to much rear brake ?

[problmpc]

In addition to riding my 125 i started to ride a 250. Worlds of difference between the 2 bikes. The 250 doesnt handle as well as the 125. THe question is when im going through a hard pack corner or over a jump or on slick ground ( on the 250 ) i have to drag the rear brake constantly to keep the bikes rear wheel from over spinning and sending me sideways. I dont slam on the rear brake but just drag it enough to keep me in line. I do this sometimes on my 125 but the 250 i am constantly on the rear brake. After about 1 hour of riding today my rear disk was changing colors from exess heat, and i could start to hear the brakes squeek. Im only 5'3 and 135 lbs so im kinda a smaller guy for a 250. Does any one else have this issue. or do you guys just use technique to keep the bike in line ?


Any tips ??

 

[YoTRacer158]

maybe you arent using enough front brake? in gary semics' book he says 70% front 30% rear. usually comming into a corner on my 125 i find the point where the back end wants to lock up, and just pump the brake so it locks up for a fraction of a second then unlocks. or maybe your brake fluid is old or of not good quality. make sure it is DOT approved and not dark in color.

 

[bud]

At that weight your suspension probably won't be helping traction. Have you checked your sag? I'd try more sag for a start. If that helps, you'll see the benefit of getting the right spring for your weight. Dragging the rear brake is a good way to keep the rear end under control, but you might also try a gear higher than usual, and gently rolling on the throttle. Also, do you have the right tires and pressure for the job?

Yotracer, I take it you mean 70% of your stopping power comes from the front brake? The front brake won't keep the rear end from sliding out anyway.

 

[Psyco Diver 69]

1 law a physics: Friction equals heat, I'll leave you to figure out the rest

I find it easier to always be on the pipe to keep my back end from losing grip

 

[YoTRacer158]

psyco driver...its a little harder to always be on the pipe on a 250 than it is on your 1980 "yamahe" DT175.

bud...what i meant by not enough front brake is that he could be relying too much on the rear brake, therefore overusing it and overheating it. just a thought

 

[BullDog KX125]

i had a the problem of my back end flying out over these 2 jumps, people told me it looked really cool and i bet it did, however i was getting to where i didnt wanna do the jumps anymore b/c it was getting me really really tired.

when my dad came to watch me, he said 'lemme add some rebound dampining'
im pretty sure he added 2 clicks of rebound dampining to my rear shock.

i was flying striaght as an arrow

give it a shot

 

[problmpc]

Not enough front brake ? comming into the corner im on the front brake pretty hard, and its not coming into the corner that is the problem (YoT) its comming out of the corner, and over jumps when accerlating hard. THis is 01 yz 250 that has only been ridden a few times by me ( bought when 02 came out ) so i know that its not the brake fluid thats over heating. its cause im hard on the brakes bud, you may be right on this one, we havent changed the spring for my weight yet, we have set the sag to be close enough, untill i buy a new spring. Ill have to try a gear higher (3) , it just doesnt seem to pull as hard as when im in 2nd going through a corner. Tire pressure is a good point, and that is something that i havent played with on this bike yet. ill have to try that out.

Thanks for the tips

 

[Anssi]

Originally posted by YoTRacer158

bud...what i meant by not enough front brake is that he could be relying too much on the rear brake, therefore overusing it and overheating it. just a thought

There is no person on this earth that can get a motocross bike's rear brake to overheat from just braking. The rear brake gets hot when you apply the brake at the same time you have the motor pulling on the chain.

There's just too little traction so that if you "overbrake", the rear just locks up and generates zero heat.

 

[yardpro]

had a friend make the 125-250 move and experienced the same sort of problem. He found that his problem was that he was pinning the throttle like he did on the 125. Once he learned how to roll on the 250 his problems diminished, as did his lap times.