| Author | Message | ||
     Imshaun |
I finally took it to the shop and got a new rotor. That did the trick... it brakes heavenly now. so nice... Any idea what caused the rotor to warp? Someone told me that the brake pads were probably wearing un-evenly. He recommended braking hard on the front from 80mph to 20pmh over and over. That seemed to make it worse. I use my front brake a lot but didn't expect it to warp. Anyway, be safe - Shaun | ||
| Clbofaz |
From what I understand you have to break the pads in like you mentioned for them to seat properly and thereby break the bike properly. Doesn't seem like that'd warp the disc but rather make it so that the pads just wouldn't live up to expectations down the road. I broke mine in like above and Ive yet to have any problems. But that doesn't mean that if was or wasn't responsible. Warping could be just good 'ol material defect (brake pad or rotor)... | ||
| Chadhargis |
Stock Buell pads are notorious for leaving deposits on the rotor. The rotor isn't warped. The pulsing you feel is the pads grabbing on the deposits. You can actually see the deposits on the rotor as dark areas stuttered around the rotor. Most people have no more issues after switching to a different pad and wearing off the deposits. | ||
| Tpoppa |
Stock Buell pads are notorious for leaving deposits on the rotor. The rotor isn't warped. The pulsing you feel is the pads grabbing on the deposits. You can actually see the deposits on the rotor as dark areas stuttered around the rotor. Most people have no more issues after switching to a different pad and wearing off the deposits. +1 I've had the same thing on 2 Buells. I doubt the rotor was warped. Stock pads leave deposits that create a pulsing feeling. Lyndall Gold pads will actually remove the deposits and make the brake silky smooth again. | ||
| Jdugger |
I also doubt your rotor was warped. I beat the piss out of mine and they are fine. If your rotor isn't dark purple from the heat, and the color of your brake like at least golden straw about 6 inches up from the caliper from the temperature of the fluid, your rotor wasn't warped. Because, that's what mine looks like from day in and day out of track abuse, and they are fine. When I get pulsing on my street 1125r, I just rub the brakes with the throttle on for a bit, or do some very hard 90-20 mph slow downs until the brakes get hot and all is fine. If you aren't lifting the rear tire off the ground from time to time and making the rear end of the bike wag like a happy dog's tail, you aren't using the brakes correctly. | ||
| Zac4mac |
+++++++++ | ||
| Ponti1 |
Stock Buell pads are notorious for leaving deposits on the rotor. The rotor isn't warped. The pulsing you feel is the pads grabbing on the deposits. You can actually see the deposits on the rotor as dark areas stuttered around the rotor. Cleaning my rotor and scrubbing it with 100mph --> 20mph repetitions helped a bit, but did not come close to resolving the issue for me. Mine was ABSOLUTELY warped. I still have the old one if anyone doubts me and cares to pay shipping and mount it up to their bike. However, you will owe me a case of beer if you still find it to be warped. I don't doubt rotor warp is a rare problem, but I also have no doubt it can/has occur(red). I bought the 6mm rotor "just to be safe", and am so far 2000 miles later still braking smooth as silk. | ||
| Geforce |
I have the dark purple spots on mine now, and most of my lever action is gone. IE: I think I need to bleed the system after my last trackday I am sure I managed to knock a few layers off the stockers. Any How Tos up for brake bleeding? | ||
| Blake |
Geforce, Before you take to bleeding, check your brake pads. If they are worn unevenly, wedge shaped in any way, that is likely the source of your degraded lever action. | ||
| Geforce |
If they are lookin shabby like that Blake, what would be the next course of action? New pads? | ||
| Blake |
You got it. | ||
| Geforce |
I'm going to call Al and ask him about some Lyndall's. Can you take these discs to a shop and have them turned to smooth the surface back out for new pads? Or can you only use a hone to clean them up? | ||
| Imshaun |
Could stopies warp the rotor? | ||
| Chadhargis |
Stoppies have not warped my rotor. I've got the factory stock one on my Uly, as well as a Braking Wave rotor that seen track duty. Both are just fine after 20,000 combined miles. | ||
| Jdugger |
> I still have the old one if anyone doubts me and cares to pay shipping and mount it up to their bike. However, you will owe me a case of beer if you still find it to be warped. I'll take it. I've got a 3/4-inch thick aluminum plate table that's flat to a couple thousandths of an inch. I'll lay it down and measure it with a needle indicator and take pictures. Then keep it for myself as I tend to wear through rotors a bit, anyway. Thanks for the free rotor  | ||
| Jdugger |
Just for reference... you can get the Buell brake incredibly hot. At 700-800 degrees, Stainless Steel starts taking on straw, blue and purple "discoloring". Even with this heat, the only thing I've ever messed up was a few sets of brake pads.     | ||
| Redscuell |
My R is at the dealer having the rotor replaced as warped; their call, not mine; and it certainly is not discoloured in any way. Maybe they've just got it wrong?! Time will tell. It was really unpleasant putting up with the chattering of the front brake while the dealer waited for the parts to arrive (couple months). | ||
| Amrra12 |
I warped a stock rotor my 1st race Buell sent me out the "Buell racing rotor" that seemed to fix it, Buell sells them for like $160 well worth the $$$$$ | ||
| Doerman |
The question was: front brakes are pulsating.. right? It has three possible causes: 1) Warped rotor 2) Brakepad deposits on rotor 3) Manufactured in defect (hard spot) 1) A rotor becomes warped when the cooldown is uneven. In a race condition, this is rare and even more rare in street use. One rider's habit might cause this: If you've been on a "spirited" ride getting the rotor nice and warm. Then you stop and hold the bike with the front brake for a while (stoplight or something). The area clamped by the brakepads stays hot while the rest of the rotor is cooling down. This might cause the rotor to warp. Moral of this story, hold your bike with the back brake. 2)For each sweep of the pad, dust is deposited on the rotor. Next sweep of the pad wipes that off and deposits some more. However, a pad clamped on a hot rotor at standstill will bake some of that dust on the pad and cause glazing. This can be fixed by: A:Sand the rotor with a 100 grit sandpaper and take the pads off and clean them in solvent B: Sand the rotor and replace the pads. 3) This is extremely rare. May happen, but most likely not the cause The moral of the story: Don't clamp the front brake while at a stop By the way, this phenomenon is not unique to Buells | ||
| Trojan |
Cleaning my rotor and scrubbing it with 100mph --> 20mph repetitions helped a bit, but did not come close to resolving the issue for me. If you have stock pads then doing this won't clean the rotor. In fact it will just put more deposits on it (especially as it gets hotter). You need to clean the rotor using a decent brake cleaner and wire wool then get some good sintered brake pads. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Ozzie, thanks for the explanation of how a rotor gets warped. I had no idea. |
