| Author | Message | ||
     Buelet |
Just dropped my Uly (06) of at the local dealership to hopefully get the brake pulsing issue fixed. Again. I'm wondering, because I've not had any issues with the brakes on our other Buells, if maybe all of the wheelieing that we seem to do on the Uly is maybe the reason for the seemingly Uly specific front brake issues? What do you all think? Is there anyone amongst us that has had pulsing front brakes that NEVER wheelies? Sorry if this has been covered before, but I was just thinking... | ||
| Danger_dave |
I'm a heavyweight and wheelie and stoppie pretty regularly and never had any brake issues. | ||
| Dentguy |
When I had my Uly, the warped rotor was replaced and I hadn't done any wheelies (yet). | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I can't wheelie and I had a warped rotor. I think it's the crappy stock pads more than anything. | ||
| S_palmer |
I never wheelie and had the pulsing. I don't think is warping causing the problem but deposits from the stock pads. I installed a new stock rotor and EBC HH pads about 4000 miles ago and have not had any more problems. I also have much better braking than with the stock pads. | ||
| M2nc |
After 43K miles I am on my third rotor, but Webe and I have a theory. First: Stock pads leave deposits that need to be cleaned off. Lyndal Gold pads do an excellent job of that. Second: After 15K miles the rotors need to be removed and the hardware and wheels need to be cleaned. I replaced my rotor while Webe just cleaned his rotor, wheels and hardware. Both bikes no longer pulsate. After inspecting the old rotor off my bike, we could find nothing wrong with it. Inspection of the hardware found one mounting point that was stuck and not floating due to deposits. I now believe I could have just bought new hardware, cleaned the rotor and wheel, and had the same result. | ||
| Ulynut |
How can you guys NOT wheelie these things? | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Hey Carlos!! are you and Webe gonna make it to the WV Buell Rally this year? Replace the hdwr... you wouldn't believe how squished the drive bushings get stay away from the nissin pads.... Wheelie when ya can... just don't force the wheelie... just let the wheelie be the wheelie. | ||
| Oddsc |
I have a theory that the pulsing problem is caused by holding the front brake when stopped. Perhaps after hard braking the pads are more prone to leaving deposits when held against the rotor for a longer time, I don't know. But, I do know I had my first rotor replaced at 5000 miles and my second one shows no signs of pulsing at 15000 since I've been using only the rear brake when stopped. | ||
| Rwven |
I was getting a little bit of pulsing even with my new rotor and Lyndal Gold pads. A good scrubbing with Scotchbrite and Simple Green seems to have cleared that up nicely. Be sure to use some tape to mask off the wheel at the rotor mounting lugs so the Scotchbrite doesn't damage the coating. (Message edited by rwven on July 11, 2009) | ||
| Svh |
Mine just started pulsing and all i can do is squidtastic power wheelies. Need to get some new pads | ||
| Buelet |
Thanks for all the input guys! I just didn't want to blame the product if it was something that I was causing possibly... But like I was saying, we have multiple Buells and I ride them all the same. No problems w/ the XB9S w/ 40K miles or my wife's XB9S w/ 25K miles, or the 1125R (only about 2500 miles so that doesn't really count!) or her 12XT (only about 2500 miles too - bought same time), but there is a lot of combined mileage for the same thing to only happen on the Uly, IMHO. I've read all of the other theories and tried the Scotch-Brite & cleaning of the rotor etc... I've been purposely braking really hard lately on the Uly to de-glaze (to see if that was the problem as someone else suggested) and that hasn't helped either. -I'm glad some of those solutions worked for others, but of course there are many problems that create similar issues, but apparently none of those happen to fix mine! I'll keep everyone posted as to what they find when they check the wheel / rotor. | ||
| Rwven |
Buelet, The Scotchbrite only worked with the new rotor and the Lyndal pads. Nothing I did cured the old rotor with the stock pads. | ||
| Mnrider |
I need wheelie wheels on my top luggage box,it's all scratched up. | ||
| Dmmblaze |
Sounds like you should sell the top luggage box and rack to me since I only have the side cases and have yet to do a wheelie. hehe | ||
| M2nc |
Wolf - I do not know about Webe but I will not make it this year. I promised my daughter I would take her to the AMA races at VIR that weekend. I should have checked my dates first. Buelet - Remove the rotor, clean with brake cleaner the hardware and the holes for the springs. Remount and see if that helps. You need to remove the stock pads and replace with Lydal Gold. They will remove the deposits of the stock pads. Let me know what they find. I get about 15K miles before I start feeling pulsating. I do wheelie here and there, but I do not try to, it just happens on these bikes. I have never set it down hard so I do not think wheelies have anything to do with my pulsating brake issue. Keep us informed as you continue to diagnose the issues. | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Wolf - I do not know about Webe but I will not make it this year. I promised my daughter I would take her to the AMA races at VIR that weekend. I should have checked my dates first Mid Ohio is next week.... just say'n... i've got two extra bedrooms.. just say'n | ||
| Etennuly |
I never do wheelies and my brake pulsed so bad at times I couldn't use the front brake unless I cleaned it with brake cleaner and a scotch brite pad. It would then be good for a few hundred miles then it would be back. Switched to Lyndall golds and broke'm in good, no problems since. | ||
