How your brakes work Given good technique, your brakes have the potential to stop you and your machine faster than you can accelerate! In other words, keeping your brakes in tip top condition and using appropriate braking tactics may actually make you faster than tuning up your engine, by allowing you to keep on the power for longer and brake later. So, how does your braking system work? Your bike will have a hydraulic braking system acting upon a metal disc (called a rotor) attached to each wheel. When you apply the brakes, hydraulic fluid is pushed through your system from the master cylinder (on either your handlebars for front brake, or foot peg for rear brake) to the slave cylinder in the corresponding brake caliper on each wheel. In a closed, sealed hydraulic system as outlined above the following laws are true   Hydraulic fluid cannot be compressed to a lesser volume, no matter how high the pressure you apply Pressure exerts equal force over all surfaces of the containing system (castings, pipes and cylinders) If the system is compromised by dirt, leaks, air or water, the rules above don't hold true! The elements of brake hydraulic systems that affect performance most are : Pressure - this will remain constant throughout the entire hydraulic system (for any given input force). It is governed and controlled by the input force on the brake levers. If you put 10 psi into a system the laws of physics state that this 10 psi will act on all surfaces within the system equally. Pressure In = Pressure Out.   Force - A 1inch square plunger surface area on your master cylinder with 10lb of force applied to it will produce 10lb of force per square inch or 10 psi. If your slave cylinder caliper has a surface area of 2 square inches then the force here will be 2 x 10 lb  which will mean the calipers produce 20 lb of force. The input force or pressure acting on your system is the same (10 psi) but the output force can be altered by changing the surface area of the slave cylinder caliper. The ratio between the surface area of the master and slave cylinders works just like the gearing ratios on your drive chain sprockets. Fluid Displacement - If our 1 sq inch master cylinder travels forward 1" then the amount of fluid it displaces will be 1 cubic inch. If this fluid is then spread over the 2 square inches of our slave cylinder the caliper will only be able to move 1/2 of an inch. You will have and output force of 20lbs and your caliper slave piston will move forward 1/2 an inch. If on the other hand you fitted a larger slave cylinder - lets say 10 sq inches to keep the maths easy. Now your 1 sq inch input force would still result in 10 psi but now it is acting across 10sq inches of caliper resulting in a huge 100lb force at the slave cylinder! So why don't, we just have a massive stave cylinder and get more power? Because our 1 inch of travel at the master cylinder is now acting upon 10 sq inches resulting in 1/10 of an inch of travel. We have massive force but very limited range movement on the caliper which means that your brake pads may not be pushed far enough to grip the rotor hard enough to stop you! Lever Pivot Point - Any effort you apply with your hand or right foot will result in your brake pads pushing against your rotor discs. That input force is multiplied by the fluid displacement and caliper sizes as discussed above, but there is another force multiplier at work as well. Initially the brake lever itself gives you an advantage by multiplying the force from your hand or foot through the lever. The distance from the lever pivot point (where it's securing bolt is) to the middle of the lever (where your fingers are) might be 100mm. And yet the distance from the pivot point to the point where the lever acts on the master cylinder might only be 15mm. So, any force applied at the lever will be 100mm/15mm = 6.6times greater at the master cylinder! This is how you are able to exert enough force to stop you, your machine and all the momentum of your forward speed, with just two fingers of your right hand! By moving your lever inwards along your handlebar, in effect you move your hand further out increasing the distance to the pivot point and potentially increasing your braking power. Of course you also pull the lever further, so if you grip your bars with two fingers while pulling the lever with the other two fingers you need to ensure your brake lever is adjusted so that the lever doesn't pull tight against the back of your gripping fingers limitting it's travel. Brake pads and Rotor size - the bigger the surface area of your brake pads in contact with the braking rotor, the more friction can be applied for any given input force resulting in quicker braking - that's obvious. But the distance of the rotor's braking surface from the centre of the wheel will also affect it's braking performance. This is possibly the easiest way of improving the braking performance of your machine - especially the front wheel. fit a larger diameter braking rotor. To do this, you will also need to change the brake caliper holding plate - to move the caliper further away from it's mounting position on the bottom of the forks. You can buy an oversize front brake rotor kit comprising rotor and caliper mounting plate from most dealers or on line. Talon Engineering (the famous wheel people) make kits for most popular bikes and you can order on line here: Talon Brake Parts So now you understand a little more of the theory of how your hydraulic brake system works! Remember, your brakes are critical to your speed round the track and they are also pretty important in terms of your safety and that of others too so keep on top of your brake maintenance. DISCLAIMER! The information offered here is an introduction to the principles and parts of your motorcycle's braking system. Reading this top tip will not turn you into an expert brake mechanic! If after reading this page you feel inclined to carry out alterations to the braking system of your bike we will not accept responsibility for what happens next! You are responsible for your own actions and this page has been made available online only to offer an introduction and to give you a greater background understanding of how your braking system works, what affects any changes you make may have and what the different elements of the system do. If you are in any doubt about the braking performance or maintenance of your braking system consult your local dealer.

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