Happy With Your Rear Brakes?

[RiderRick]

Are some trikes rear brakes better than others?
Are you satisfied with yours after conversion to a trike?
Which kits have the best brakes?

 

[katfish16]

I have a CSC conversion and have had no problems with the brakes.. Disk on the back...

 

[chickie]

Like Katfish 16 we have no problems with our CSC rear brakes other than squeaking which is hard lininb.

 

[jaybasr]

I have only got to ride a couple hundred miles on the 05 GW/Lehman but the brakes are great better than my truck. Jay A.

 

[Greydog]

I'm currently not really happy with my rear brakes on my Champion conversion. They feel "spongey" and really don't perform well for disc brakes. I'm gonna have my dealer take a look at them as I believe all the air wasn't bled out when the kit was installed.

 

[Gorilla]

Greydog, For sure get them re-bleed. I have the Champion conversion (installed myself) on my modified 07 Road King and the brakes are just super. So you must have air in the lines.

 

[1550vt]

I love mine, great pad wear and will stop on a dime. I am bragging.............I converted mine to disc myself, but they are great. A whole lot better than the stock Lehman drums.

If you are running any of the disc kits like the Champion and others listed above....they should be very good. I have read comments concerning the TG rears, but have heard no complaints from any others.

 

[Nauga Mok]

Greydog -- did you get your brakes fixed yet? One sure sign there's air in the system is they get spongier at higher elevations. Here in 'Vegas, the elevation is about 2,000' depending where I am in town. Anything above 6,000' or a 4,000' increase in elevation will cause a softer pedal because the air bubble expands at higher elevation.<br />
<br />
NM

 

[joelin5386]

Just got a Motor TRike kit installed on my 09 Ultra. It has drum brakes on the rea. Can I convert them to disc

 

[Gorilla]

Go to the Harley forum and look for this thread "Lehman Disc Brake Conversion" not a lot of detail but yes it can be done. You need to identify the rear end and I believe MotorTrike uses Ford rear ends. Then you will have to find out what Ford disk setup will fit the rear end. The hardest part is going to be identifing the parts

 

[ben721364]

Just got a Motor TRike kit installed on my 09 Ultra. It has drum brakes on the rea. Can I convert them to disc

I suppose that you can replace the drum brakes with disc brakes. What is your objective? The advantages of disc v, drum rear brakes, all else equal are lower unsprung weight and greater resistance to fade. Neither of these are important (except for bragging rights) on a trike unless one spend a great deal of time riding in the mountains at high speeds when fade might possibly come into play. In the case of a trike, a car, a 2-wheel motorcycle, etc. front brakes and tires account for 70+% of effective braking power.

 

[Greydog]

Greydog -- did you get your brakes fixed yet? One sure sign there's air in the system is they get spongier at higher elevations. Here in 'Vegas, the elevation is about 2,000' depending where I am in town. Anything above 6,000' or a 4,000' increase in elevation will cause a softer pedal because the air bubble expands at higher elevation.

NM

Not yet. Still too cold here in West Virginia to ride over to the dealer. Should be able to get over there about the middle of this month. At least the freakin' snow has melted off!!!

 

[stacebg]

cant quite agree here
i feel that with the extra weight and inertia of the back 2 wheels, especially if you have some big rubber, that 70 - 30 ratio drops way off

may be a line in the sand here so to speak lol
i think with that extra centrifigal force pushing you and extra weight in the back you really need way better back brakes than with a 2 wheeler

my 3 cents (due to rising costs of bs)

I suppose that you can replace the drum brakes with disc brakes. What is your objective? The advantages of disc v, drum rear brakes, all else equal are lower unsprung weight and greater resistance to fade. Neither of these are important (except for bragging rights) on a trike unless one spend a great deal of time riding in the mountains at high speeds when fade might possibly come into play. In the case of a trike, a car, a 2-wheel motorcycle, etc. front brakes and tires account for 70+% of effective braking power.

 

[1550vt]

I am the author of the "Lehman Disc Brake Conversion" thread and I went that route for two reasons.

