| Author | Message | ||
     Manybikes |
Okay, another question. One of the Uly's I am looking at the front brake seems to be a bit grabby , kind of like surging. Warped rotor or bad pads? | ||
| No_rice |
or could be a simple as brake build up on the rotor around the drilled cooling holes. a vast majority of the times thats all it is, and by looking at it you wont always think there is anything there that would cause a problem. also could be gummed up rotor mounts. its suppose to float and if they dont get cleaned decent once in awhile it will mess with the brake feel also. if thats your biggest problem with the bike you looked at, none of the things it could be are what i would call a major fix even if you needed a new rotor. | ||
| Manybikes |
I will be looking at the bike on Sunday, the owner has been very helpful in answering my questions. It is a 2008 XB12X with Madstad brackets and windshield, heat kit, back rack and Hepco Becker Bags. Tires are about 50% and he has new brake pads for it. Also comes with full shop manual. Cosmetic condition looks very good in pics. It has 19k miles, Is $5900 a good price? From what I have seen on the net it is priced well with all the farkles it has. Is 19k miles a big deal for these bikes? | ||
| Tony216 |
A warped rotor is a cheap fix on a Buell. It was $181 from Erik Buell Racing for a new 6mm rotor and the new mounting kit which is a dramatic improvement over stock. | ||
| Burgurboy |
$181? Cheap? | ||
| Froggy |
Stock front rotor is $323 including pulsing prone mounting hardware. | ||
| Buewulf |
Manybikes, I recently saw an '08 X with side and top cases with 9200 miles listed for 5K here in the Houston, TX area. Stuff seems to go cheaper here than other places I've lived though. You could probably find a better deal if you kept hunting. If you really like that bike and feel comfortable with the owner, though, a little bit of a premium may be worth it. I can't say whether or not the mileage is a big deal or not, and I doubt you can get an objective answer on that. I personally would look for a lower mileage unit, but that's just me. The lower mileage won't cost extra in this market, and I'd rather have a (theoretical) extra 10K - 15K miles of life out of it than any of the farkles you listed. | ||
| Manybikes |
Uly's are not plentiful where I live..even though I am in a city with over 1m population. The Uly's in Canada back in 08/09 were up there in price partially due to our weak dollar back then, I think sales were a bit slow as a result. More deals to be had in the USA at a better price but shipping (or even fly and drive) plus taxes and fees at the border make it pretty much even. I agree, the lower the miles the better if you can find one close by. Plus I want 08 or newer. I will be looking over this latest one on Sunday and I will be very picky, cosmetically and mechanically I want the best. | ||
| Tony216 |
$181? Cheap? ------------------ $181 is dirt cheap for a brake rotor and mounting hardware. Check out the cost of a new Suzuki rotor. Plus, the Erik Buell Racing rotor and mounting hardware is an improvement over stock. | ||
| Manybikes |
Suzuki...HAH!!...try BMW on for size! BMW...Bring...My....Wallet $182.00 is dirt dirt cheap | ||
| Manybikes |
Test rode a used Uly today. When I grabbed a handful of front brake the front went into a violent shudder. Kind of scary. I was expecting maybe a bit of surging or grabbing but this was way over the top. | ||
| Froggy |
Yep, that's how it goes. Good news is, its cheap to fix assuming a good scrubbing doesn't eliminate it. | ||
| Manybikes |
Well, I walked from the deal due I am assuming a new rotor would be the best fix. Not sure if the owner would want to move on price. What would you scrub it with? fine sandpaper? | ||
| Froggy |
A sponge worked for me when I got pulsing, it was probably crap in the springs, it reduced it by 80% but was still there. After that the dealer replaced the rotor under warranty, and now I don't hold the front brake when stopped. Haven't had a problem since that was like 4 or 5 years ago, I now own 3 bikes with the ZTL setup and haven't had an issue with it again. | ||
| Trojan |
The original Buell pads are Cr*P and leave a deposit on the disc which builds up to the point where it feels like a warped disc. Clean the disc thoroughly with brake cleaner, replace teh pads with some decent aftermarket sintered pads such as Braking, and the problem should go away  You could always use the 'pulsing' to drive the price down a bit though if the vendor thinks it may need a new brake rotor  | ||
| Reepicheep |
