Speed Triple R - Brake Issue

[shielsy]

Chaps. I've had my 2014 Speed Triple R for 2 years and there is something that always gets on my tits with the front brakes. It seems that after a fresh bleed they work great for about 2-3 months, then they become st.

When they are st the initial pull on the lever is very weak and spongy, however a subsequent pull is nice and firm with much less travel. A bleed fixes this until next time.

I've been looking for leaks periodically and can't see anything untoward. I have just bought some new bleeders for the calipers and m/c which I intend to put on this weekend along with some fresh fluid.

Any suggestions for other st I should check/replace while I'm at it?

[Damski]

Sound like you have some air trapped, try slackening off some of the banjo bolts a little then nip them back uo with pressure on the leaver see if any bubbles escape. The other way of doing it is reverse bleeding with a syringe and washer jet hose from the caliper, try and take as mush fluid out of the reservoir as possible before starting and use a helper with second syringe to take out fluid as it fills up. Failing that try some braided lines if you don't already have some

[Wildfire]

If you’ve tried bleeding It from both ends it could be a wearing master cylinder or seals.

We had an issue with the race bike that was very similar. It was cured when we put a new master cylinder.

Do check the bleed nipples too. My brother had a a faulty one that was letting air in even when tightened. Brembo bleed nipples are prone to leaking if over tightened.

Edited by Wildfire on Thursday 4th October 10:51

[Johnny50]

My 2015 Speed Triple R was exactly the same.

Needed an tiny initial pull on the lever to get any bite, then you could go at it.

Quite unnerving really. Was never fixed and was told it was just how they were.....either way i got rid (not because of that) so i'm unsure if there's a solution.

[obscene]

Zip tie the brake lever over night and then try it next day. Usually fixes it for me and gets the super hard and instant feel back.

[moanthebairns]

obscene said:

super hard and instant feel back.

Am I the only person who hates this, I like what the op describes, not much, more, over the bars.

[Triaguar]

I'm with you dislike hard instant feedback. But that's cos I am so st I am constantly panic braking.

[dern]

What state are the discs and pads in? Have you got relatively new pads on old worn discs as that can make brake behave a little strangely.

Prefer brakes that dig straight in. To achieve this on my blackbird I had to replace the discs and the pads. They didn't seem to work that well together and the pads looked like they were a cheap replacement installed on to older discs that weren't completely flat. Much better feel once I put new discs on paired with ebc hh pads. I also delinked the brakes before I did this because the system was a bd to flush which improved it but the pads/discs really improved the feel.

[sjtscott]

dern said:

What state are the discs and pads in? Have you got relatively new pads on old worn discs as that can make brake behave a little strangely.

Prefer brakes that dig straight in. To achieve this on my blackbird I had to replace the discs and the pads. They didn't seem to work that well together and the pads looked like they were a cheap replacement installed on to older discs that weren't completely flat. Much better feel once I put new discs on paired with ebc hh pads. I also delinked the brakes before I did this because the system was a bd to flush which improved it but the pads/discs really improved the feel.

Brakes were equally bad on my Blackbird - also delinked, braided lines, EBC HH pads all round. Didn't want to spend money on the front discs though - rear disc cracked after about 43k miles and I got an OE replacement. Ironically fixed by trading it for a Speed Triple - really the best brakes I've ever had standard on a bike front and rear. No issues with my brembo front setup but then its a 2011 non R with the 4 pad (1 per piston) for each side front calipers. It had new fluid last year and its currently running EBC HHs which arn't quite as good on initial bite as the Brembo OE pads but still very very good.