#1. My drums were fine, but I could never keep them in decent adjustment and they would pull one-way-or-another under a heavy stop. If they are properly adjusted....drum brakes are just fine.

#2. I sought a disc brake kit from Lehman, because I just like the looks and simplicity of the disc brakes. Lehman told me I had to purchase a new rear end for $4,000 and that it was not possible to convert mine to disc. I told them to go blow and proceeded to make the conversion. They used a variance of Ford rear end components, but once you get that figured out...the rest is pretty easy and only takes a bit of "fooling around" out in the shop...like we all like to do anyway. Striking the balance between the calipers and the stock HD rear brake MC is the most important part. I converted mine for around $300 in parts.

As for the braking ability/ratio let me tell you that you do need very good rear brakes on a trike. It's true that on any vehicle, most of the braking occurs in the front end. Due to a cut brake line, I had to come back from Canada once on just the front brake (too lazy to stop and get it fixed) and that little contact patch on the front wheel will not stop a trike in a bind no matter how good the system is. It slides real well right on through any traffic signal and if the pavement is damp....you're risking your life if you depend on the front brakes to stop you. Besides...there is a lot more rubber on the two rear tires to use-up than there is on that itty-bitty front tire.

Make sure you have good rear brakes whether-or-not they are drum or disc. The trike needs all three brakes to stop in a bind. Go out and try to stop it in a hurry one damp day just with the fronts and see what happens.

 

[allanintexas]

we had the 'spongy' feeling on a champion harley conversion that came through our shop and after repeated vacuum bleeds the solution was to install a larger master cylinder capable of handling two calipers-problem solved.

 

[Gorilla]

we had the 'spongy' feeling on a champion harley conversion that came through our shop and after repeated vacuum bleeds the solution was to install a larger master cylinder capable of handling two calipers-problem solved.

A great soluntion, now what master cylinder did you use?

 

[rmrc51]

This is an upgrade that I'm also considering.

My 97 Valkyrie has one of the original Motor Trike kits. I've often thought about the possibility of converting to disk but never investigated if they offer a conversion kit. Now that this thread has brought the subject to light again, I will look into it as my last upgrade being that I've already done everything possible to this trike. The only other decision I have to make before looking into the brake conversion, is whether I'm going to keep the trike, or sell it as I hardly ever ride.

 

[danbgt]

I have a DFT kit. Retains the stock GL1800 rear brake. 45,000 miles and no issues. Stops on a dime. Pulling the trailer. No difference. Just allow a little extra space.

 

[1550vt]

I helped a guy with a Honda/Lehman convert from drum to disc and we had to do some tricks with the way Honda uses both rear and front master cylinders to work certain pistons in both the rear and the front calipers.

rmr....I cannot be sure about the Valkyrie, but I know it is a bit more complicated with the combined brake systems. On a Harley.....piece of cake, because the Harley uses a split system. I think it all boiled down to a "device" in the braking system that was very difficult to bleed, but once we got past that, the conversion was easy. Yours not being a Lehman (which is what I specialize in) would take some research, but overall, it's not that expensive. My conversion cost total up to less than $250 in parts and your elbow-grease.

I'd say check with Motor Trike and see if they offer a kit. I they do and will sell you one....I bet it will cost a pretty penny.

 

[rmrc51]

rmr....I cannot be sure about the Valkyrie, but I know it is a bit more complicated with the combined brake systems. On a Harley.....piece of cake, because the Harley uses a split system. I think it all boiled down to a "device" in the braking system that was very difficult to bleed, but once we got past that, the conversion was easy. Yours not being a Lehman (which is what I specialize in) would take some research, but overall, it's not that expensive. My conversion cost total up to less than $250 in parts and your elbow-grease.

I'd say check with Motor Trike and see if they offer a kit. I they do and will sell you one....I bet it will cost a pretty penny.

If I could do the conversion even for $500.00 it would be worth it. I'll contact Motor Trike and see what they say. Thanks for the information. ThumbUp