S3 brakes

I'm new to this fourm and want to make my next bike an 06/S3. After going through some of the S3 fourms I can see there's some things that will need repair, no biggie I love workin on my bike. But the brake issue still haunts me so I went to the local dealer in Sacramento and he said he's maybe had 1 problem in the last 3 or 4 years. Before leaving though I grabbed the brake lever on 2 different S3's and pinned it to the grip with 1 finger. granted my hands are fairly strong from swinging hammers and trowels but I can't get the lever on my Road Star Warrior within an inch of the grip with all my fingers. But I also tried a Bonnieville and a Rocket 3 and they weren't much better. What gives is that just the way all Triumphs feel? My last Triumph had drum brakes. Yea I'm real old!

[cheapbastard]

well, as much as I've even complained shreder, let me just recommend that you don't do that riding!!! The S3 has super brakes, it just doesn't have good lever feel. Once they hit there mark, they really hit it. Believe me, it'll stop better than your warrior! Btw, how ya like that thing? I've always wanted one! I was a R1 man for 6 yrs. Get the S3 though, you'll love it more! :-D

[Geof3]

Dude,

If you pull the lever THAT HARD at any time while moving you would catapult yourself to oblivion. Even with the "soft feel" the 05-06 S3 brakes won the shortest stop time/distance EVER in a recent MCN test, only beating the earlier S3... There you go...

[Speedquest]

I had a HD sportster that did that and it was a bad master cylinder.

Cheap, I love my Warrior. You can cruise and ride the twisties to an extent. For over 600# it's almost flickable. I've pulled off all the weight I can and bobbed the fender and added a faux sportbike exhaust. People don't know what to think!

[mbeebe900]

You have to take into account the fact that the bikes on the floor may not be set up optimally (believe it or not, dealers don't always pay attention to this). The >'05 brakes are known not to have a super good feel to them though, but I think it's an issue readily resolved with some proper brake maintenance. To be fair my '02 brakes feel spongy as hell most of the time but they still stop like nobody's business. They're just a ***** to maintain because as soon as you can clean the pistons and bleed them and get them feeling completely dialed, they go back to being spongy again. I guess my point is you really have to stay on top of brakes to keep them feeling nice, and a bike sitting on a showroom floor is not necessarily going to have decent feeling brakes if it's been sitting there a while.

[Spendthrift]

Had my bike 2 weeks now and no problem with brakes appart from clicking sound from front caliper bit have been told this is normal. Lever comes nowhere near bars. My last bike a Ducati S2R had also many posts about ***** brakes but again i had no problem. I will try and find out if the last owner had any mod done. I am around 11and a half stone which is fairly light, maybe that is why my bikes stop ok.

[13]

Todays Triumph's have excellent brakes. Especially the Triples. Careful with that hammer Eugene, lol!!!

Overall (with rare exception), mine's been trouble free.