Rear brake failure

[BlkMage]

This is strange...

My rear brake was working GREAT at the Tahoe rally on Saturday. I ride today (Sunday), and notice this morning that it takes a LOT of push down on the pedal to get rear brake. This afternoon, I have NO rear brake. I get home and check, and pushing on the pedal does cause the rear caliper to move just like the pads are grabbing. PO said the pads were new when I bought it. Some people at the rally were commenting on my rotor, but could it really wear that much that fast?

[DiverRay]

Your rear rotor was HOT at the rally. You probably need to clean the master cyl, and may need to replace the pads once again.

[BlkMage]

I'll look into both of those.

Are pads really going to wear out that fast? And will FA41s fit on the back of mine?

[Ken Talbot]

A hot rear rotor indicates you have either just used it for a hard stop, or it is dragging. If you're not really aware of how the bike should feel with no dragging brakes, etc, you might have ground down the pads. If everything is working properly, you should be able to use the front brakes to bring the bike to a stop, get off and touch the rear rotor, and it should be cool to the touch. Not even warm.

[planedick]

I remember...

I did notice that your rear rotor is very rough and gouged really bad, and yes, those kind of rotors will eat up pads really fast. You really got to get a good rotor to put on there. Some light gouging in rotors can be removed, but yours is too far gone to fix.

[BlkMage]

I'll replace that rotor when I have it off to change the tires, but for now, something strange has happened...

Took it out today, was going to check for a hot rotor like Ken said, and it wasn't. But something else happened. I was pulling into the gravel front yard when...I dropped it . My dad helped me get it up and onto the pavement and it looks like everything is ok. But on a whim, I checked the rear brake lever, and it has presure! I'm still going on a short ride across town tonight to check this out fully, but that drop might have helped me out for a while...

[BlkMage]

Originally posted by BlkMage
I'll replace that rotor when I have it off to change the tires, but for now, something strange has happened...

Took it out today, was going to check for a hot rotor like Ken said, and it wasn't. But something else happened. I was pulling into the gravel front yard when...I dropped it . My dad helped me get it up and onto the pavement and it looks like everything is ok. But on a whim, I checked the rear brake lever, and it has presure! I'm still going on a short ride across town tonight to check this out fully, but that drop might have helped me out for a while...

Nevermind, I guess my arm is a bit weaker than my leg, no rear brake. I guess I'm lucky we have 2 on the front and I learned how to engine brake fast (this is my first vehicle with manual transmission). Guess I'll just have to pull out the old wrench...and can I please get an answer on if those pads will fit the rear?