Linked Brakes

???The owners manual says that applying the front brake also applies a portion of the rear brake. With the bike on its center stand I can apply the front brake lever to the max, and still spin the rear wheel with no incresed resistance? ???

 

that'S the way it meant to be

you dont want the rear wheel to jam touching the front brakes...
its a 15% power link maybe.

 

I'm getting 0%. Spinning the rear wheel by hand there is no perceived brake friction.

 

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure when the bike is moving and the wheels are turning, and the brakes are pushing against spinning disks with the bike's inertia behind them, rather than static disks while on the center stand, if it were possible to measure the force applied by the brake pistons you would see the result of the linkage. I don't think you can duplicate that effect standing still.

 

That makes sense, I'll ask the dealer next time I'm in.
Thanks

 

Look at the top mounting of the front left brake and you will notice a small master cylinder, if you push up (toward the fork tubes) on the caliper you will activate the rear brakes.

 

Bike has to be moving to apply the rear brake using the front lever. There is a tiny master cylinder on a reaction arm on the left fork lower. The reaction arm pivots forward when the front brakes are applied actuating the master cylinder which applies pressure to the center piston of the rear caliper.

 

> R.T.F.M.!!!!!

If you look up the section what to check before riding (doesn't everyone??)

You will find a chapter were it states how to check your rear brake. Put the bike on the centerstand, spin the rear wheel and lift up the left brake.
As mentioned before

i'll bet you it'll work now!

Oh and a tip foor people who don't like linked brakes.place a small metal tube around the piston and the DCBS system is history!! itsa simple no?

 

Thanks, that explains it. Before the first ride on my new '08VFR I noticed the extra brakes lines and the "tiny master cylinder" on the left front caliper. Wondered what that was (didn't read that section of the manual, my bad). After riding it awhile I noticed I wasn't using the rear brake at all, not that I do much anyway, and the bike was slowing just fine, and felt very balanced, even in hard braking situations. It all makes sence to me now. I'll have to get a few more miles on her before I decide if I like that feature. I'm one of those who feel he needs to be in total control of the vehicle, hence my dislike of ABS. So far it felt like it worked pretty good and now that I know what's going on I can take better advantage of it. Just might be a good thing!

 

After reading this, my question is should you apply the rear brake pedal at all? If you do is the end result more rear braking than you would without linked brakes-which could be dangerous?