| Author | Message | ||
     Bdave66 |
Has anyone determined a solution to the front brake chatter/vibrations on the xb9r? I have taken the bike under warranty back to Buell, who after 3 supposed technicians riding it claim there is nothing unusual or that needs repair. The bike vibrations varied in intensity depending on how fast you are going and how quickly you apply the brakes. In the worst situations the front wheel literally hopes off the pavement with the chatter and you have release the brakes and reapply them in order regain control. I ve become accustomed to constantly having to readjust braking in order to control the vibrations, not exactly a safe way to ride. I have heard it could be bearings, triple clamp alignment, brake pads or rotor warping? The bike has 2500 miles on it and has had the problem since I bought it with 1000 miles. The front end seems to have a clunk in it also, which got much better once I realized that the front caliper had shaken lose from all the vibration! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. | ||
| Aa5ch |
Have you checked your suspension settings? I experienced some headshake / vibration while aggressively braking the XB9SL a couple of times. After I stiffened up the front end, it never reoccurred. By stiffened...I mean beyond that of the recommended settings in the manual. I used the aggressive riding settings that were posted here. I noticed that the fork size on the 2005 models is 43mm, rather than 41mm. I haven't seen a discussion here as to what prompted it, but I'd be curious to know if the change was made to address a suspension issue that had come to light. | ||
| Kaese |
They replaced my front rotor. The mech said is was just warped barely out of specs. They claimed I was riding the brakes too much. I had them check the torque on the steering head bearings as well. The problem is one of those two items. Replaced my pads and it was ok for about 500 miles. If you still have the problem and it is not resolved, go higher up the food chain. | ||
| Freyke |
Yes... It's likely the steering stem cap nut... It's likely loose and needs to be torqued to spec (38-42 ftlbs)... I had the same problem - torqued it and wah-lah!.. no more chatter on light-moderate braking... I assume that under hard breaking there "appears" to be no problem?.. If so, I'm fairly certain its the stem cap nut.... kk//kef | ||
| Starter |
Had the same problem. When the bike was delivered, no probs then a few hundred miles and it was clunky and horrible. They claimed to tighten it at the 1st service. Turned out the steering head nut was loosening quite quickly during riding. I actually tighted it and had to locktite it cause the pinch bolt wasn't good enough for our crappy roads. I found the bike will felt real clunky when initially getting on the brakes and then would clunk again when taking off and in corners when hte wheel loading shifted. | ||
| Fireboltxb9r |
I had the same problem. Have the rotor checked for run out. Mine was out and Buell replaced under warranty even thought it was well past my 1 year warranty. They also have revised the rotor mounting hardware that also factors into it. I don't care what anyone says, hard breaking is not a reason for this to happen. Any properly working front brake system should have ZERO pulsating or vibration. Buell is aware of this and they will make it right. If your dealer doesn't help, contact Buell customer service direct and they will take care of the problem, I've been very impressed with Buell backing the product. | ||
| Opto |
There's another blurb in the FM Ch 1 Steering Head Bearings where you remove clutch cable, jack the bike to lift the front wheel, turn it full lock to the right, and hook a spring scale into the axle on the RHS, should take 1 to 7 lbs to pull the front wheel to center. | ||
| Jens |
Hi, we work on these problems from the beginning. First of all it is right to check the steeringhead bearings first, this construction with rollerbearings is a bit tricky, normally there have to be (I think) a bushing between the 2 bearings. It works more or less but the Torque from 57! Nm for the steering head nut is a lot. What you could do is, to go back to the good old Timken Bearings from the Tubeframes (yes they fit (-: in the alloyframe, only on the top you have to make a very thin dustcover) with that you get an adjustable steeringhead bearing. And the Shimmy problems are gone. When you pull the frontbrake and push the bike front- and backwards and you feel a bit "play" in the front -thats normal and must not be a problemm from brake or steeringhead bearing. First of all check wheel on the rim that it is running really round, also the brake rotor. If that is all okay, check the mounting hardware that the washers under the screws are not bended. That happend because the washer is placed on the beginning of the threads of the Screw. This beginning (in german Language Freistich) has less diameter than the screw, so the position from the washer to the screw is not proper fixed and when you tight the screw it could "bent" a bit up and block the Floater stone on the brake. After understanding that we let made own titanium Screws and steel washers were we have a fixed sitting on the screw for the washer. 3 Testbikes are riding on Road and Track now one year with that and its works great, the drivers report also better brakepoint on the Lever and no more pulsating. BUT: Because of risks with Titanium we dont offer this screws sorry. So thats just sharing our expirience for the guys with own Superturners at home, without any warranty.... Stop talking, start riding! Jens www.hillbilly-motors.com | ||
| Wyckedflesh |
I had severe chatter at one time. Unusual pad wear on one side and hot spots on the rotor. Ran a scotchbrite drill attachment over it to break up the glazing and put new pads in. Problem solved and that was 5000 miles ago. | ||
| Fireboltgeo |
The front rotor was replaced by Buell under warranty. The problem was worn spots on the rotor that caused the vibes under hard braking. | ||
| Johnnyprocket |
Had same problem same 3 service visits with no luck. Finally told dealer how I almost wrecked the bike on a track from it! They finally got a hold of Buell ( after telling me they were not able to do so th last three visits) got a new bearing, new rotor, but no new pads. Strange to not get pads with a new rotor. Putting new tires on now, we'll see if the problem goes away next track day. | ||
| Jeremyh |
does anybody have a picture of this cap screw that should be checked and torqued down? | ||
| Beast |
The big shiny one in front of filler cap which goes through top yoke is the stem cap nut. | ||
| M1combat |
I would make sure the axle clamping bolts (can't remember the proper term) at the bottom are to spec as well. I would probably just go over every bolt on the front end as a matter of fact. Get a torque wrench (your bike will thank you) and a service manual, just go over everything... | ||
| Fullpower |
yeah mine is shaking pretty hard again with front brake application. cant get it to go away. will be replacing rotor soon. |
