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(09-05-2014, 10:27 PM)Lord Popgun_imp Wrote: Some of us complained pretty loudly about poor rear braking. Only one member's dealer would actually do anything about it and it was a LOT of air in the brake line.
My dealer pretty much blew me off so I bled my own line and a LOT of air was in it. Ferret traded his 13 before ever bleeding his. My rear brake is much much better now, but I've never come close to locking it up. Now, the service manager has. He left a nice stripe in the parking lot demonstrating that it could be locked up.
It's not too hard. Just jam the old number nine down and hope like hell that the rear wheel stays behind the front.
Cheers
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My '13s rear brake is very effective. I usually just use the rear when I only want to bleed off a little speed, not come to a complete stop of course.
I'm feeling pretty lucky in general, I'm not seeing any of the problems people mention here that they are having with a new or relatively new bike. Maybe buying used is the answer. If there were any problems someone else already took it to the dealer to get addressed!
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(09-05-2014, 11:05 PM)ClassicVW_imp Wrote: My '13s rear brake is very effective. I usually just use the rear when I only want to bleed off a little speed, not come to a complete stop of course.
I'm feeling pretty lucky in general, I'm not seeing any of the problems people mention here that they are having with a new or relatively new bike. Maybe buying used is the answer. If there were any problems someone else already took it to the dealer to get addressed!
Sort of like CB hypochondria.
Cheers,
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Pterodactyl,
Well there's the problem right there! I don't have a number 9. 7.5, maybe 8. I'll get some bigger boots and give it a try 
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Thanks for taking the time to post!I don't know why but this reminds me of the 440 V8s of yesteryear cruising down the super highway 75mph under 2,000 rpm.
History will reflect Honda has crafted the best air cooled motorcycle of all time!
Thanks,
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Ok just got in from a ride. It is confirmed..again..my rear brake sucks. The rear brake on my wife's scooter is much, much better. 30 mph, 40 mph no front brakes, pull in the clutch, push the rear brake hard and slooooooowly come to a stop. Just a wimpy rear brake. I must have tried it 1/2 dozen times. One particularly hard rear pedal mash made the abs kick in one time, felt like a chain skipping a tooth on a sprocket. Not like in my car where it cycles several times..bang, bang, bang, bang..it was just one bang on the bike. Thank goodness for exceptional front brakes. Again, 10 mph or less the rear brake seems to feel good. Just not any good at helping haul it down from speed.
Can't wait until the rally to compare bikes with others. ( if I don't fix mine before then)
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(09-06-2014, 12:27 AM)The ferret_imp Wrote: Ok just got in from a ride. It is confirmed..again..my rear brake sucks. The rear brake on my wife's scooter is much, much better. 30 mph, 40 mph no front brakes, pull in the clutch, push the rear brake hard and slooooooowly come to a stop. Just a wimpy rear brake. I must have tried it 1/2 dozen times. One particularly hard rear pedal mash made the abs kick in one time, felt like a chain skipping a tooth on a sprocket. Not like in my car where it cycles several times..bang, bang, bang, bang..it was just one bang on the bike. Thank goodness for exceptional front brakes. Again, 10 mph or less the rear brake seems to feel good. Just not any good at helping haul it down from speed.
Can't wait until the rally to compare bikes with others. ( if I don't fix mine before then)
Well that's perfect. Sort of like a built in ABS. Tramp it as hard as hell and that rear wheel keeps turning. Honda, you've done it again! Nothing to complain about really. 
Cheers
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After coffee this morning I finally remembered to test the rear brake. Took off from the house, got to about 20mph and just stood on the rear pedal. Locked that sucker up so fast it shocked me. Went down and around the neighborhood. Used just the rear brake at one stop sign coming down from about 30, stopped just fine. Without stomping on the brake I get pretty good braking - for just the rear brake and when combined with the front I get damn good braking. Normally I just use the front for any braking save for low speed turns and near gravel or sand.
So I'm not sure what you all have going against you with your rear brakes but it certainly seems abnormal to me. My guess is you have air in the line and if it keeps coming back it may pay to completely disassemble the rear brake components, put it back together and bleed. Sounds like a fitting is not properly sealing.
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The rear brake on my 2013 std and 2014 Dlx both strong I can lock both easily. The 2013 has stainless braided lines and I agree when I first got it there was air in both the rear and front lines.
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(09-06-2014, 03:09 AM)Rboe_imp Wrote: After coffee this morning I finally remembered to test the rear brake. Took off from the house, got to about 20mph and just stood on the rear pedal. Locked that sucker up so fast it shocked me. Went down and around the neighborhood. Used just the rear brake at one stop sign coming down from about 30, stopped just fine. Without stomping on the brake I get pretty good braking - for just the rear brake and when combined with the front I get damn good braking. Normally I just use the front for any braking save for low speed turns and near gravel or sand.
So I'm not sure what you all have going against you with your rear brakes but it certainly seems abnormal to me. My guess is you have air in the line and if it keeps coming back it may pay to completely disassemble the rear brake components, put it back together and bleed. Sounds like a fitting is not properly sealing.
Same here. Last year when everyone was complaining about the rear brake I decided to test mine. I spent two days riding around town without touching the front brake. While it wasn't close to the performance of the front brakes, it was perfectly adequate for normal riding. I must have got lucky and had a properly bled rear.
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