tried to remeber a name for it but all i could come p with is wire......or long things coming from your brakes haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pryda Posted April 7, 2009 Author Share Posted April 7, 2009 Hey buddy how goes it!!! Nice pic you took!! your problem must lie within the wire, must be too much/not enough slack somewere (if you cant adjust it anywere else) we should have a look to see....two newbs better than one haha Hey dude, it's raining..so much for the spin later! You might need to replace the brake fluid - how long since it's been changed last? it's a cheap and easy job - it's worth doing every 6 months or so and especially if your brakes feel unresponsive in any way! Does it feel a bit spongy when you brake? could be moisture or air in the system (change the brake fluid) Does it have the right grade brake fluid? it comes in "dot" grades 3, 4, 5, 5.1, 6 - you probably want grade 4 - but check your manual or your local bike shop should be able to tell you. Did you work out how to adjust the lever? if not - take a pic of it and we should be able to point it out. I've had the bike for 9 months so I suspect that's when it was last changed. I've had a full service already but they haven't replaced the brake fluid, it just said "checked brakes" on the service summary. I'm not sure what you mean spongy exactly..when the pad touches the disc, it brakes fine..the pad just doesn't move until the lever is about an inch beyond the point the brake light comes on. I took some pictures so maybe they'll help. **lever detached I checked the brake fluid by taking the top off, it's full. It's probably worth bleeding, my Dad told me how to do it. Do you see where to adjust the sensitivity there? :-/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cov_AL Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 I'd expect the adjustment to be ON the lever, so can't say much if it's not in the pic... When you take it for a service you need to check what they're gonna do, and tell them anything you definetly need doing. For example saying "filters and fluids" - should get you oil, brake fluid, oil filter and air filter change, but probably not a fuel filter, fork oil or final drive oil (on shaft drive bikes) unless you specify it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cov_AL Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Any luck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cov_AL Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pryda Posted April 11, 2009 Author Share Posted April 11, 2009 I'd expect the adjustment to be ON the lever, so can't say much if it's not in the pic... When you take it for a service you need to check what they're gonna do, and tell them anything you definetly need doing. For example saying "filters and fluids" - should get you oil, brake fluid, oil filter and air filter change, but probably not a fuel filter, fork oil or final drive oil (on shaft drive bikes) unless you specify it... Hey, sorry I was offline then when I was online the forums were down! Nah, adjustment def. not on the lever It seems like there's some slack in the wire/cable/metal that is tugged when you pull the lever in, I wonder if that's possible to be tightened. I had a quick look, didn't see any obvious way to change it (like I saw with throttle freeplay). Thanks for the tips about servicing, I'll definitely specify those things when it next gets a service. I'm not sure when that is, I don't have my service book handy. I spoke to a guy in Charles Hurst in Belfast about my brake problem (that's not where I got the bike btw) and he asked if I rode it all through the winter, and he said it'd be a good idea to give the brakes a good clean -- taking it apart and getting rid of any dust. Then bleed the brakes. Honestly though, if the pad isn't moving soon enough I don't think this will have great effect but it sounds like it'll improve braking in general. Looks like I'll have to take it to the local dealer and see what they think. Bah, I really don't want to pay the damn labour charge for something beyond my control. The seals should all be fine, it's a new bike! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cov_AL Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 One thing you could try is putting a cable tie or elastic band on overnight to hold the brake lever back against the bars... If there is any air in the system, it should let it escape. My first priority would be to change the brake fluid though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted April 12, 2009 Share Posted April 12, 2009 Well for what it's worth I think you either have air or moisture in the brake fluid. It's hard to tell from the photo but does the fluid look a little bit cloudy when you look at the sight glass ? If the fluid doesn't look clear and bright then miosture is the problem and you should change the fluid. If the fluid is OK then the brake needs bleeding. I have a YBR and can tell you that there is no way to adjust the brake lever travel. One piece of advice is that if you don't feel confident to sort the brake yourself then get a dealer to do it for you. You have to be able to rely on the brakes as you may pay a much greater price than an hours labour if they dont work when you need them to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pryda Posted April 12, 2009 Author Share Posted April 12, 2009 One thing you could try is putting a cable tie or elastic band on overnight to hold the brake lever back against the bars... If there is any air in the system, it should let it escape. My first priority would be to change the brake fluid though... I couldn't tie the brake lever until tonight...I did it like 10 minutes ago so we'll see how that goes. I've heard this tip before, must be effective, thanks! Well for what it's worth I think you either have air or moisture in the brake fluid. It's hard to tell from the photo but does the fluid look a little bit cloudy when you look at the sight glass ? If the fluid doesn't look clear and bright then miosture is the problem and you should change the fluid. If the fluid is OK then the brake needs bleeding. I have a YBR and can tell you that there is no way to adjust the brake lever travel. One piece of advice is that if you don't feel confident to sort the brake yourself then get a dealer to do it for you. You have to be able to rely on the brakes as you may pay a much greater price than an hours labour if they dont work when you need them to. The fluid isn't cloudy. My understanding was that the bubble at the top told you how much fluid you have left. I mean, how else would you know the fluid needs topping up unless there was a space at the top? I think I'll see if the dealer will bleed my brakes under warranty. I think I'll be able to bleed them myself. After that, it's beyond my ability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cov_AL Posted April 13, 2009 Share Posted April 13, 2009 You have to be able to rely on the brakes as you may pay a much greater price than an hours labour if they dont work when you need them to. ^this^ The brakes are THE most important part of any vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pryda Posted April 15, 2009 Author Share Posted April 15, 2009 ^this^ The brakes are THE most important part of any vehicle. lol the brakes work! It's just annoying that I need to pull them in so far for them to work. Not got a response from the dealer yet, about the warranty covering a repair.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cov_AL Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 For a dealer, changing the brake fluid should be a five minute job - shouldn't cost much. Doubt they'll do it under warrenty though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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