Brakes - BMW R 1200 GS Adventure Manual

Dirt or mud on brakes
5
When riding on loose sur-
faces or muddy roads, the
78
brakes may fail to take effect
immediately because of dirt or
moisture on the discs or brake
pads.
Apply the brakes in good time
until the brakes have been
cleaned.
z
The brake pads will wear
more rapidly if you ride fre-
quently on unsurfaced tracks or
poor roads.
Check the thickness of the brake
pads more frequently and replace
the brake pads in good time.
Spring preload and shock-
absorber settings
The off-road settings for
spring preload and shock
absorber damping characteristic
will impair the motorcycle's hand-
ling characteristics on surfaced
roads.
If you have been off-roading, re-
member to correct spring preload
and shock-absorber damping
characteristics before you return
to surfaced roads.
Deactivatable ABS
You can deactivate the BMW
Motorrad Integral ABS for off-
roading ( 56).

Brakes

How can stopping
distance be minimised?
Each time the brakes are applied,
a load distribution shift takes
place with the load shifting for-
ward from the rear to the front
wheel. The sharper the motor-
cycle decelerates, the more load
is shifted to the front wheel. The
higher the wheel load, the more
braking force can be transmitted
without the wheel locking.
To optimise stopping distance,
apply the front brakes rapidly and
keep on increasing the force you
apply to the brake lever. This
makes the best possible use
of the dynamic increase in load
OE
at the front wheel. Remember
to pull the clutch at the same
time. In the "panic braking situ-
ations" that are trained so fre-
quently braking force is applied
as rapidly as possible and with
the rider's full force exerted on
the brake levers; under these cir-
cumstances the dynamic shift
in load distribution cannot keep
pace with the increase in de-
celeration and the tyres cannot
transmit the full braking force to
the surface of the road. ABS has
to intervene to keep the front
wheel from locking; this increases
stopping distance.