Son down (mildly)

BC, Where they are also Clear-cutting the forests, but leave a certain
amount of trees by the road, so that passers-by can't see what's
really goin on!
BC's still a beaut tho.
Bg

 

The backwards bit would be for holding the bike on hills / ramps etc?

Understood and I'm not expecting it to do so with 'ease' but even
without the trailer the rear brake has never been what I would
describe as even 'good'. Ok yes, good, not really.

Ok, well that might explain why the XV750 is so much better then.

I generally use the front with the rear and am aware most of the
stopping power is with the front. Not just because of it being twin
disk but general weight distribution. When towing we are normally also
fully laden and two up so *could* use the rear more .. but there isn't
any 'more'.

As I guessed it might be. ;-)

Maybe the Airhead riders here are lucky in that their rear brakes are
good ones somehow. There are also many riders on the various Airhead /
general BM lists / groups / clubs that seem to agree with my findings
and that the rear is (can be?) more of a holding than stopping brake?

Like I said, I have ridden a fair few 'basic' bikes in my time, bikes
that aren't particularly known to be over braked but I have never felt
the rear as lacking (being able to lock all the others without to much
effort) as I do with this RT. Before the mono I had an old R100RT
twinshock (done up as a 90S by the po) for a couple of months and even
though it later transpired the rear caliper was partly seized it was
still more like what I'd expect a rear brake to be!

I'm not saying having some form of efficiency related ABS on the rear
is always a bad thing but personally I'd prefer to have the choice of
being able to lock the rear wheel (especially under heavy braking) and
let my skill and experience (however small <g>) manage the situation
at that point. Maybe if the rear could do it's share easier I might
not get into a situation in the first place?

My point is, if I got off the BM and got on the MZ ETZ 251 Saxon Tour,
the CB 250, the 350 Bullet or her XV750 Virago I ended up over braking
on the rear for the first couple of stops because they were so much
lighter and could lock the rear wheel without me putting all 6'2" and
16st on the pedal ??? :-(

Not a problem though, I can cope, but if there was anything I could
change on the old girl, that would be it.

All the best ..

T i m

 

It sounds like your back brake is fuct. The standard BMW back brake is
competent. If you've tried new shoes and wheel, the next place to look at
is setup. Who has worked on the brake, and would you consider them
competent?

 

Oh? :-(

Well, I think the jury might be out on that in some quarters (and not
just mine) ;-)

Me and reasonably yes (have done my all my own vehicle maintenance,
always. Built a kit car 18 years ago and it's still running etc etc).
I fitted the modified one way clutch spring in my ex wifes C50LA (3
speed fully automatic) because my local shop didn't fancy the job at
the time (it was like a Swiss watch in there!) ;-)

It's hardly rocket science in there. New shoes (at least 3 different
'brands') and never contaminated during installation (never handled
with greasy hands). All pivots and linkages clean properly lubed and
free moving. All actions set at 90 deg etc. Brake light comes on half
way between pedal at rest and the brake actually starting to touch
etc.

On that note the brake light switch is a bugger to get to, up inside
the rhs rear frame and beside the monolever, often covered in shite
and therefore can fail easily. I fabricated a removable bracket in
stainless so the whole switch assembly could be dropped out easily for
servicing. It doesn't impact on the brake action.

I replaced the rear wheel for three reasons. Firstly I gathered a
slight 'dent' in the rim curtsey of a fairly large pothole somewhere
(it even shook one touring pannier lid open). Secondly there were some
strange pits (possibly either some form of corrosion or more probably
some impurities in the steel in the original steel drum insert ( BMW
did inspect it but didn't feel it warranted replacing .. but then they
weren't riding it ..) and lastly because it gave me a chance to start
with a new drum and shoes to see if it would improve the braking
efficiency (it didn't).

All the best ..

T i m

 

My particular example uses the 40mm Dell' Ortos. The only problem I have
is the need to stop from time to time to pull small children out of the
bellmouths.

 

They did. As TOG pointed out, with the exception of the 'S'...

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique,

Have you been drinking already?

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique,

Heh. Start drinking, would be my advice.

 

<puzzled>

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique,

Oh Christ, yes.