On my 1998 honda trx400 foreman atv, the rear brakes are very hard to apply. any ideas?

Question

i have put on new honda brand brake shoes and drum. the cables, pedal, and lever are working freely. if you stand on the pedal it will apply the brakes a little. sitting down it is not possible to put enough pressure on the pedal to stop. the shoes and drum are not contaminated with grease or mud. they are new. everything else is working freely. the ORIGINAL brakes on my dad's fourtrax 300 will stop on a dime. therefore, i know mine are supposed to be much better than they are. i'm baffled. please help.

Answer 1

Try  adjusting the back brake by turning the wing-nut adjusters in. One is for the hand lever and the other for the foot. Try to keep them fairly equal in the amount of pull.

Answer 2

The Radius of the Shoes probably does not match the Drum's Radius.

The effect of that is having a Tiny Friction contact area.

The Smaller the friction surface in contact with the drum,,,the Higher the apply pressure required to get any stopping power.

At some point(early in the curve) Pressure alone can no longer overcome the small friction area-----

"2 People could stand on the pedal" with no gain in braking power

I'm assuming that the Drum was thoroughly cleaned before installation?

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Hate to say but,,,

Take the thing apart and look at what kind of contact is showing on the shoes.

You'll most likely see only a small patch  on the shoes where they rub the drum.

Best way to size them is use adhesive backed sandpaper to line the drum,,,Re-assemble,,,then LIGHTLY apply the brakes for several seconds 3~4 times as the drum spins.

Yes---Start & run the engine w/ bike Off the Ground,and in gear.

Be EXTREMELY Careful that bike is securely elevated.

No Need to have the Brake-Side wheel Installed,,,but do leave the other one On.

The Weight of the Tire/wheel acts like a flywheel,,,and that inertia makes it spin much smoother at lower speeds.

Line the Drum full-circle.

It does not matter if there's small gaps where the ends of the  sand paper meet.

I always cut the ends at an angle so it wont grab and peel off.

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It's Very mportant to cover Full WIDTH of the drum.

Use #150~180 (Medium grit range) Wet/Dry paper,,,or Garnet Paper.

Plain,common sandpaper acts weird on the shoe surfaces.

Hi Grade Adhesive backs can be difficult to find..Use whatever you can find.

The SLOWER it's done,with very modest brake pressure,the better.

The Paper is very agressive cutting.

Expect to do it a few times.

It's a Trial & Error thing.

It is TEDIUOS,,but not too bad,,and really doesn't take long.

Check Progress Often.

To get "perfect,Full Contact" usually comes at the expense of Lining Thickness.

However,,,the More Contact Area,,the Longer the Brake life.

And of course,,the better the brake action.

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Contact Pattern:

Contact at each end on the shoe indicates shoe is Too Large a diameter.

Contact in center of shoe=Too Small a radius

Ideally You should see Full Contact,,,

but anything above approx 70% (total per shoe)is Ok for new shoes.

Remove the Paper when Done & Clean the Drum with alcohol or whatever  to make certain any adhesive is Gone.

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Any friction anywhere on the brake actuator mechanism translates into a significant loss of Brake Apply Pressure.

Clean & lube all the Friction/Pivots points  throughly.

Automotive Wheel bearing grease for Hi-Temp Disc Brakes works very well.

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That will give you a Majority of Friction surface contact ,,,and with a little "break-in" riding they'll soon be full contact.

And for a given friction material,,,thats all you can do.

Other than some hardcore modifications,,which are really a last Resort.

Good Luck,,and again,,,BE CAREFUL while fooling with it.

Answer 3

Repair shop!

Answer 4

did you overfill the resevior? i'd take out just a bit of fluid to be on the safe side.... the only other option i can think of is it doesn't have ENOUGH (nearly empty.. you don't really have to have an entire resevior to operate the brakes most of the times) brake fluid....

make sure the resevior has a good ammount in it, but it's not filled to the tip-top.

my specialities lay in engines, not the other parts of the bike