So as a general rule, whether car or bike, i tend to pay attention to traffic, and ideally leaving a decent gap between me and the vehicle in front of me, I will either coast and brake to a stop, or have to lightly brake, as opposed to stopping suddenly/quickly which would require applying firm or full quick pressure on the brakes to stop much quicker.
Are you saying there is a benefit to using the brakes more when newer to “brake them in” so to speak? Or is it better to just continue as is, and let the squeaking continue a little
Well,
YES, there is a benefit to doing that '
brake them in' bit by braking
a little firmer when they're new (but that's
NOT to say harder!
); and there's also a benefit to braking juuust a little firmer the rest of the time too.... basically all you're doing is exactly what you outline above that
EXCEPT for the '
brake lightly' bit at the end - only
that DOES NOT necessarily mean you need to 'stop quicker' or 'stop suddenly from a full quick application'..... it just means that you shouldn't be a wooz on the brakes
EVER!! :lecturef_smilie:
If you want a General Rule, it should be something like: '
Brake early and Brake firmly (but not HARD or AGGRESSIVELY!) & if applicable change down as you coast (so you're always in the right gear to get outta there fast if you need to) then when you need to come to a stop at the end you can use just one longish but firm application of your brakes in a way that the front of your Spyder JUST dips under the braking effort but your pedal application is still firm enough that the brakes don't squeal!' 
hyea:
Lotsa little light barely there brake applications really aren't necessarily all that good for your brakes; you should always use a positive & '
reasonably firm' application, pressing with authority sufficiently hard that you can
feel (even if it's only juuust feel) the retardation that your pedal application brings &/or you can just see the front of the Spyder dip as you roll up to a stop
without letting or requiring your braking to result in a sudden or full application!! Make sense?? It's the 'too gentle' stuff that makes your brakes squeal & glazes the brakes over time!! :sour: . You need to be
positive & firm in your brake applications without being aggressive or sudden - it's just '
firm', ie. in a resolute and determined manner that's not sudden or aggressive but rather just enough that you can feel that you're juuust beyond your brakes squealing! If you coast to a stop (making sure that even if you don't 'engine brake', you
still practice 'good driving techniques' as you do slow by changing down progressively in order to match your road speed to the gear selection in a way that'll keep your engine revs in the useable range as you do, just in case you need to suddenly take evasive action.... :lecturef_smilie: ) then you should only need one reasonably firm application at the end/where you want to come to a final stop, easing off as you arrive to avoid causing a sudden &/or deep dip in the front suspension - you should feel a barely there dip up front but end with a positive stop exactly where you want it to be, if you get what I'm trying to say?!? Avoid pussy footing it on the brakes &/or the repeated little light dabbing on the brakes like the plague - instead try applying one longer firm application that's NOT QUICK OR AGGRESSIVE - you should aim for it to start out maybe as much as 1/4, progressing up to 1/2 of normal full braking, then easing off at the end to make the whole thing about 3-4 times longer than a sudden stop &/or one of thosee piss-ant light dabs that squeal like buggry, kill brakes, & that I see a lot of around here. :banghead:
Basically,
if your brakes are squealing, it's cos you're being too light/gentle on the pedal; press a little harder but make it smooooth & progressive! And don't ever
STOMP on your brake pedal unless you want to stop your Spyder dead - if you plant your foot right thru the pedal so that the foot plate drops away like it's designed to, then your Spyder will stop on a dime, outbraking just about anything else on the road by a heap, including outbraking SuperCars & Sports Cars & all those other things that people might
THINK can brake pretty well but in practice weigh 4 or more times as much as your Spyder, which has barely 1/3rd less than the best of them in the way of braking capacity!! So of course your Spyder stops quicker/harder/shorter than all those heavyweights
WHEN YOU want it to! :lecturef_smilie:
Does all that lot make sense to you?? It's an epic I know, but if you've got anti-squeal on the back of your brake pads & they're still squealing, chances are that
you're being too gentle on the pedal, which you should always address with authority, being firm but smooth in every brake application - get it right, and your brakes will work better for you for longer, the pads & discs will last longer, and you won't be plagued by brake squeal! Good Luck! :cheers:
