I hopped on my wifes Kodiak today for a quick spin to the mail box and hit the rear brakes and "OH $hit" no rear brakes at all. Well I get back to the garage and do some adjusting on them and theres not much left to adjust. We ride on trails, mud and some water. I haven't taken a look at the pads yet but the bike ONLY has 150 Hrs. on it. Do the Kodiaks rear drum brakes wear out that quick or whats going on here? Are there better "longer lasting" pads out there for the conditions we ride in? The front disk brakes work great as I expect but these drums leave something to be desired. Anyone have any ideas, help?

 

Pull of the drum and see if there is mud caked on the inside of it. Clean off the inside of it and see if that helps.

 

Well, I took the rear brake apart and it was full of muddy water and the O-ring seal had a crack in it. I'm figuring Yamaha gets thier O-rings from NASA. Well the pads ars worn to the "nub" so I'll have to order some new pads and a O-ring. Is there ANYONE besides Yamaha that makes pads for the Kodiak? Something more HEAVY DUTY? I think metallic pads might hold up better? Ideas, anyone??

 

Greetings fellow mud beings
Yes that was good information buckwheat12. The only way to get good mileage out of brakes when running in mud is to take them apart after every mud run and wash them and reassemble, thats for brake shoes and brake discs. Too much work for time starved mud beings. Most brake companies in the past made brakes from asbestos and when water gets in the brake material turns to mush and usually falls off the metal backing. There is a real good company making high quality brakes from material that is close to or the same as 18 wheel trucks use.The brake company is SBS or Scandanavian Brake Systems and the brake shoes come with new springs. The only place I knows that sells them is All Terrain Charley's www.atvtires.com it may be worth trying a set out. I know from experience that even when they are wet you have good stopping power.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]