SuzukiSavage.com - Stronger rear brake?

och

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Stronger rear brake?
07/13/23 at 06:46:01

Hey guys, my rear brake shoes were replaced about two years ago, probably with EBC, as these are what my mechanic always uses. They are incredibly weak, feel like they are made of cheese, and even at slow speeds I really have to stomp the pedal to bring the bike to a stop if using rear brake only.

I remember when the bike was new, I was easily able to lock up the rear wheel.

Is there a big difference in just the shoes alone, or are there other components? The bike only has 6700 miles on it so far, and I need my braking strength back.

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badwolf Serious Thumper Offline Ridin' my Lil' Bagger - 153k miles so far Posts: 801 Palm Beach County, FL Gender:	Re: Stronger rear brake? Reply #1 - 07/13/23 at 08:22:07 Before you think new shoes are the answer, take off your cable, check it over and lube it and the pivot. They need it from time to time.
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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Stronger rear brake? Reply #2 - 07/13/23 at 16:29:40 How hard do you need to hit the brake to make the rear tire slide? I didn't Make my rear brake stronger. I cut grooves in the shoes to minimize the surface area contact. I could sneeze and the rear tire start started sliding.
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och Serious Thumper Online SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 629	Re: Stronger rear brake? Reply #3 - 07/14/23 at 01:23:25 I can't lock up the brakes at all, they have very weak stopping force. When using just the rear brake during slow speed maneuvers, I have to stomp the pedal very hard to come to a complete stop from like 5mph. The pads have maybe 3k miles. My other two bikes, Star 950 and KTM 690 have much stronger rear brakes.
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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Stronger rear brake? Reply #4 - 07/14/23 at 05:55:23 Okay, that is not a complaint I've ever seen anyone have. My first thought would be pollution. Someone, somehow got oil in there. Or maybe had it maladjusted,, and over heated and glazed the shoes. If you haven't gone in and looked,, it's time. I haven't read all of this, I will,
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justin_o_guy2

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Re: Stronger rear brake?
Reply #5 - 07/14/23 at 06:04:14

och wrote on 07/13/23 at 06:46:01:

Hey guys, my rear brake shoes were replaced about two years ago, probably with EBC, as these are what my mechanic always uses. They are incredibly weak, feel like they are made of cheese, and even at slow speeds I really have to stomp the pedal to bring the bike to a stop if using rear brake only.

I remember when the bike was new, I was easily able to lock up the rear wheel.

Is there a big difference in just the shoes alone, or are there other components? The bike only has 6700 miles on it so far, and I need my braking strength back.

Okay, new shoes, replaced for no reason?

Forget everything else I said.

Except it's time to go look at everything. Make sure your brake Mechanism is not being impeded by anything, the pressure on the pedal is moving the brake arm on the hub.
Mark the hub where the pedal swings it to.

Remove the rod from the lever. Put something on it and swing it as far as you can.

Hell, have you adjusted the wing nut on the brake actuating rod ?

With foot on peg,how far do you have to move your toe before the pedal stops?

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Ruttly

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Re: Stronger rear brake?
Reply #6 - 07/14/23 at 11:57:12

I removed the brake cam. Polished pivot and cam areas , cam area took some file works and finished with emery cloth over a hardwood block then buffer wheel and also the area on the shoe that contacts the cam. Cleaned out backing plate bore and lubricate , I prefer a dry lube , it won’t attract brake dust like grease or oil will. Same for brake pedal pivot. I didn’t like the EBC shoes , I put the stock shoes back in. If everything lubed and operates smoothly it’s not a bad brake at all. Stocker have a cable that also needs lubed too.
Now I’m wondering what my 60 to 0 distance is , sounds like a reason to ride !

Note : EBC shoes for Savage are nothing great just a oem replacement and actually have less lining when new than the stock linings.

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Tocsik

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Re: Stronger rear brake?
Reply #7 - 07/14/23 at 14:21:26

You say these have been bad since they were replaced. I wonder if something was not put back together exactly the way it should.

I've heard it's very hard to wear out the rear shoes on this bike, but when I shimmed my rear pulley at 18K I went ahead and replaced my rear brake shoes using EBC. I'm at close to 28K now and the rear brake is fine.

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och Serious Thumper Online SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 629	Re: Stronger rear brake? Reply #8 - 07/14/23 at 15:57:57 I would love to take it apart and check it, but I dont have the means to remove the wheel.
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och

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Re: Stronger rear brake?
Reply #9 - 07/14/23 at 19:56:22

The pedal and the cable seem to be operating properly. This hasn't happened right away after the rear pads replace, but rather gradually. I used to have an oil leak that I was battling for a long time, I wonder if oil could have been blown in from underside into the hub assembly?

Right now almost no braking happens when I apply light pressure to the brakes, I feel it engaging but there is very little braking force. And rolling at slow speed, about 5mph, if I try to stop the bike with the rear brake alone I need to apply so much pressure to the pedal that it starts to tip the bike over.

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Ruttly Serious Thumper Offline Thumpers Rule Posts: 5098 Manteca , CA Gender:	Re: Stronger rear brake? Reply #10 - 07/14/23 at 20:36:17 Get a new cable
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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Stronger rear brake? Reply #11 - 07/14/23 at 20:38:43 I want to know what the pedal Feels Like. Foot on peg How far do you have to push the pedal before it does not want to go further?
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Ruttly Serious Thumper Offline Thumpers Rule Posts: 5098 Manteca , CA Gender:	Re: Stronger rear brake? Reply #12 - 07/14/23 at 21:13:54 Is brake arm positioned on the cam properly ?
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Re: Stronger rear brake?
Reply #13 - 07/15/23 at 04:15:14

One issue that can affect brake performance is rust on the steel lining in the rear drum.

When the bike is on the sidestand, it leans in a direction that doesn't allow the rear brake to drain all the water out of the drum. If you wash your bike and don't go for a ride to dry it out, or if your bike gets rain on hard....the steel brake lining can rust and when you go for your next ride the rust gets scrubbed off by the brake shoes and get embedded in the lining.

This issue can be prevented by taking your bike on a ride after you wash it to dry everything out. Not only does the brake get rusty - there are several places on the bike that hold water and it will not go away for a very long time without a ride. The right rear cylinder stud and the top of the cylinder head are a couple of water traps.

For those who haft to store their bikes outside........I am not sure how to prevent eventual corrosion. While parked the top of the engine and the rear brake are somewhat proteted by the fuel tank and rear fender.

IF you discover your rear brake is rusty you can sand the rust off of the steel lining and brake shoe friction surface - then use brake cleaner to get them free of dust.

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och Serious Thumper Online SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 629	Re: Stronger rear brake? Reply #14 - 07/15/23 at 06:50:47 I think this may be exactly what my problem is. The bike is stored outside, and I don't ride it much, so rain water must be destroying the inside of my hub.
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