Rear brakes really soft....not much stopping power.....pads are good

[nascarkeith]

I got a problem with my rear brakes.  I can slam the pedal all the way and it doesn't have enough force to really grip the disc much less lock up.  The pads have 5,000 miles on them and seem to have plenty left on them.  This all started after I cleaned/lubed the chain and washed the bike.  It has about 50 miles on it since the cleaning. Any suggestions?  Could I just have gotten something slick on the disk or pad when cleaning the chain?

[werase643]

adjust them at the master cylinder

[joshr08]

you might have.  get some brake clean and spray it on a rag and wipe down both side of the rotor and take it for a ride.

[nascarkeith]

adjust them at the master cylinder

Tried to find out how to do that by searching and looking at the wiki and couldn't.  Can anyone point me in the right direction or give me a little help on adjusting the rear brakes and the master cylinder.  I am pretty good at DIY stuff I just usually need something to go by.  I will try cleaning them but would also like to know how to adjust them.  Thanks in advance.

[werase643]

where the lever attaches to the master cyl...there is a threaded rod....turn it so the lever will engage sooner
also bleed the fluid
might be air in brakes

I actually adjusted friends rear brakes to not grab.....he rode dirt bikes tooooo long

[kml.krk]

I'd say either air or water in the fluid. In either case dump the old fluid and put new one in and make sure to bleed the brake properly (don't leave any air bubble in the line)

cheers

[The Buddha]

I had this happen to one clown that bugs me to fix crap like this on the extended bling arm bike he had.
I said it takes a long time to get the fluild back all the way to the wheel ...
He didn't buy that after the first 3-4 times.
Then I found out the genius has worn a flat spot into the ss line he had with a wheel or exhaust or whatever.
Then I pulled a line off the savage and told him that is all I have that fits. He was so sad that his bling bling bike had to have a cruiser brake line.
So ... you may have stuff clogging up the line.
Cool.
Buddha.

[dorris1988]

seeing as though its since you cleaned the chain it probs lube on the rear disc and pads. you prob wont need to adjust anything because it has only come on since then. if your pads werent gripping you would have slowly noticed the decrease in breaking power as the pad wears out. try slapping some brake disc cleaner or carb cleaner etc. this should clear up the problem. (personal opinion). let us know how you get on.

[nascarkeith]

I still haven't gotten around to cleaning the disk but I rode the other day and its getting better with every ride so I guess whatever I got on there is slowly wearing off.  Thanks for the input.

[dorris1988]

Be careful though. Because if you have lube on it and you don't get it off. When the lube eventually gets off and you put the back brake on your gunna be pushing harder on the pedal than you need to. Don't want you eating tarmac.

[ohgood]

I still haven't gotten around to cleaning the disk but I rode the other day and its getting better with every ride so I guess whatever I got on there is slowly wearing off.  Thanks for the input.

1) clean your disk with brake cleaner.
2) bleed a full bottle of fluid through the system (another for the front)
3) replace the pads if 1 & 2 don't fix it.

is your disk within tolerance ? are the pads glazed ? 5,000 miles could make them planty thin if the rear is dragging at all.

i wouldn't start adjusting the push rod until i found the cause of the slipping. after you find a definite cause, sure, adjust to your liking. don't be lockin that thar rear up, sonny !