Rear Brake Adjustment

[BillyRok]

I'm looking for some input on proper adjustment as I put my rear brakes back together. It's been almost 2 years since I started tearing the bike down so my poor memory combined with my lack of experience is making it difficult sometimes to get things back to spec.

How much play is there supposed to be in the brake pedal before the brakes start to come on (before the brake rod contacts the bottom of the mc plunger)? I see there are 2 ways to adjust, a threaded yoke on the bottom of the brake rod and a small bolt through the frame that contacts the front arm of the shaft the brake pedal fastens to. I see the pedal can also be jumped a tooth on the shaft if needed as well.

I ask because I want things correct but I'm also having trouble with the brake pedal hitting the muffler, heat shield, or front foot peg during its travel...it doesn't move very far before it hits something and I don't recall that being the case before. I put an original exhaust system back on the bike (bought it with a Jardine system) and I think it's mounted properly. Here are some photos, if those of you with XJs could provide some feedback as to how mine looks compared to yours that would be great.

Looking down at space between exhaust pipe and frame
[IMG][/IMG]

Muffler in relation to axle and foot peg mount
[IMG][/IMG]

From the back
[IMG][/IMG]

Thanks for the help.

[bikerphil]

From the XJ FSM...

[MPittma100]

Similar Problem

I had a similar problem on a 1981H. Pedal was not actually hitting anything, but it just didn't feel like the brake was effective enough for the amount of effort applied to it. It appeared that you had to roll your foot over too far on the peg to get the needed braking result.

I first rebuilt the m/c. Did not see anything terribly wrong there. It seemed to improve some, but was minimal. I then rebuilt the caliper (most recently). Upon disassembly, I found the typical (semi) seized piston and crud. It all cleaned up and upon reassembly, the piston travel was much improved. I put a little less than the suggested .050" free travel in the pedal.

I have not ridden it yet so I am unsure of the results. I have compared the rear brake on this bike to a 1979SF. The SF pedal seems to be more of a solid pedal feel. Both bikes are using EBC pads.

If I am not satisfied with the results, I may try (what Phil suggested earlier to me) adjusting the m/c rod until I get the best feel. Got to be careful not to bind up the brake.

MP

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Billy,

Your pipes look like they are mounted correctly, you can see the OEM cutout/depressions, but like you said the lever will hit the side of the muffler. The parts fiche do not show anything other than the rear pedal shaft and lever. And your lever is right against the frame/mount. SO..to space the lever further away from the frame, you may need to try to put a spacer/washer around the shaft between the pedal and frame! Either that or BEND your pedal to fit/clear!?

T.C.

[BillyRok]

Thanks for the description bikerphil. I have a FSM but was looking in Chapt 5 at the caliper and master cylinder teardown rather than Chapt 2 at the periodic adjustments, not too swift.

After making the proper adjustment, the brake lever was still almost immediately contacting the heat shield and muffler. I loosened up every bolt on the exhaust system and realized I could draw the crossover joint between the mufflers up tighter. That gained me some extra clearance and now everything is fine. I had thoroughly cleaned out the rear mc so I knew that wasn't the problem.

Thanks to all for all the pointers/ideas!

[bikerphil]

Glad you got it all figured out.

[Rickrod3]

Thanks for the description bikerphil. I have a FSM but was looking in Chapt 5 at the caliper and master cylinder teardown rather than Chapt 2 at the periodic adjustments, not too swift.

After making the proper adjustment, the brake lever was still almost immediately contacting the heat shield and muffler. I loosened up every bolt on the exhaust system and realized I could draw the crossover joint between the mufflers up tighter. That gained me some extra clearance and now everything is fine. I had thoroughly cleaned out the rear mc so I knew that wasn't the problem.

Thanks to all for all the pointers/ideas!

Had the same exact problem with Stock headers and Jardine slipons
Thanks for posting.