[nikki101]

Thanks, Wachuko.

A Himalayan owner I ran into at the dealer and one of the dealership techs both recommend replacing the pads right away. The tech also recommends bleeding the brakes immediately. His Himalayan had a little air in the system when it was new.

I was told similar just the other day swap the pads out for better quality ones. I haven’t found much issues with the brakes in general just the pad materials aren’t great.

[Reg Idler]

I finally got around to bleeding the rear brake. A lot of murky stuff and a bubble came out of the bleeder. I pushed enough DOT 4 fluid through the system that I refilled the reservoir four times. The pedal is noticeably harder. Weather kept me home yesterday, but I'll go for a ride later today and then report how the rear brake feels on the road.

The rear brake of the Scram is strong enough, but I think I'll replace the pads anyway because the stock pads are noisy.

The advice to bleed the brakes of a Scram or Himalayan the minute you get the bike home seems sound.

[Reg Idler]

Yep, much better. The pedal is firmer and the brake is stronger. Walking-speed maneuvers require just the lightest touch on the pedal to produce enough drag. On the road, the Scram now decelerates much, much better than when it was new. It has become an altogether sportier ride than my Classic was.

[zefnerd]

Finally got around to bleeding the front brake. Gave it a pretty thorough bleeding; I refilled the reservoir five or six times. The factory fluid wasn't horrible, but it wasn't pristine, either. It had some color and a tiny amount of fine sediment. I'm pretty sure a few small bubbles came out of the bleeder. The lever feels more solid now. I'll bleed the rear brake soon.

The new pads have 160 - 170 miles on them. The combination of Ferodo Platinum pads, new DOT 4 fluid, and an adjustable lever has transformed the Scram's front brake. It's not as strong and aggressive as sport-bike or supermoto brakes, but the front brake now has some bite and requires less effort at the lever. I can brake a little harder and later approaching a corner, though of course not as hard and late as I could on my KLX supermoto.

The conclusion seems to be that someone who plans to ride a Scram mostly on pavement and wants better brake performance can have it relatively easily and inexpensively.

My experience tracks with your observation in that braking was relatively easy to improve. I've had my Himalayan for 4 years and noticed it took lots of effort to engage the front brake and it had a feeling which I describe as wooden. There was also a bit of softness in the lever, it seemed that I could run out of lever before having the desired braking.
 Currently I can easily engage more braking than required for my street riding and have tested and found I could activate the front ABS with a good strong pull. Since I have original brake pads, I suspect that part of the issue was that it took a long time for them to properly bed in and have any feeling of bite which positively supports the pad switch result. Thoroughly bleeding the brake took away the softness and also allowed maximum effort to be applied before running out of lever which saved me from switching out to adjustable levers which I had initially thought I would need.