Need brake advice HELP!
 

So after thinking about my crash, my biggest disappointment was not fixing up my brakes from the start. I was told by people that my brakes were weak, and my bike didn't brake well. From the forums, i read that the F4i just has bad rear brakes. That's something i've accepted, but the front brakes should be good on it.

I bought new front brake pads, EBC HH Sintered brakes, and removed the old ones from the bike. To my surprise they were pretty fresh, and still had about 95% life to them. So now i have 2 pairs of brake pads that i basically don't need.

What am i to do? Why are my front brakes so weak, that they didn't prevent me from rear ending a fellow motorcyclist. Brake Fluid? Calipers? Brake line?

Help!

Safe bet that in the last 10 years the brakes haven't been flushed once.

Even on my F3 both brakes produced enough force to lock either tire. That weak brakes is usually bullchit (not taking in account track performance). Flush the brakes, deglaze (or replace) the brake pads and perhaps look into replacing the brake cables. From there, you can look into rebuilding the calipers / master cylinders.

Just a note, I flushed the brake fluid on my 06 as soon as I got it. This is what I drained out.
Attachment 45942

And yes, on my 06 I've lifted the rear and have had to adjust the rear brake lever so not to lock the rear.

Edit:
How much braking practice do you have / do? I read about your crash. You can put a surprising amount of force into the brakes if you know how. I've only had to swerve once after braking to avoid a collision. And that was my own stupidity's / arrogance's fault.

I'm actually confused to what you're saying. Can you clarify what you mean by weak brakes is bullchit? In regards to your question about how much braking i do, i don't really know how to answer that properly because it varies from situation to situation. I downshift, i use both my rear with my front depending on the situation. If i'm just going from point a to point b i'll slow down by using downshifting and rear brake and then stop with front brakes. Also if i'm riding hard i'll mainly rely on my front brakes. It all varies. IN your picture, is the color bad? I don't really know what i'm seeing there. I'm just confused as to what you're trying to tell me.

Ok to start out stock brakes in good condition are more than sufficient for day to day riding up to spirited riding. A serious track rider will want to look into upgrading the brakes, definitely.

As for braking practice, I mean how often do you test just how hard you can get on your brakes? Put some focus into stopping faster? Are you sure your brakes weren't enough to prevent you from rear ending your friend? A lot of people simply ignore their braking ability until about 2 seconds before they need it. It's worthwhile to practice constantly, trying to stop faster and know the real limits of your brakes. When I lifted the rear (accidently) to avoid hitting someone turning in front of me, I realized I didn't know the true limits of my brakes (and had just a bit of faith in my braking ability). Since my friend went over a car under similar circumstances, it's something I practice during my regular commute. I can brake a helluva lot harder and faster than I ever thought possible now than just 3 years ago.

As for the pic... Maybe this will help to illustrate a bit
Attachment 45937
That's fresh DOT 3 brake fluid I just poured into a glass. When I flushed the brakes upon getting my 06 I knew I was dumping out the original fluid she left the dealer with by the color (and the consistency of snot). New fluid should be transparent to the color of a light white wine (depending on manufacturer). Brake fluid absorbs moisture by nature. The more moisture it absorbs the less effective your brakes will be, requiring more force to equal the effectiveness of new fluid. It should be replaced every 2 years at max. I flush mine every year at the beginning of the season (since here in Philly we get 2-4 month of limited - no riding).

Oh yeah... Ignore the condition of the stove. After my girlfriend cooks, it take a while for me to recover enough to clean it :p

Thanks for clearing that up. I now understand what you're saying. This is my 3rd year riding, so I still have a lot to learn, and I know this. The accident was my fault 100% I don't blame anyone or thing but me, and part of my mistake was not knowing the limitations of my brakes, which I agree with you on. I'll bleed my brakes tomorrow, or as soon as I can, and update this thread. Does anyone have any good pictured or video instructions for a F4i, I generally know the procedure, but never done it on a bike. Guidance would be great.