The topic came up in one of the groups I'm in on facebook - "Why is the rotor on the left side of a single rotor big wheel kits?" It seems the most accepted answer is that it balances the brakes between the front being on the left and the rear being on the right. I refuse to believe this because...well...sportsters. I've heard this discussion before, and once again the most accepted answer is that so it doesn't pull to one side when braking with both brakes.

I was wondering if anyone knew of any equations or any other scientific or mathematical facts to prove or disprove this theory.

Personally, I believe that its to show off the wheel when you're parked, and that since the brake rotor is attached to the wheel thats anchored down on both sides the force applied to a single brake side would be negligible to anything that the rider would feel (if anything at all). Even thinking about it in terms of a longer object - say a conveyor wheel or Flintstones car - does side thats getting the power move faster than the side that is not?

I'm genuinely curious and this has started up quite a healthy discussion at work (I work with a bunch of engineers) with torque-steer(acceleration is the opposition of braking) being the counter argument, but once again....sportsters.

Any ideas? Any discussion?

 

It's the Coriolus effect.

 

.

It's a myth. However there are many reasons a bike could swerve when using the brakes. ,Off the top of my head, loose spokes, broken axle, cracked top clamp, bearings, hub or some such major failure. Otherwise, it's a physically impossibility or manufacturers wouldn't allow single discs. Duals are for heat dissipation.

 

How about to just evenly distribute the weight. One rotor and caliper on one side of the bike offsets the weight of the other side.

 

Wheels turn in different directions?

 

i'd go with weight distribution also. with a single disc, it doesn't matter if you have the rotor on the left right or middle, you can't slow down one side any quicker than the other, ergo. no pulling.

 

Fx springers have them both on the same side with no ill effects

 

I had an RD400 back in the day with both disks on the right side, I am of the opinion that it pulled to that side during very spirited braking.

 

The same reason most bikes pull a little bit to the right, because the throttle is on the right side.



Does nobody understand physics now a days?

 

completely impossible. it could be that maybe your rear end was starting to slide around having lost traction?