I'm tired of my crappy FJR brakes. Will Galfer lines help?

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Brakes work great from the factory. If they don't work great, and you can't find what to fix to restore them to factory greatness, then they DO need dealer attention.

 
As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I think it would be a good idea if you can arrange to swap FJR's with another local rider to see if what you are experiencing is normal or not. Braking performance can be somewhat subjective and I think you would benefit from some sort of direct comparison. The EBC HH sintered pads are good - not likely the issue. If the rotors or pads are glazed, it would be a good idea to clean them up with some solvent followed with some sort of abrasive paper (i.e. 100 grit carbide). You had mentioned a fork oil leak at one point but I think that was before you changed pads. Any residual fork oil will, of course, substantially degrade braking performance. If the pads were soaked, it would be a good idea to replace them and thoroughly clean the rotors.

From your description, it sounds like your observed braking performance (or lack thereof) has been an issue since the bike was new. Get a comparison with a known "good" bike and then dive into it. If there are no local owners willing to help, can your dealer do anything? Personally, I doubt that the issue is with the ABS block - typically, failures result in the lack of ABS, not the lack of braking.

Edit: I wouldn't use the solvent on the pads; just the rotors but use the carbide on both to get a clean fresh surface.

You should be able to get a LOT more braking performance from the front than the rear brake!

Are the pads wearing fairly evenly on the front? (inside pads typically wear a bit faster so I swap left-to-right at mid life) The lower right front set wears less (for me) since this piston pair is only activated with rear brake - I use more front than rear. If one side is wearing much faster than the other, it could point to a problem with one of the calipers.

 
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7. I have aftermarket levers. I believe they are Pazzo's. I have them set to about half travel and the lever does not come close to bottoming out on the handle bar. I'm a stocky guy so strength is not an issue, however I did get the 2 finger Pazzo for the brake side. I like to brake hard coming into corners so I like half my fingers on the brakes and half on the handle bar. The sides of my front tires don't really appreciate that though. I get cupping pretty bad on the sides of the front tire.
Alright. I read all of your post and really hesitated in responding as I am no expert rider, but #7 bothered me. Maybe riding technique may need to be modified.(See why I was hesitant in responding?) I just thought of so many ways you could not need as much brake and still ride very aggressive. You mentioned earlier that you drag the back brake. Look up trail braking. Get off the throttle sooner when approaching or entering a turn. It is much better to have your speed appropriate for a turn before you enter it. You find you can be faster riding that way too. hard braking makes the bike want to stand up and that is not a good thing in a turn.
When did I say I drag the back brake?
Sorry. The one that posted that has the same picture!
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I didn't look at the name.

 
Having ridden ST1100.ST1300,BMW1200RT and 1200LT I can sat that the brakes on my '06 FJR are well within the effectiveness I expect from bikes of that weight.

100 or so pounds makes a huge difference!

Once in a while, I test the ABS on a patch of gravel road but have never been in a situation on dry pavement where I activated the ABS.

To the OP...a pad change may be what you need to get the feel you are looking for.

Just keep in mind, more friction= more wear on the rotors=more $$

Let us know what you find that works for you.

 
Forest rats have given me the opportunity to exercise my ABS on several occasions. Crappy brakes? Hardly. Saved my *** a few times. It really shouldn't take a whole lot to activate them. As for rear brake fade, I have had that happen once. It was on the dragon 2-up and we were riding hot. I was doing some serious trail braking. About halfway through no rear brake. When we got to deals gap I noticed balled up rubber on the tires. Yeah, I guess we were running a little hot. The brake can only dissipate so much heat. It wasn't the brakes fault. As to "dragging" the rear, well you will not give it any opportunity for it to cool off. My rear brake was back after about a half hour rest stop at Deals Gap.
I gave you a pretty good brake check last year at SEO due to a deer that decided it would try to run across the road just as we cleared the crest of a hill. I believe we all engaged the ABS on that one.

 
Just to add my $0.02 here, from your description, FJRmoho, it sounds like your brakes are operating at far below "FJR normal" standards (like maybe 20% performance). I always brake on the front with a light touch of my index and middle fingers and could quite easily do it with one finger (and I'm no He-Man). It sounds like you consider yourself a handy guy and are reluctant to take the bike into a dealer for service - which I understand - but do us all a favour as fellow users of the road and do whatever it takes to get your brakes working properly, whether it's in your garage or in a shop.

If you have to do much more than think about squeezing the brakes to stop the FJR (or engage ABS, as the case may be) there's something wrong.

 
Forest rats have given me the opportunity to exercise my ABS on several occasions. Crappy brakes? Hardly. Saved my *** a few times. It really shouldn't take a whole lot to activate them. As for rear brake fade, I have had that happen once. It was on the dragon 2-up and we were riding hot. I was doing some serious trail braking. About halfway through no rear brake. When we got to deals gap I noticed balled up rubber on the tires. Yeah, I guess we were running a little hot. The brake can only dissipate so much heat. It wasn't the brakes fault. As to "dragging" the rear, well you will not give it any opportunity for it to cool off. My rear brake was back after about a half hour rest stop at Deals Gap.
I gave you a pretty good brake check last year at SEO due to a deer that decided it would try to run across the road just as we cleared the crest of a hill. I believe we all engaged the ABS on that one.
Got that right. Probably would have been a three bike pile without ABS!
 
Forest rats have given me the opportunity to exercise my ABS on several occasions. Crappy brakes? Hardly. Saved my *** a few times. It really shouldn't take a whole lot to activate them. As for rear brake fade, I have had that happen once. It was on the dragon 2-up and we were riding hot. I was doing some serious trail braking. About halfway through no rear brake. When we got to deals gap I noticed balled up rubber on the tires. Yeah, I guess we were running a little hot. The brake can only dissipate so much heat. It wasn't the brakes fault. As to "dragging" the rear, well you will not give it any opportunity for it to cool off. My rear brake was back after about a half hour rest stop at Deals Gap.
I gave you a pretty good brake check last year at SEO due to a deer that decided it would try to run across the road just as we cleared the crest of a hill. I believe we all engaged the ABS on that one.
Got that right. Probably would have been a three bike pile without ABS!
Glad FJRmoho wasn't in back.

 
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