Brakes are breaking me!

["Tom Brown" <tbrown@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ya know, come to think of it, I had the same issue on my '99RT.   What Tom
Cutter says it true (again).

Remove the caliper from the rotor.

Pop the pistons all the way down with the top of the reservoir loose but not
off.  Have some terry rags around in case of spillage.  If you remove the
reservoir top and do this, brake fluid will shoot across the room.   I think I
may have used a turkey baster to pull a little fluid out of the reservoir
first.

Pop the cylinders to the bottom on both calipers, then remove the top of the
reservoir.  Replace the rotors with the pads in, then slowly pump the fluid
back in as you replace fluid in the reservoir, maintaining the level and
making sure not to suck air.   Button it all up and this problem will be gone.

Make sure and wipe everything down carefully when your done.  The paint on top
of the reservoir cover is especially vulnerable to brake fluid...wouldn't you
know.

If the problem comes back after a while, just vacuum bleed the brakes again,
do this caliper thing again and you're set.

Even after I discovered this, I wasn't happy with the stopping power of the
front brakes, so I replaced the stock pads with EBC HH pads.  These have a
higher friction coefficient than stock pads.  You can bring the bike to a stop
with two fingers most of the time.  This is something I felt really
contributed to the quality of life on my RT.  They also make less brake dust
and cost slightly less than OEM pads.  I also replaced the rears, but didn't
need to.   Who needs more power on the rears anyway?

- -TB

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