Rear Brake - how much brake is enough?

[ArizonaKev]

Ok all - another brake question : so I adjusted my rear brake pedal, and it is now perfect. I adjusted the rear brake using the adjustment bolt, and it is catching, as it does a good job of slowing me down at medium speeds.

My question is this : just how much stopping power should the rear brake have? For instance : if I am travelling at 30mph, and I apply the rear brake strongly, should I be able to cause the wheel to lock up completely and skid? I ask because I notced today when exiting the freeway that it didn't seem to slow me as much as I maybe thought it should - but I am not sure if it is supposed to do that or not.

I know for sure that a rider never wants to cause the wheel to skid, as you lose control at that point. But my question is, when properly adjusted, should I be able to cause the rear wheel to skid at all?

As always, all advice and comments are appreciated.


AZ Kev

[Sarris]

You should be able to lock the rear. If not, you're out of adjustment or your brake shoes are shot.

[ArizonaKev]

Thanks Sarris. That's kinda' what I thought too, so I will take a look at readjusting it and see where I am on the range indicator on the rear wheel to see if I new some new pads or not.

Appreciate the info.

AZ Kev

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by Sarris

You should be able to lock the rear. If not, you're out of adjustment or your brake shoes are shot.

Yes but you REALLY have to stomp on it HARD. The drum brake really isn't THAT good.
Many riders are firmly conviced that they can NOT lock the rear.....until they are in a panic situation and find out that they in fact CAN, given the proper motivation. :biggrin:

To adjust the rear brake, you need the back wheel OFF the ground. Spin the wheel. Tighten the adjustment back by the drum one "click" at a time until the brake just barely drags.....then back it off one click, or until it just barely does NOT drag. You should begin to feel the brake engage with less than an inch of pedal travel.

[mrlmd1]

When you are stopping, weight gets transferred off the rear wheel to the front so the front has more stopping power. Locking up or skidding the rear wheel has to do with how fast you are traveling and how hard you stomp on the pedal and the road surface.
Just be careful that you are traveling on a straight clean debris-free road when you try and do that, otherwise you may be in for a highside crash. If you ever do lock up the rear wheel, try and slow the bike with more of the front brake and do NOT release the brake on the rear wheel until you completely stop or are going slow enough to have complete control of the bike (better to stop first).

[ArizonaKev]

Easy Rider - I think you hit the nail right on the head. It seems as though I "can't" lock up the rear wheel, but the brake seems to be adjusted properly and slows me down plenty good. I am fairly certain that if I was in a panic situation and stomped on it that it would indeed lock up - which of course is not the best possible outcome anyway.

I was wondering - I did some searching on the site and saw the posts about making some homemade stands to get the rear wheel off the ground, but is there any other alternative? I was wondering if I were to get some normal jack stands, like those used for cars, if I might be able to use them somehow to hold up the rear of the bike?

Thanks again....

AZ Kev

[blaine]

A small scissor jack works well in combination with kick stand.A piece of Velcro or rubber band around front brake lever to keep bike from moving.

[Water Warrior 2]

Go with the home made stands that are designed for the GZ. They will work well. Car style jack stands will be more trouble than they are worth and you will soon find out how to pick up a fallen bike.