My 2007 did it when I bought it. I did the cleaning and the brake pad change, and it helped, but didn't fix it. The new Erik Buell Racing 6mmn rotor kit fixed it completely. | ||
| Manybikes |
I will have to factor the Erik Buell Racing disk in all my negotiations when buying. I mean really, I use my front brake all the time. In a emergency situation the last thing I want is a violently shuddering front end which prevents me from feeling how close I am to lock up. I have never ridden a bike with this problem. To say I was alarmed was an understatement, I immediately backed out of the deal. The only way I would buy the bike would be with a $500.00 discount. I'm a newbie to Uly's so I am in the learning process, but I still reserve the right to be picky. | ||
| Portero72 |
The front end shuddering can be scary, but it really is an easy fix. I have the Erik Buell Racing 6mm disc and EBC pads on my Uly, and it feels great. If you are handy at all with wrenches it should take no more than an hour. | ||
| Manybikes |
I looked up the Erik Buell Racing discs, very reasonably priced. Would you get the 5mm or 6mm? | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I find a scotch-brite pad with brake cleaner works well on dirty rotor pulse. | ||
| Ourdee |
There is another way to fix it. I wound it up past 70. Then applied the brakes with 2 fingers to just prior to doing a stoppie. I feathered off the brake in the last 10 feet of the stop. Did this 6 times in a row. Never held the front brake in the last 10 feet of a stop again. Problem has stayed gone. If you lock up the front tire on an XB, you will only do it for less that half a tire rotation. Front braking should be with only 2 fingers. My front tire does not skid on dry pavement. | ||
| Ourdee |
6mm. | ||
| Manybikes |
Good to know info, thanks all. I am now armed with better knowledge for my Uly hunt. I won't be as freaked out now about the front brake issue.I guess I overreacted but I really have never felt that bad a shake on a bike before. The owner of the one I tried had just put in new brake pads which probably made it even worse if he didn't clean up the rotor. He was selling the bike for his brother and was unfamiliar with this issue. | ||
| Tony216 |
The 6mm is the one everyone gets, but the new mount kit is really important too. My Buell had the 6mm rotor and the old mounting kit and still felt like a warped rotor and wouldn't free spin at all. | ||
| Trojan |
There is another way to fix it. I wound it up past 70. Then applied the brakes with 2 fingers to just prior to doing a stoppie. I feathered off the brake in the last 10 feet of the stop. Did this 6 times in a row. Never held the front brake in the last 10 feet of a stop again. Problem has stayed gone. I do not recommend this method of cleaning front brake discs! If you are still using OE pads then the problem will NOT go away by doing this. You may have burned off the deposits that are already there (if you are lucky) but this will not stop it building up again. All you are achieving by doing this is wearing pads and discs for no reason. The ONLY way to stop it is to throw away the stock pads and invest in some decent sintered afermarket brake pads. Period. Fitting a thicker (6mm) disc will prevernt warping to a larger degreee, but most of the itme the problem described isn't due to warping anyway, so you may not need this. Cleaning the disc and changing the pads is a much cheaper and easier option | ||
| Ourdee |
Matt, Worked on mine. | ||
| Froggy |
I am going to disagree with you on this, as 2 out of my 3 ZTL equipped bikes have stock pads and I've never had any signs of pulsing on any of these 3. Like I've mentioned in another thread, I've only had pulsing once, and a change in my riding technique stopped it from ever reoccurring. | ||
| Reepicheep |
It's odd. My 9sx never pulsed, even after purposely badly overheating them on purpose to loose an argument here on badweb. On the uly, they were a mess from the day I bought it (used). Lyndall golds helped... but it was still pretty bad. The new Erik Buell Racing rotor with the same lyndalls did great and it went completely away. | ||
| Portero72 |
I would go with the 6mm. Works great on mine so far. I seem to recall the new mounting system being included with the disc. Or maybe I was smoking crack and remember incorrectly. | ||
| Andymnelson |
Yeah but you don't use your brakes Froggy  I agree with Matt- you may get rid of the pulsing that way, but if you're using the same crappy pads it will come back. E.B.R. 6mm and EBC HH pads ftw! I just installed that setup on my brother's girlfriend's 12R, and wow. |
