Ineffective brakes

I have replaced almost every part of my brakes since I first got my XJ650. I replaced the rear shoes and front pads. I also rebuilt the master cylinder as well as the caliper and replaced the lines with braided steel. But yet the braking still seems pretty ineffective. Especially when comparing to other bikes, I feel like I should be able to stop faster. And one thing that strikes me as odd is that my front brake is not nearly as effective as the rear drum (seems counter-intuitive) and the rear drum is still not that great compared to other bikes (more specifically a 1975 Honda CB400F that I have). Im getting some semi-metallic pads for the front because I have heard that the carbon-kevlar I have is not the best for driving on the street. But does anybody else have any input as to braking performance?

 

You might still have air in the lines. The pads you have are also part of the problem; yours will never get hot enough to perform well on the street. With fully bled lines and organic pads you should regain more than adequate braking performance.

 

I did exactly what you did except I used standard pads on the front. They work well but my front brake is much harder than either of the other three bikes I have. I assume that is due the the stainless brake lines. I'll have to admit that being used to the softer front brake on my other bike required some time to get used to the brakes on my XJ.
My biggest problem now is not locking up the rear brake.

 

I bled the lines pretty well when I rebuilt everything and that was over 6 months ago now. So I would imagine that any rouge air bubbles would have come out the MC by now.

There is no way my rear brake would ever lock...

 

May need to reposition the pedal up a notch or two, also turn the brake linkage nut in a few turns til there's almost no play by hand. Listen for dragging, back it off a touch and then fine adjust for your preference.

 

Let me clarify, my rear brake is not malfunctioning, but several times I've locked them up by being a little hard on the brake. They aren't dragging, but maybe I could back off the adjust a tad. I ride a couple of Honda's also and the breaking on them is not quite as sensitive.

 

I will have to check the adjustment on it. My rear brake is not very sensitive. I dont think it would lock if i stood up on the brake lever!

 

you can adjust the free play on the brake pedal then adjust the brake at the drum.
also remember that the rear brake drum has many miles on it so it may be a larger diameter then when new takes a while for the shoes to ware into the drum.

 

Maybe the material the shoes are made from is bad. My brakes from the bikes that had the original shoes as crummy as they were would stop my bike. Where did you get your parts from? I would call and inquire if they have any complaints. Sub standard brakes is a serious problem and the vendor should help you.

 

I installed them about 1500 miles ago. That should be long enough right? And where are the 2 different adjustment points? Could you perhaps highlight them on a picture please?

They feel about the same as the original shoes that I removed. I figured that I didnt want them to delaminate on me. Those shoes were from an eBay seller.

 

If you have not thrown your old ones away yet, pop them back in and see if they work to confirm. I would bet the material is at fault.
I had a set of brake pads for a classic car do the same thing. Put the old ones back on and it stopped perfectly. The material was so hard the pads would not grab the rotors so the back brakes would lock up.

 

where the brake pedal connects to the brake rod is a bolt with lock nut it adjusts pedal hieght.
then the rod connects to the brake lever on drum has an adjusting nut.
you could also move the lever on drum 1 spline clock wise if the adjusting nut is all the way forward

it should be near part 22 possibly bolt 33 and 34.

Hogfiddles stated "May need to reposition the pedal up a notch or two," so you may not have an adjuster bolt

i will post a photo of mine its on a 550 it does not show on 550 clearly parts list

 

The XJ-650 was designed to use Organic brake pads, the rotor is designed to use Organic pads. Do NOT use Sintered or Ceramic pads.

 

If the right material is used on those brake shoes he should be able to stand on the peddle and the rear brake should lock up.

I just tried it on one of my bikes that needs tires. Now it really needs tires becuse I have a flat spot.

 

I've been able to lock the rear wheel on every bike I've owned, the first one being a HOnda XL350 1975.

 

brake adjuster front at pedal xj550 maxim your looking for somthing like this it adjusts the pedal height