Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

hi ppl
i was hoping that some1 here more knowledgablw might be able to help.
i have just purchaced a 2003 6r which if i do say so myself is a very sweet ride. im still getting used to it as i have just upgraded from a 250!

the problem i am experiancing however is when i have to brake anything over moderate i find the rear is locking up i havent experianced this before so was thinking what could be causeing this... what i was thinking was
* 2 much rear brake
* the rear is lifting off the ground
* or both of the above

does any1 have any sugestions that may be able to help with this
i was thinking it may be a rear preload issue (as in 2 much)

thanks in advance

justin

Kinda hard to say without riding the scoot in question, but if the rear brake is ok then your ideas are what it will be. If the front is set soft then the rear will unload under heavy breaking or if the rear height has been wound up or the front dropped it makes it easier to lock the rear. Seeing as you've just stepped up from a 250 you aren't stomping down through the box too quick and compression locking are you?

You may be used to riding a bike that carries more rear weight bias than the 6. Or the rear brake may be more sensitive than your previous bike. Just lay off the rear brake. The only time I touch mine is to settle the bike mid turn, or preload the rear for hard front brake application (race-track only)

As an example, even minor changes can effect this. I recently jacked the arse end of the bike up to get it to turn better. This transferred slightly more weight to the front. Not enough to notice till doing an emergency stop, when I momentarily locked the rear. Best advice is to just stay off the rear brake.

You use the rear brake to do your braking?

90% of the time, I use my front. I mainly use the rear to steady the arse end as I'm going round a corner, giving it a slight bit of drag.

I dont know if I'm reading this correctly though... But I *think* you may be using too much rear.

thanks for input guys yeah i do tend to use the rear brakes a bit most of my braking is with the rear then use the front for harder braking
will give it a go with out it

Get used to Braking with the front. The back does pretty well nothing except to settle the arse end down a bit. Your problem will be that in an emergency your first automatic response will be to jump on the back (because that's how you normally brake). By the time you think to use the front you will have already nailed whatever jumped out in front of you.

If you still find the back a bit too touchy, loosen the bleed nipple and suck a bit of air back into it. Make sure your confident pulling the thing up on the front stoppers though.

Back brake will only provide 10% of your total braking power mate, so time to get used to using the front (the other 90%, obviously). You should still use the back brake, but try not using it for a while to get the hang of just using the front brake. Personally, I find the rear brake useful only at low speeds, where it does not upset the bike dynamics like the front will. I don't drag it through corners like these guys - I've had it on good advice from the Superbike School that this is a big no-no.

I daresay you haven't been practising your emergency braking either - so that is something you must start doing! It's a critical skill to keep in touch with, regardless of how often you ride. The method is simple - find a good spot, and keep squeezing the front brake from various speeds to try and stop in as short a distance as possible. You'll know you're doing it right when you find the limit of traction for your front tyre.

You use rear brake??

I tend not to.

Have you tried adjusting your brake pedal down a bit? 5mm increments should be enough...

Next time you change your rear brake pad put a softer compound pad on the rear, this should help. When I use my rear brakes i try to just rest my foot on the brake not much more than that.

thanks for the replys and helpfull info
think i will try and adjust the padal so that im not using as much pressure + use the front more Predominantly

Actually I am going to go with Aussieninja.
600's have a lot more compression braking (as a rule) to 250's.
Get on a straight bit of road with no cars and try braking in neutral or with the clutch in. Accelerate up to high revs in 1st and 2nd and then just back off completely.
Maybe you will be suprised but more likely I am just talking sh*t again

Hows the tension on the spring for the rear brake pedal, my spring stretched and fell off lol but once i replaced it i havnt had a drama with rear lockups.

What sort of pads are you using??? the dealer sells ferodo platinum as standard fare for the 03/04 6r but if you ask for sintered hh rear pads they last 5 times as long and arent as grippy.

I should add at this point that there is 2 springs attatched to the rear brake a verticle one to the light switch and a horizontal return spring which cost me 5 bucks at the dealer, its worth trying a new return spring if yours is still there.

Barrabob wrote:Hows the tension on the spring for the rear brake pedal, my spring stretched and fell off lol but once i replaced it i havnt had a drama with rear lockups.

What sort of pads are you using??? the dealer sells ferodo platinum as standard fare for the 03/04 6r but if you ask for sintered hh rear pads they last 5 times as long and arent as grippy.

I should add at this point that there is 2 springs attatched to the rear brake a verticle one to the light switch and a horizontal return spring which cost me 5 bucks at the dealer, its worth trying a new return spring if yours is still there.

rear spring is still in place and appears to be working efficently.
pads im not sure as ive only had the bike for that long and i believe the pads are next to new

just crack the bleed nipple for a second.
This will put a nice little air bubble in there.
Will make the brake not as effective and stop it locking up on you.