Preface: The light turns yellow and you decide to stop, rather than run through the red as is the norm for Utah drivers. You apply the brakes; your BMW comes to a controlled stop. Brakes are just another part of our BMW that we expect to work flawlessly. But what is really happening when we apply the brakes? In the simplest of terms, the brake system changes the moving (kinetic) energy of the bike and riders to heat energy. The heat is generated by friction between parts that rub together, and that heat is dissipated by the cooling air passing by it. The more heat a brake can generate and dissipate, the stronger the braking force is available. Once the brake is unable to dissipate the heat it has generated it will “fade” and become less effective. The brakes on our motorcycles are capable of generating forces far greater than the engine develops. This can easily be understood if you think about how long it takes to accelerate your motorcycle to any speed and how much less time it takes to stop it from that same speed. So, next time some smart kid on a rice rocket says your BMW is slow, tell him that it makes over 200 HP. You don’t have to tell him that it is the brakes you are talking about! Brake Basics: On a BMW motorcycles there are only two main types of brakes: ◊ Internally Expanding Drums ◊ Disc/Caliper There are varying styles and operating mechanisms for each. *