Hey guys,
 

I dont post much here - more of a netrider user, but for this question I think you lot would be more helpful!
 

The front brake on my 2012 XL1200X Forty eight is pretty shitty... Going 100km/h I have to pull on the brake with two fingers, hard enough to crush my remaining fingers on the throttle.
Some talk has been said about perhaps having air in the line and also that the sportsters has shitty brakes?

My question for you lot is: Is the front brake on a 2012 XL1200 quite weak?
Should I look at upgrading the brake or is it a problem with my bike alone?

What brake upgrades do you guys recommend?
What brake upgrades have you seen?
Would braided lines help me?
Has anyone seen this before?

Cheers guys!

This has been covered in several threads.

The most popular solution seems to be the XR caliper, should bolt straight up to your 48. I used an HD Diamond Black braided line on my Iron. The bike pulls up a lot quicker now.

HD has finally done a brake upgrade for the 2014 sportster range incl ABS.

Slap.

That is good to hear!
So the XR Brake - why is it different to the XL, what makes it better?
Is the upgrade worth $210 of stopping power?

Going to get braided lines too.

And run Lyndell Gold pads as well....no dust, good long life and better stopping power.

Yo...

Turns out I had braided lines already and didn't notice from when they swapped over my bars.
I have ordered the XR1200 caliper and am fitting it on the 7th of dec.
Caliper prefitted with pads: $240
Labour (<1hour): $130

Seems very reasonable to me...

Dude where are you located? Buy the caliper and I'll fit it for $50

T1

I did a stay upright course years ago and they got me to use all fingers to brake It took a while to get use to but its the way to go !

Good riding habits suggest using all fingers not 2
common sense says plan your stop, having owned a Sporty the brakes are not great but should not be a problem,
a bit of back brake also helps pull up quick, few seem to have a habit of using this , although over use can be bad.

Holy Shit guys... These brakes guys, Guys these brakes!

That is the biggest bang for buck mod I've done for the bike. I cannot believe how much of a difference it has made!

The brakes begin working as soon as I THINK about braking, then if I pull them on a little more it really stops. Like - on a dime...

In the two years riding this bike I have never, ever, been concerned about pulling the front brake on too hard and going over the front. Well now I am!

10/10 would recommend!

Can the xr brake upgrade be done on 2014 models? What about back brakes?

People get all weird about it with ABS, but I really feel like that's more to do with ABS being a bit of voodoo in motorcycle circles than anything else. I put massive brembo's on my ABS Supra and the ABS kept up, I can't see why a car ABS system from 1993 would be superior to a motorcycle from 2014.

.

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After 7500km my 2014 Forty Eights rear brakes are down to the metal. I know there are several posts about brakes and pads etc but they do not include 2014 bikes. After calling the stealers they quoted 110 to change the pads for HD ones I suppose. I called another place mentioned here on the forum and it was way lower using the lydwell pads. I am a heavy on the brakes (you may guess why) and try to use both front and rear equally but I guess you can't help but using one more than the other. The question is does the Forty eight 2014 with ABS comes with 4 drum brakes like the xr1200 so in theory no upgrade will be needed. What about braided lines and Lydwell pads will they make a difference in stopping power?

After 7500km my 2014 Forty Eights rear brakes are down to the metal. I know there are several posts about brakes and pads etc but they do not include 2014 bikes. After calling the stealers they quoted 110 to change the pads for HD ones I suppose. I called another place mentioned here on the forum and it was way lower using the lydwell pads. I am a heavy on the brakes (you may guess why) and try to use both front and rear equally but I guess you can't help but using one more than the other. The question is does the Forty eight 2014 with ABS comes with 4 drum brakes like the xr1200 so in theory no upgrade will be needed. What about braided lines and Lydwell pads will they make a difference in stopping power?

I think it must be the newer sportsters have gained weight?

last sportster i owned was a new 1997 it stopped fine. had twin disc''s

if i did not like stock brake i would go to the HD brembo's the XR brakes look like very very old Jap bike calipers, the brembo they put on the big twins look better.

just mentioning don't take offence. cheers