Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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WORKBENCH BLOW OUT SALE By Nate R a u b a NIKSTECATE, KXT-250, ATC-250 PIPES Give it a brake s o you bled your h ydrau lic brake system using the method described in last week's Workbench bu t the brakes sriII don 't work as well as they sho uld? That means it could be tim e to replace the pads, flu id or even the brak e lines. But wha t do you replace them with? Non-metallic, semi -meta llic o r metalli c pads? Stick with the stock rub ber brake lin es or rep lace them wit h steel-braided hose? And wha t abo ut refilli ng the system? Should you use DOT 3,4 or 5 brak e fluid? Worn bra ke pads can create a lot of lever pl ay in an airtigh t h ydra ul ic system, and it's easy to tell if they need to be replaced. Just look between the caliper to 'see how muc h pad is left before the meta l back ing p late will co ntact the disc. If the pads need to be repl aced, there are genera lly two optio ns fro m whi ch to choose, non -metalli c and semi- me tallic pads . The general rul e is that the nonmetallic pads give greater stop pi ng power with less heat, but their softer compound wears down mu ch .q uicker. Semi- metallic and metalli c pa ds conta in bits of sintered brass impregnated int o the pad material for longer life, but it also sligh tly decreases stopping po wer and generates more heat. Even with new brake pads, ther e may still be a certain amount of "mushi ness" in the brake lever. This can be due to the stock rubber lines. Since flui ds cannot be compressed, when the brakes are applied the bra ke fluid will tend to expa nd the rubber hose slig htly before the hydra ul ic actio n moves the bra ke piston wit hin the caliper. Rep lacin g the ru bber lines with steelbrai ded hoses elim ina tes thi s expa nsion. With in most steel braided lines is a thin teflon tub e whi ch carr ies the brake flui d. This tube is more resistant to swelling tha n rubber lin es, p lus th e 'steel br aidin g wrapped aro und it prevent s the line from swelling as well as providi ng protection from flying objects and wear. I If brak e lines are repl aced, the system will need to be refilled with bra ke fluid. There are three classificatio ns of brake fluid , DOT 3, 4 and 5, with the higher numbers giving higher performance. To determine a brake fluid's performance, it is subjected to tests based on Depar tmen t of T ransporta tion sta nda rds which determine the boi lin g po int of the flui d at "dry" and "we t" condi tions. The dry test determ ines the boi lin g po int of fresh fluid, whil e the wet test gives the boi ling point after the fluid is contam ina ted with a certa in percentage of water. Water lowers the boiling poi nt of the flu id, reduci ng the flu id's compressibi lity wh ich can lead to brake failure. It also leads to corrosio n within the brake system. Unfo rtuna tely it's difficult to keep wate r out of brak e systems si nce it can be a bsorbed th rou gh the seals and diaph rams, especially when usin g DOT 3 and 4 fluids. These fluids are pr imarily composed of ethylene glycol, wh ich is hydroscopic and acts as a magnet to water, drawing it rig ht t1irough the seals. rThe newer DOT 5 fluid is silicon-based, which is non-h ydroscopic and prevents water from ente ring the system. Anot her adva ntage to DOT 5 fluid is that it is no n-corrosive. Co nventional DOT 3 and 4 brake flui d is highly corrosive and will eat the paint off of gas tanks, frames or fairings. A common misconception about DOT 5 flui d is that if it is mixed with DOT 3 or 4 flu id the reaction will destroy