Brakes fading at the worst time...

[flauge]

In the last couple of xc races Ive had problems with my brakes fading out on me. After a couple laps my brake lever will be so soft it'll touch the bars and wont have a lick of braking power. The races were really muddy but I wouldnt think that it would affect the line pressure, would it?? My brakes are strong any other time.
They faded out on me in todays race on a steep downhill and it sucked, especially since there was a tight turn at the bottom of it. I wound up hitting a tree and flipping.:mad:

[Maxboost]

try changing the brake fluid to a racing fluid, it will cope much better whit the temps of mx riding, and will not condensate as much, wich i am pretty sure is your problem, that the fluid contains too much water, when it hit high temp the `water` will condensate and create air bubbels that will leave you with no brakes

[fastredrider44]

That's not a bad idea. Change the fluid, but I would go ahead and get some stainless lines. That'll will help more than anything, especially on a 400.

[drew416ex]

Also get a sintered metal brake pad, they hold up better in muddy and sandy conditions.

I have the EBC sintered brake pads and steel braided lines and wow! The EBC pads were better than stock for braking then I added the steel braided lines and it made me so much faster, braking so much easier, and quicker reaction for braking. The EBC sintered pads last a long time too.

[Moded86R]

I would check and make sure you don't have a slightly warped rotor.


I have got in the bad habit of not using the clutch when I use the back brakes when I am ridin real hard around a track.It cause me to slightly warp my rotor and it would cause my brakes to stop working.It would still spin but you could see the caliper moving.Maybe you can't see it because it's behind the front wheel.

Stainless brake lines and better fluid will certainly help also.My fluid would get as hot as coffee and burned my buddy pretty good when we where bleeding them trying to get them to work again.

what fluid are you guys running? I use Prestone Synthetic DOT 4 (311*F wet boiling point, 500*F dry boiling point)

[flauge]

Ive got Valvoline Synpower DOT4 in it now, I thought it was good but I might have to try something else. I have steel braided lines too, I also noticed that the clear tubing over the braided lines were turned a cloudy white color down by the caliper. Looks like it was pretty hot one time. :ermm:
I have sintered metal pads but theyre Tusk tho, they've been doing pretty good to me, they havent been wearing too much.
Whats a good brake fluid?

[fastredrider44]

I run Maxima oils dot4 in mine. Its those pads giving you the grief. Tusk Pads are fine for the rear, but they glaze over when they get hot up front. Go buy some real good pads and it will make all the difference in the world. Trust me.

[flauge]

Originally posted by fastredrider44
I run Maxima oils dot4 in mine. Its those pads giving you the grief. Tusk Pads are fine for the rear, but they glaze over when they get hot up front. Go buy some real good pads and it will make all the difference in the world. Trust me.
Hmm. You might be on to something there... Somebody else told me the same thing today. I wont have to worry about the pads anymore tho. My 450r calipers came in the mail today with some new oem pads.:D
Just wondering, do the sintered metal pads generate more heat than others? I thought I heard that somewhere before.:ermm:

[j450rking]

your going to have to change the front spindles for the 450r calipers but they will be relly nice. i don't know much about the rear caliper but i have a 250r rear caliper on my ex and it's great and all i had to do was put a 250r brake stay on and the caliper and it bolted right up like it came that way. if you have brake fade running those 450r calipers with the stainless lines then there is something wrong there:cool:

[fastredrider44]

If you do have to get spindles, get the 04-05 spindles. I had a 450r Rear caliper and rotor on mine. Much better and the rotor was smaller for more ground clearance.

[flauge]

I've been looking for some 04-05 spindles for the last couple days with no luck. There was a set on ebay for cheap about a week ago but I let em get away.:mad:
I might do the 450 rear brake swap too b/c of the smaller rotor. I noticed also that my skidplate hit something and bent it up on the rotor and was grinding.:scary:

[j450rking]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by fastredrider44
[B]If you do have to get spindles, get the 04-05 spindles.

why get the 04-05 spindles? are they wider or somthing?

[fastredrider44]

No, something about the geometry. They handle better.

[flauge]

I think the 06's might be +1" wider..:confused: