[Fwd: RT Linked Brakes]

["Tom Brown"]

Greg:

I thought the same exact thing before I bought my '04 RT. My thinking was
I would learn to live with the dumb brakes in order to get the twin-spark
engine and better chassis. Well, I was wrong about these brakes. The
front brake can be used by itself with two fingers to stop the bike. The
rear pedal stops the bike RIGHT NOW and is also good for slowing the bike
quickly in radar situations.

> > > IMNSHO, linked brakes are dumbest damn thing ever put on a
> > motorcycle.

I'll say it again. This system is not like the Honda system. It senses
(lack of) traction from both wheels and routes the braking power where it
can best stop the bike. This happens from either the pedal or lever.
Very different from the Honda system which gives a percentage of the pedal
to the front brake and a percentage of the lever to the rear.

The system SAVES WEIGHT (a couple Lbs. I think) over the ABS system on the
1100 RT. Some of this is unsprung weight because the rotors are smaller.

The newer ABS pulses faster and recovers quicker when traction is regained
on the affected wheel.

The new brakes are hugely effective riding 2-up.

The new brakes do take a little getting used to because they require a light
touch, but they've already saved my bacon once and I'm OK with them.

The GS, RS, Police RT and possibly the R and the Rockster do not have a
linked pedal, only the lever.

I put EBC HH pads on my 1100RT to improve braking power and they really
helped. Much less lever effort to stop the bike.

This new system is better than that. Brakes can get a little grabby (with
stock pads) after a lot of stop and go and were extremely difficult to
modulate when new, but they're really good after a couple thousand miles.

I ride pretty hard. Ask any of my riding pals. I'm faster with the new
bike than with the old. The chassis is better, the lower weight is better
and the braking is a handicap only until you acclimate to it. Same with the
6 speed. It's better once you adjust, but seems really strange for quite
some time.

I'm guessing that the "slippery downhill" situation mentioned might, MIGHT
be a problem, but that's only a guess. I've not had the occasion to try it.
RTs are not meant to be trail bikes, but these brakes might handle it fine.
They really are pretty good. BMW is not near as dumb as I first thought.

- - -TB

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