the insi de of the brake system. Not so, says Bel-Ray's G ill Marti n. If the two should be combined, the mix merely reduces the pe rfo rmance of th e DOT 5 fl uid. If rep lacing DOT 3 or 4 fluid with DOT 5, Martin recommends flu shing the system with three to four master cylinders full of the DOT 5 flu id. Workbench is a wttkly co lu m n deal ing with mo torcycle mai nte na nce, performance and equipment. H ave somclhi ng mal Workbench can address ? Drop a line 10 Workbench. Cycle-Nnvs, P.O . Box 498. Long Beach . CA 90801-0498. . Parts and Accessories •Y amahasS &D treet irt • S Jet uper' • H qvam ucati us a•D • Husaberg • WaveR unner_ ' KlM • Wave J ammer I, =~ M O UPS ail rder· ~ R nancin gand Insurance ~ '.. PIPE AND SILENCER QUALITY CRAFTED ~ ~~ ~STOCK AND -s's's" 60% ·s .. BIG BORES D ISCOUNT ! Monday - Saturday9:00 .:6:00 7563 Indiana, Rivers (Hwy 91 &Madison) ide (714) 687·1300 NIKS DISTRIBUTING 83 1 1 C helle Ave ., Santa Fe S pring s , CA 906 70 ( 213) 6 9 3 - 27 46 ASubscription is aboredom prescription Road Racer il/".,"-· "I·.I Deal ers call or writ e for your tree catalog and decals. NOW AVAILABLE! 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Fill out the coupon below completely and mail your order, along with your payment to: MOTORCYCLE ROA D RACER ILLUSTRATED Att n : 8ack Iss ue Depa rtment, P.O. 8 0x 498, Long 8 each, CA 90801 -0498 (231) 421·1433 / 24 Hour FAX Order Line (213) 421 -6685 (charge orders only) Volume I, Issue 1-July 19 8 8 ALISSUE SOLOOUT INAUGUR Volume I, Issu e 2 -September 1988 ·R acing ' International GP Update - Racing- National RR Road Atlanta · Interview · Wayne Rainey • "M Greatest R y ace" • Barry Sheene - Feature - Money in Racing Volume I. Issue 3-November 1 9 8 8 • Racing · The Isle of Man -R acing - W Superbike Series orld iew · - Interv - "Flyin Fred" MerXel - "M G y reatest Race" • Kenny Roberts - Feature · Inside Or. Johns Moto Guu i Volume II, Issue 1 ·Janua ry 1989 SOLO OUT Volume II, Issue 2-March 1989 -R acing - 1988 AMA Endurance Series Wrap·up - Interview · Sito Pons • "M G y reatest R ace" - Randy M amola · Feature - Spencerl Lawson switch teams • Race Bike Test · Pons W Championship Honda orld Volume II, Issue 3 -May 1989 · 1989 GP Travel Guide - Interview - X Schwantz evin • "M Greatest Race" • Eddie Lawson y -.R Bike Test - World Champion 125cc Oerbi ace Volume II, Issue 4 -J uly 19 8 9 · Feature · WorldSuperbi kes ·R acing - Japan Grand Prix • Racing · Oaylona 200 iall · ln tetview - N Mackenzie · "M G y reatest Race" . Kel C arruthers Volume II. Iss ue 5-September 1989 • Feature · GP Sidecars ·R acing - R A oad tlanta orld - Racing · National W Superbikes - "M G y reatest Race" - K B ork allinglon Volume II. Issue 6 -November 1989 • Racing- Suzuka 8 hour - Racing · AMA Hound-up ocinski · Interview- John K eoff uke - "M Greatest Race" - G O y Issue••ented lindicate number of each issue in appropriate spaceI Road Racer . ~'II".I " ." ,,~1 NA Val 1 ·lssue 1 July 1988 V -Issue 2 Sept 1988 all BACK ISSUE ORDER FORM (please print ) II . L Phone I at $ Val lI-lu ue 3 M 1989 ay Va lli-Issue 4 July 1989 V li-Issue 5 Sept 1989 al V alll·lssue 6 Nav 1989 each=$ total . Method of payment: o Check or Money Order I A ddress I V I-Issue 3 N 1988 ol ov NA Val 11·lssue 1 Jan 1989 _ V 11·lssue 2 Marth 1989 al Total # of issues Name City _ _ _ _ _ _ .., State _ _ Zip _ CreditC ard# Charge my 0 V 0 M isa asterc ard Exp. Date _ Signature Send t o Motorcycle Ro od Roc e. lIIust .otecl Attn : Beck Issue Depa rt m ent, P.O. Box 498 , Lon g Beech , CA 9 0 B0 1· 0 4 9 8 24 hour FAX Order Line (2 13142 7- 6685 (Charg e orde(s only) J