I have developed a pretty significant vibration when applying the front brake. I put a dial indicator on it and the right side rotor is out about .013 and the left is out about .006. I had it in the dealership for a tune and the tech asked me about the vibration after his test ride and we got to talking about it and he suggested it might be due to the powder coated wheels.

I checked my cheat sheet mod and maintenance log and found that I had replaced the stock rotors a couple of years after I got the bike new. This was at about 31,000 miles. It was because I took it to an indy to change the tires and I took the wheels to get powder coated before he put the new tires on. I told him to swap the wheel bearings as well and he didn't put the ABS bearing in and when I got the wheels back on I had a problem. Since I didn't know what was going on I took it the dealer and they straightened everything out - new bearing and rotors.

Then about a year ago, at about 49,000 miles I had the vibration problem again and went with HD floaters. Now the vibration is back. I am currently in a vo tech motorcycle class (hobbist based) and the instructor said it was possible the coating could contribute to causing the vibration. I think its more likely to be purely heat related since I don't think the vibration was immediate after changing the rotors but while I cant' say for sure, I don't think I would have let it pass if they were new and vibrated right of the bat.

From what is visible throught the holes in the rotor the coating looks to be pretty even without drips or buildup but I haven't had the rotors off so I can't say what it really looks like but if the powder coat is a little uneven, would it take thousands of miles to cause the vibration to develop? Now at 62K miles. Would like to hit the ESP if possible and wonder if there is an argument iin the future.

Thanks for replies

 

couple observations, first, youi're in school, but are second guessing what your (impartial) instructor thinks?

secondly, i doubt the esp is going to do anything for you since your wheels are no longer 'stock'. you had them modified and are now having problems. they're going to say 'your problem'...

 

I agree that the instructor has the insight to suggest the coating could be a problem. It was just interesting that the time frame seemed a little long, about 2 yrs and about 13K per year or even 10K go by before the vibration appears.

And as far as the ESP goes, interesting again, they covered it last time, with the powder coat. But I don't know if the shop manger who I talked to most recently, saw the claim. I only dealt with the desk guy.

I guess all I can do is try the ESP and put a dial indicator on it as soon as the new rotors go on. I wonder if they did that last time. May be looking for some new wheels..........

 

If there is powder coat on the mounting flanges of the wheels your coater is either.

A. To lazy to correctly tape off areas that don't need coating
B. Doesn't really know what he's doing.

It depends how thick the coating is , but there is a slight chance it could be the cause of your problem. Over time/pressure front the rotor being bolted up the coating could become un-even in theory. Maybe try retorquing the rotor bolts and check the run out again. You might even take a run out as close as possible to the rotor bolts.

If there is coating on the rotor mounting flange I would recommend buffing it off before installing new rotors to garuntee a straight mounting surface.

 

Your answer is in your description. Right side is well out of .008" spec. Vibration upon braking is an indication.

Have 30K+ mi on my PC wheels with no problem.

$100 at Kutter and easy enough to change....