Most of your braking is done with the front brake. I might be misunderstanding your post, but it sounds like you are relying on your rear brake way too much.

 

I tried, but on their website I can find only front pads for the new Softail models, no rear one available...
Do you have by chance a part number?

 

7283 for rear. Vegas Jim has a thread on the brakes from which I copied the number.

 

Thanks a lot!

 

They did away with the 2nd fob for the 2020 model year. My FXLRS only has 1


That said, OP I feel you. I thought this S would have a better rear brake to match the amazing front setup...it's like they forgot about the rear brake. I have ABS and I have to dang-near stand on the lever to get it to engage & pseudo lock-up. That being the case, I can say ABS does work & fairly well at that. Never had ABS before, pretty neat.

 

That sucks. How cheap can ya get?

 

I can't speak for anyone else but I know I didn't come here to ask for help with my riding style / ability. We just want better brakes.

 

While your statement is 100% accurate, that's not the point of this thread/topic. When the occasion arises that you need the rear brake, you expect it to be there comparable to the front, don't you agree?

That isn't the case on these bikes. Take for instance low speed maneuvers, where most riders eat it & drop the bike. If the brake isn't there when you expect it comparing to the front you use 98% of the time....down goes their new baby.

That said, I found out real quick I needed to learn the new rear brake in a parking lot doing those low speed uturns and figure 8's so that I wouldn't drop it. 1 finger on the front and full-foot pressure on the rear is very different.

 

Since raising the rear brake pedal, I can now get plenty of pressure on the rear brake and have more than enough.

In general, Harley brakes (front and rear) are "harder" than Japanese and Euro bikes in that they require more force at lever or pedal for a given braking force. This is defined by the ratio of piston area at the brake calipers to that at the master cylinder that sets the mechanical advantage. I think half the reason mating a Japanese sport bike caliper to a Harley brake is that the new caliper has a larger piston area, "softening" the brake feel (keeping the master cylinder the same). This has nothing to do with proper bleeding or how firm the brake lever/pedal feels when the pads are fully compressed.

For the rear brake, the simplest and cheapest mod (after proper bleeding and changing the brake pads) would be to redesign the bellcrank linkage to give a little more pedal travel for a given linear displacement of the master cylinder, resulting in a higher overall braking force at the caliper for a given pedal pressure. The bellcrank is very simple. Any competent machinist could gin one up in 2 or 3 hours. I'd probably use aluminum for the main body, brass inserts for the pivot points, and Keenserts for the screws just for ease of manufacture.