I just hit the top of Sonora pass (for those that do not know Sonora pass it starts and 9600 feet above sea level and has a lot of 15 mph turns) and was heading down hill for some stupid reason I decide to not use my gears and use my breaks. With in about 1 minuet my back breaks were not working they got to hot, when I push the break pedal to stop it would go all the way down to the hard stop. Talk about a scary felling. The front was still working and I down shift to slow down the bike when I let the breaks cool they work fine. I was surprise how fast the breaks went out

 

Yep, been there done that. Scares the crap out of you for sure. They do get hot quickly don't they?

 

Had the same thing happen. Went home immediately and flushed the brake system. The fluid was pretty bad. :-(

 

How old is fluid? Sounds like you need need new fluid in there PDQ.

 

better grade of fluid helps

 

If you ride roads like that like me uou need brakes that are set up for that
Stainless lines = more positive feel
fluid i use Wilwood fluid you
Want the highest boil point
pads ebc hh style something meant for aggressive stopping

All this added up means eith minimal brake pressure you get more stopping power

Will you have brake squeel/noise
Maybe will you survive yes

Alot of bikers complain about brake noise and use stock pads for quiet but ehen doing rides like yours just not cut out for the job






want the highedt boil

 

Good thing it was the breaks and not your brakes. If your brakes failed you might not have been able to stop.

 

Well, them's the brakes.

 

Had this happen to a friend of mine on his CVO pulling a Uni-Go trailer down a mountain in Canada. Between the altitude (things boil at a lower temp the higher you go), the proximity of the brake reservoir to the exhaust and the marginal brakes on the bike, it is pretty easy to boil the fluid under constant use at altitude. I always try to alternate front and rear to give the brakes a chance to cool.

 

:-) Thank you!
Now I know that I'm not the only one who notices this all too common error on the forum.