Are the rear brake shoes adjusted properly? Disc pads don't retract, but the shoes do. If the shoes don't get pushed firmly against the drum all the pedal stroke gets taken up trying to get the shoes moved far enough to get some resistance to pedal movement. Some people recommend adjusting the shoes tight against the drum before bleeding, then resetting them to the proper running clearance once the bleeding is finished. On Bendix brakes the proper adjustment method is to tighten the adjuster until there's a firm drag (not locked up) on the tire and wheel assembly, then back the adjusting wheel off one turn. That's 10 clicks on a manual adjuster, or 20 if you've got self-adjusting brakes with the fine-tooth star wheel.
Jerry
