Brake fade | GTAMotorcycle.com

Brake fade

YellowDuck

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2003 GSXR600 - Our SOAR endurance bike. We were running the old pads that came in the bike when we bought it up until last round. But then we put in "carbon pads" - CP211 I think. During the race there seemed to be way too much lever travel - it never touched the bar but it was just a lot more movement than we are used to, and it took more effort at the lever to stop the bike.

I was planning on bleeding them, but once everything cooled off the lever was super firm again. Sitting in the garage it is perfect.

How do we interpret this and what can we do about it? We have a set of HH pads we could try. Should we?
 
Did you scour the rotors and bed in the new pads properly? How old is the fluid? And is it good fluid?


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With the old pads the fluid was nothing special - Penske DOT 4, new package, flushed right through in the spring. Worked fine for 3 races. I'll have to ask my brother what he put in when they bled them last Saturday - for sure it was the right grade but I don't know the brand.

He scoured the rotors for sure when he changed the pads. Bedding in - I don't know. It would have been during Saturday practice (Steve on the bike, not me), so it is possible that they got too much too soon.
 
Gathering more information.....it is possible that the master was changed....please hold.....
 
rotors were scoured before, Penske DOT 4 fluid, lines were bled. No choice after shanny (thanks Brodie!). I'm starting to wonder if any moisture got into the fluid. Thinking flush with 5.1 would be the next play.
 
GSXR masters are notorious for being crap may want to make a change in the master department. BTW the rotors are under seat of my truck will bring them next round,
 
If it's a Gsxr master that'll be 1/2 the problem, the other 1/2 is the fluid. Put in some high temp racing dot 4 fluid that can handle race duty.
 
I think I might try replacing the fluid with another DOT 4 that has a higher boiling point than the Penske, and flushing the whole system. Wondering if maybe the carbon pads were generating more heat? Still waiting for Steve to tell us if he changed the master or not. It can't be sucking air (or else lever would still be squishy), but I would like to eliminate it as a variable.

Lines are aftermarket braided.

(Edit - cross posted with dricked)
 
I'm voting for re-bleeding the system for sure. I would eyeball all the bleeders to make sure none are seeping. I had one that must have been ever so slightly weeping and after a couple trackdays I got the feeling you described. Now I dry the bleed nipples and if I see one wet or the cap wet I know whats happening.
 
Put in a 06+ R6 or 04+ R1 master cylinder and get rid of the crap the gsxrs come with. Have this mod on both bikes and it works great
 

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