Query approved.

Thank you Sunil!!

I forgot to add to my first post, My riding style is pretty quick and i brake a little hard!! i do not know if that is the problem!!

Im guessin a bike like FZ should not be that delicate

Do you rest your right foot on the brake pedal? That could be a cause..

I do not completely rest my foot on the pedal, but yes a part my front foot will be on the break pedal and hit the brakes when i have to.
Not sure if i actually "rest" my foot on the pedal, will observe nxt tym i m ridin and post
any other reason u can think of for this problem?

if you only use rear break for stopping/slowing then rear break will wear out faster. So use front break too.
Correct breaking technique is to use both front & rear breaks in 60:40 or 70:30 ratio.

no i do use front brakes(70-30 i would say). first i hit the rear and once the bike slows down a lil i apply front brakes. but now its takin its own sweet time to slow down

You need to apply both the brake simultaneously, little more effort on front and less at back, and too much of braking, or keeping foot on brake heats up causing brake drum pads not to slow your bike down, Generally ppl experience this in ghats,.
So try to be overdependent on brakes, dont rev your bike when you know that you wont make the signal before it turns red and then suddenly brake, such frequent activity will spoil ur brake pads. I am amused your disc brake pads did not feel soggy or worn out for you, generally front brakes wear out faster.

A lot like this happens wid him A LOT, usually i rush everywhere!!
Dis myt be the reason..But never thot it it could cause a seriuos problem like dis. Hmm will change my brake pads again and change my riding style and see

And if that turns out to be THE reason, den i wud be dissapointed that FZ has such delicate brakes


I HOPE NOT!!!

Hi Charan,

I shall agree that you more than probably (involuntarily) apply a - would it be small - pressure on your rear brake pedal by just having the tip of your foot touching it (to be ready if....as you day!), but doing this causes both over-heating and rapid wear of the brake pads. Many have this defect in their riding, some doing the same with their hands on front brake, and/ or clutch levers too!

However, I must say that these drum rear brakes on a bike of this character is a bit miserable! Nearly ALL the FZ-16s here (in Vietnam) have got rear disc brakes and this is one of the very first things I too did to mine. You can have a look at how it was done on a thread I have started in the UT section of this forum (lost in second page now!).

Then, once this was done, and after a short "running in" period (brakes too need that!), I went for a real test: I rode my bike for about 20 minutes on a not-yet opened thus empty stretch of a new road, doing "figures of an eight", accelerating as much as I could on that short stretch (to about 80kmh), braking to max power, turning, and again, and again.... Real race-like riding, and fun! Both of my brakes got buuuuuurning hot, but did not at any time loose their power. A rear drum would have lost it all, and my braking become very hazardous on front brake only!

Go for rear disc brake, don't hesitate!

I just spoke to another mehcanic, he mentioned the same reason! saying your brakes are getting heated up a lot and as a result of that your brake liners are getting rock hard and not enough friction is created in the drums to actually stop the bike!!!
Hmmm i am confused now!! i consciously checked if i rest my foot on my brake lever and i dont!
so i guess my hard braking is the issue here! feelin pretty sad about the Fz brakes!!

@luke i did not know dey were selling Fz16s in vietnam!
is yours a 150 cc engine?? (153 to be precise)
and can you tell me if disc brakes do not have any problem with hard braking all the time? just checkin.. if not fitting rear disc brakes on the Fz might be a good idea!

As I told you, its not just FZ, even other bikes or cars brake pads wear if ppl keep their foot on brakes all the time!

Get the brake drums cleaned of all the dirt debris and brake shoe dust of old pads using a good brake cleaner spray and then change the pads and get springs etc checked, also get the brake pedal adjusted for your optimal usage so that you dont put load on the brake when you have put the foot on pedal, and always give gap between press so that the brake pads can gain the momentum back to be able to work effectively.,
i.e soft and firm press pedal first - release it slightly - again press pedal as hard as before.

So this technique is for brake drum so that they work quick and dont get jammed or loose the braking efficiency. This should be giving you good and immediate stopping power and long life of brake drum.


Dont ever keep foot on disc brake pads will heat and wear out faster.

Yes, this is a 153cc.....but on the road to being a 200cc!

Disc brakes: the only reason why this bike, whose design (and riding) is great if the general quality is medium, has got a drum rear brake is cost! NO technical reason, but purely, simply, and only cost!

As I said: nearly all the FZ-16 here are retro-fitted with rear disc brakes.

Since disc brakes were invented (by Dunlop if my memory does not betray me) some 60 years ago and Jaguar won many races thanks to these, disc brakes have been fitted on nearly every vehicles, even bicycles: all airplanes, most cars and all the top ones, even some trains! The superiority is not to be discussed.

Still, just to save a few bucks, I am really disappointed to see the great Yamaha has decided on such miserable drum brakes on its otherwise well designed bike! The difference is great, the longevity higher, the ease of pad replacement too, and the bike gets up quite a few points in both look and class. This is not a "poser" thing, but a bike lover one!

Just don't hesitate one second: go for the mod!

@prajnyan
Thanks for the braking advice mate! i jam the brakes at once untill it comes to a halt!! wat u say makes a lot of sense!!
Also i will get my brake drums cleaned and try!! before i do anythin else! Thanks!

@Lucky Luke
Thanks for your inputs Luke! i shall enquire about the price and other stuff and i will let you what i do!!

Thanks to vkavadia for replying!!

@charan,
and try NOT to depend on rear break too much because they have less stopping power as compared to front.
And also i have experienced that rear break dont cool down as fast as front be it disk or drum (dont know why)