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Front Brake Travel

mtFTRnh

mtFTRnh

Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2021
Messages
37
Location
New Hampshire
I like to have the least amount of travel possible on my front brake… in part because I like to ride with one or two fingers on the brake. Unfortunately, my lever has to move quite a bit before I can feel the brake bite. As it is, the lever has to be adjusted all the way out for there to be enough space for the lever to pull the cable enough to get the brake to engage.

I asked my dealer to do something about it…which ended up being nothing at all. ???

How to fix this …especially since there isn’t a cable adjustment at the lever? Can it be improved? Does your brake lever have this much travel?
 
First of all, what is your reference? The lever travel shouldn't be more than any other modern motorcycle. Did you compare your bike with another FTR?

There's a few things you can do;

- bleed the brake fluid (should be done every two years anyway, and the OEM fluid looked very syrupy after one year on mine)
- align the calipers
- install pads with more bite (EBC HH or Brembo SC for instance)

Good luck, keep us posted
 
The bike has the longest throw of any motorcycle I’ve ever owned. This is the only FTR I’ve ever seen…so can’t compare.

If you measure the movement near the brake’s pivot pin….it’s almost a half inch gap before the brake slows the bike. The movement at the very end of the brake lever is about 2”…and I have Raximo Shorty levers. (This issue existed before I put the new levers on.) Geometry would tell us the measurement from there would be greater with the OEM lever.





.
 
I have less than an inch at the end of the lever (next to the ball end) when it engages. Pulling it a full inch is stoppie time.

About the same as on my other bike with a Brembo master cylinder.
 
Man…that is so much shorter a throw than mine! F’in dealer should have caught this after I complained.

I just bled the brakes. No improvement. There weren’t any bubbles coming out during the bleed… and I followed directions from multiple YouTube sites. What else might be up?
 
What method of bleeding did you use? I highly recommend a vacuum bleeder as it will actively pull any air out of your system. There could still be some trapped in the system even if there were no bubbles continuously coming out. Did you bleed the master cylinder too?
 
^^^^ I bled from each disk. I’ll have to read up about bleeding the master cylinder… and about vacuum systems. Thanks for the response, Charlie! You too Max!
 
Charliemurphay said:
Did you bleed the master cylinder too?
Click to expand...
^^ this is a good tip. Sometimes a little air pocket collects right under the master cylinder bleed nipple.

That's literally 30 seconds work. Even less. Slightly loosen the nipple while slowly squeezing the lever, and close the nipple before letting the lever go. Repeat twice, done.
 
Yup!!! Bleeding the master cylinder did it. I can position the lever as close to the bar as I want and still have full brake engagement. Thanks again, Charlie and Max!

Why on earth would a dealership not fix this during 500 mile check up…especially when told about it??? But, once again, it shows the value of doing things yourself…with a little help from internet friends!
 
I have the same problem. Asked the dealer to check it when it had a service last week. He said he replaced the fluid and got some air out. Doesn't feel any better. Infact when I had to do a rapid 2 finger stop, my other fingers were in the way of the lever travel😯. Not good for a brembo part 🤔
 
L2RKE said:
I have the same problem. Asked the dealer to check it when it had a service last week. He said he replaced the fluid and got some air out. Doesn't feel any better. Infact when I had to do a rapid 2 finger stop, my other fingers were in the way of the lever travel😯. Not good for a brembo part 🤔
Click to expand...
Ooh that's not MSF approved 😉
 
mtFTRnh said:
Yup!!! Bleeding the master cylinder did it. I can position the lever as close to the bar as I want and still have full brake engagement. Thanks again, Charlie and Max!

Why on earth would a dealership not fix this during 500 mile check up…especially when told about it??? But, once again, it shows the value of doing things yourself…with a little help from internet friends!
Click to expand...
I’m convinced that dealerships do the absolute bare minimum during these 500 mile checkups.
I feel bad for riders that never learn to do their own maintenance and leave themselves at the mercy of the dealership.
 
Mine is still working well after tying the lever back for 24 hrs. This was 4 weeks ago and I've ridden quite a few miles. You have nothing to loose by trying it.
 
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