| M2nc |
Wolf - Thanks for the offer, I would love to see Mid-Ohio, but have promised the wife we would go to the mountains next weekend. The family is having a great summer as I stay home and work. | ||
| Portero72 |
I had my first rotor replaced at 7500 miles, rode home and promptly replaced the pads with Lyndall's gold. Now, at 9500 miles, the pulsing is back. I spent a good hour last night with 220 grit sandpaper and a rag soaked in brake cleaner to clean the disc. After a 100 mile ride this morning, I can feel the pulsing again. I'd like to hear more on the 'hardware' theory. | ||
| Etennuly |
Oh crap, that said wheelies didn't it? Well I have done a couple  . Even the roughest landing from a wheelie, the kind that will blow out fork seals, should have no effect on causing a rotor to warp or wheel to bend, unless you wreck or hit something. Port, did you do the burn in with the new Lyndall pads? From my experience it seems that that needs to happen right when you put them on. Doing the hard break in later does not have the same, if any, effect. | ||
| Snojet |
My .02 cents... Before I wash my bike. I take a little time and spray a degreaser on the rotor attaching hardware and let it soak for a few minutes. Then I spray it with brake-clean to flush the degreaser and anything else in there. Now it's time for the normal hand-wash and dry. As a side note, I blow-dry my bike with one of those leaf blowers, works great for me. With all that said, I have never had a pulsing brake problem. I have the stock brake systems, put on over 5000 miles since Jan (Jan is when I bought it, that's with 2600 miles on the clock), and unknown if the front brakes are original. Lastly, my riding style is always bordering on being a hooligan. At least when my family is not looking. Too much power and control not ride it close to it's limits, at least some of the time.  | ||
| Alchemy |
Having appreciatively read this thread (particularly M2NC), I decided to try something before replacing my pulsing front rotor (at 22.5K miles). I removed the wheel and carefully cleaned the wheel particularly around the rotor connection points at the rim. I used hot soapy water and a spray of "Simple Green" to cut any grease. I cleaned as best I could and sprayed it clean with a garden hose being careful to keep the wheel bearings dry. You can do a pretty good job with the wheel removed but that is not to say that this could not be done with the wheel in place. I kept thinking that a "waterpik" and a soapy mix would be da bomb for this task. I did not do anything to the rotor surface or remove or loosen the rotor. I would want to use fresh hardware if I had loosened anything. To my amazement, this seemed to work pretty well. The pulsing I was getting must have been related to grime building up and restricting the movement of the rotor. I did not lube any parts. The front brakes are essentially free of pulsing and I will save $150 for the rotor kit. | ||
| Portero72 |
Etennuly, I did the pads as soon as was possible after the disc was replaced, at which point I broke them in as usual-repeated hard stops from 10 mph, then 20, 30, etc. All was smooth for about 1500 miles, then I felt the pulse creep back in. Of note, the pulse became considerably worse after an afternoon's ride on a seriously hot day last week. It was after that day that I decided to sand and clean the rotor to see what effect it would have. It was smooth for a few miles, but its back.  | ||
| Etennuly |
Mine has not "pulsed" since I installed the Lyndalls at like 20,000 miles ago, it seems to have plenty of pad left. Now though, they do not feel smooth like they used to. I am going to try cleaning the hardware also. The rotor is not smooth anymore, having a radial roughness. I guess next set of pads will get a new rotor and mounting hardware. | ||
| Buelet |
Picked the Uly up from the dealership the other day. Warranty covered it for the second time. The checked the run-out of the wheel & rotor. IIRC - Wheel was .017 and rotor was .006. They replaced the pads & rotor and said that we'll just wait to see if comes back. They said that if it does, they might see about replacing the front wheel next time. I just don't get why this only seems to affect the Uly's? I'll update as I add miles to the new rotor whether or not it recurs, but I do appreciate the great service I received at Gail's HD-Buell in Gladsone, MO (KC)! | ||
| Froggy |
It doesn't. Check the Xboard once in a while. | ||
| Buelet |
Frogster, dude. Thanks for the suggestion, and implication.  Since we have a couple of Lightnings, Ulys, and an 1125R, I usually check all of the related sections each time I come to BadWeb. Since I've been a member I don't recall seeing that many people having trouble with the front brakes pulsing on anything other than the Uly... So I made the statement without the disclaimer as it would relate to all things mechanical - regardless of brand or number of wheels. I dunno - Did I miss all recurring posts on the XBoard about pulsing front brakes, or rear wheel bearings that shot craps for that matter?  | ||
| Froggy |
I read every single thread on BB&D and Xboard, trust me, they exist. I just ran a search for brake pulsing, and with Xboard only selected I got 51 results, and with BB&D 45 results. Both of those include a handful of unrelated threads that contain the words brake and pulsing. As for the wheel bearings, Uly riders are more likely to have a failure due to the conditions we ride them in. I have burned through rear bearings just as fast on my XB as my Uly. As for why your Uly is getting the pulsing and not the other bikes, I do not have an answer for that. | ||
| Conchop |
Funny, My dealer and Buell customer service told me the rotors and brakes were not covered under warranty. Buelet - do you have an extended warranty??? |
