Tyres, Brakes and Suspension » Brake lever feel

Hi,
This is the first bike i have owned with ABS. is it normal that the brake lever travels quite a distance before any braking starts to happen?

on all my other bikes there is maybe a couple of mm of brake lever travel before the brakes start to apply. This just seems a little excessive.

my dad has the same bike and his is the same. The brakes work, there just a lot of play in the lever which i dont really like

Never hurts to do a proper brake bleed.

Both of our 2016 r1200RSs and any other R1200 Wethead I tried had more lever travel compared to all the other BMWs we have owned with Brembo ABS.
Both of our 2022 R1250RSs are back to what I consider as having good lever travel.

Is your bike a 1200 or 1250?

Zitat von wessie im Beitrag #2

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yes, this is normal for all bikes with the Brembo set up

BMWs with the Hayes brake system have a little less free play. Don't think the RS ever got the Hayes system.

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Zitat von TriangleRider im Beitrag #3

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Never hurts to do a proper brake bleed.

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Zitat von Becksy im Beitrag #5

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Zitat von wessie im Beitrag #2

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yes, this is normal for all bikes with the Brembo set up

BMWs with the Hayes brake system have a little less free play. Don't think the RS ever got the Hayes system.

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I got BMW branded calibers on my front wheel, is that Hayes?

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Use the GS 911 to bleed when possible as it activates the ABS pump ensuring its continued serviceability plus fresh fluid will help prevent any seizures of valves.
In normal use the ABS will probably never be activated so a good practice to adopt when bleeding as per recommendations.

Lever travel is a little more than on other set ups but if brakes bled once a year as recommended overall performance is well up to requirements.

its a 2017 1200

Zitat von Paul911 im Beitrag #7

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Zitat von Becksy im Beitrag #5

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Zitat von wessie im Beitrag #2

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yes, this is normal for all bikes with the Brembo set up

BMWs with the Hayes brake system have a little less free play. Don't think the RS ever got the Hayes system.

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I got BMW branded calibers on my front wheel, is that Hayes?

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Yes. I've seen pictures of other RSs and Rs with the BMW branded calipers also. It seems a bit odd that BMW randomly uses one or the other.

Cycling the ABS pump isn't absolutely necessary during a brake flush, but I don't see how it can hurt. The GS911 can do it. However, you do need to do a proper bleed regardless. It's also worth putting a strap wrench around the brake lever over night after bleeding. This firmed up the lever on mine.

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holds the lever on, putting pressure on the fluid pushing air out the fluid that hopefully will rise to the top

Isn't there a diaphragm under the reservoir cap?

Zitat von wessie im Beitrag #12

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Zitat von Mr. 36654 im Beitrag #10

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Zitat von Paul911 im Beitrag #7

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Zitat von Becksy im Beitrag #5

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Zitat von wessie im Beitrag #2

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yes, this is normal for all bikes with the Brembo set up

BMWs with the Hayes brake system have a little less free play. Don't think the RS ever got the Hayes system.

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I got BMW branded calibers on my front wheel, is that Hayes?

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Yes. I've seen pictures of other RSs and Rs with the BMW branded calipers also. It seems a bit odd that BMW randomly uses one or the other.

Cycling the ABS pump isn't absolutely necessary during a brake flush, but I don't see how it can hurt. The GS911 can do it. However, you do need to do a proper bleed regardless. It's also worth putting a strap wrench around the brake lever over night after bleeding. This firmed up the lever on mine.

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What does the strap wrench do?

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allegedly, applying pressure to the lever overnight with a zip tie, strap etc makes micro bubbles in the fluid rise into the reservoir.

might be one of those myths from the days of yore when castor oil was used

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Zitat von Richard230 im Beitrag #14

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It has always worked for me to firm up my brake lever feel. Recently my KTM brake lever was feeling kind of spongy so I strapped a Velcro strip tightly around the lever and the bar and left it overnight. When I checked the lever feel in the morning it was nice and firm.

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