Rear brake

I'm sure you're all bored with this one, but... I love the RSV but the rear brake on mine is useless! If I only rode on the track I wouldn't worry, but I ride it on the road in all weathers and with the weather about to turn some rear end control is essential. I adjusted the rod to it's max and got a touch more bite, but only enough to hold the bike still on a slight incline - anythin more and it rolls. I've ordered a £30 13mm Brembo master cylinder from Harris on the recommendation of another RSV owner I was chatting to - I hope it works[^][?] Mother Nature rides a biker

Rainy days in the UK? Never[8)] That's exactly why I want to work! Thing is though I got it back from a 12k mile service today and they replaced the rear pads... and it works! I'll give them a ring tomorrow to see what they did - could it just be the pistons being back in the caliper allows the 11mm cylinder to supply enough pressure which then fades as the pads wear? Mother Nature rides a biker

Good news, Ed. My 13mm cylinder is on order from Harris - so it'll be in time for the autumn rains[:)] Mother Nature rides a biker

can you supply those items under warranty? david

I can't even though I am an authorised aprilia parts dealer as I'm not sure it's an official fix and I source all my Brembo parts direct from Brembo - I was thinking more of people with older bikes out of warranty - if your bike is relatively new, you should pursue a claim with a local aprilia dealer - I have heard of several people having their rear brake sorted under warranty - I'm not sure whether they go down the route of different calipers/pumps but they should make an effort to resolve the issue for you

I did 3 things to mine which improved it. however, whether it was one particular thing or all 3 that made the difference i dont know. this is what i did. i replaced the actual brake pump itself (as sold by this site). it has a bigger diameter which produces more force. i was advised to dump the sintered pads that were in it and replace them with bog standard material ones so i put Armstrong pads in (not sintered ones). i then bled the system as follows. i removed the caliper and freed off the hose under the swing arm by removing the plastic cover. i then held the caliper up above the swing arm and brake pump and turned it so that the bleed nipple was uppermost. i pumped about 4 reservoir fills through it and put it all back together. it made a big improvement straight away! i just need to see how good once the pads have bedded in. in any case i dont want a fierce back brake but one which works a bit. as it was before it was non existant. if you look at the position of the caliper and the routing of the hose and bleed nipple you can see that its just asking for problems. even using a Mityvac to suck fluid through there was no improvement until i took the caliper off. good luck! sam

My rear brake has just been sorted by the dealer, they said the only way to bleed it is to remove the caliper and lift it up side down higher than the rear swing arm. Got to say it works a treat now and think it would even stop me in an emergency!!! They are also trying to progress an upgrade of the piston and caliper under warranty for me. Dpt

Done a track day since my mod and can now report fully. if you remember i replaced the master cylinder, changed the pads and bled the caliper upsidedown. well now that the pads are bedded inthe brake is much better than it ever was but it still needs loads of pressure to lock the back wheel. so the verdict is yes there is an improvement but if you want it to be as fierce as a jap bike you probably need that rear caliper too. personally i am leaving mine as it is now cos i dont like fierce back brakes as its too easy to lock up the back on a sports bike. i just want the brake to work for manouvering and calming the back down into bends sometimes when you need that little bit extra. in fact all i originally wanted was a back brake that worked: cos it didnt at all!

Just re-bled using the up-side-down method (ooer) the std setup on my 2001. Much better. Try this first. zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Well done the lot 13mm Master cylinder 34 mm piston also moved the master cylinder due to sato rear sets the brake now works a treat thanks PAB