That annoying noise these bikes make with the front brake is driving be crazy...isn't there a way to stop this. My sons sportster had it, my road king has it. Is there nothing that can be done? You pull in the brake just a little and it goes...ive try cleaning the callipur...the pucks are good...the rotor is good. This is BS. Most other issues on these bikes have been addressed and solved by the members of forums like this. Why cant this...grrrrrr?

randy

 

I have found on the back of the pad where the caliber piston hits the pad apply some grease a small amount. Some brake kits come with the grease and most people don't use it. Oddly the better or harder the pad. The worse the noise gets. When brake pads are replaced everybody gets the best pad thinking the brakes will last longer. In a lot of cases they do last longer. But make noise. I just did mine and applied grease as stated. No issues. Or noise. Of course this is based on the noise you are talking about. I would call it a squeak or squeal. Other than that, could be other things. This is why until pads are replaced there is no problem. Good luck!

 

Same issue here....tomorrow morning i am going to add a rubber band around the brake lever and the hand grips with enough tension until the damn noise goes away.....only thing I can think to do....

 

Jes' say to yourself.... "loud brakes save lives!"

 

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I read in another post here in hdfoums a wk or so back that aftermarket non HD brake pads make noise but the formula that that OEM HD brake pads are made of dont make the annoying noise your reffering too.

I just bought front & rear OEM Hd brakes pads for my 09 flhtcu and installed last wk & guess what?

They dont make any noise on the front or rear just like the worn out OEM pads i just replaced so maybe what i read correct.

Surdyke HD online OEM parts sales was running a sale on OEM HD brake pads if you want to try them to see if the noise stops like the post here in hdforums said was " supposedly " the case due to the different formula HD uses for their brake pads.

But even though i dont know for 100% sure the post i read ere stating oem/hD pads were the only ones that dont seem to make noise my 1st hand exp with my 09 flhtcu thats still got it's original disks & calipers with just under 20k miles on the bike is there absolutely no noise from the calipers or disks when braking using OEM HD brake pads which is why i use them.

BTW,@ just shy of 20k miles the rear pas were just thin enough to not lass insp and front pads were approx 65-70% worn out so i said what the heck and replaced both front & rear at same time since the pads were sale.

Was glad i replaced the front pads even though they didnt seem to need it ,but when i got front calipers off i found the inner pads to be worn considerably more then outer pads likely due to dirt/brake dust hanging up pads in calipers along with a lot of dirt on pistons too collectively causing brake pads to not always fully retract off disc when releasing brake handle.

So i removed the oil brake pads from the calipers & cleaned the pistons and calipers in general of all dirt & brake dust prior to pushing /returning the pistons into the calipers.

I also put a little bit of brake grease on the rubber boots on caliper pistons prior to returning /pushing them back into the calipers to accept the new thicker brake pads.

Then i re-installed the brake pads using brake pad grease (sparingly) on contacts points in calipers to ensure they pads would not get hung up.

While i was at it i also flushed/replaced the brake fluid in front & rear brake system too.

I have been thru 2 tanks of fuel since installing the new brake pads on front & rear and installing new brake fluid and all is good thus far with the brakes now stopping the bike considerably better/faster as compared to the worn pads with old brake fluid in the brake system.

BTW,in general prior to installing new brake pads its always good to 1st check the brake fluid lvl and if its full i remove a little brake fluid to ensure the master cyls doesnt get a hyd lock situation or brake fluid leak from the master cyl cover if its full prior to returning/seating the pistons back into the calipers (to accept new thicker brake pads) which backs up/returns brake fluid to master cyl which can in some cases lead to problems.

Then after i install the new brake pads and test the brakes out i then recheck brake fluid lvl & top off if required.

Scott

 

I guess I should have been more exact. There is no noise when the brakes are applied. No squealing or dragging. The noise is when you are running down the road you can hear the constant rubbing of the pads on the rotor. If you pull in the lever ever so slightly it goes away.

randy

 

I second this observation !!!!!! By the way i had my brakes done by HD, used HD service and had my calipers cleaned and one repleced by a new one...noise still there....so what i don't understand when slightly pulling on the brake lever the noise goes away....is that because when the brakes are free flowing they "ride" the rotor, thus making the rubbing noise and when the brake lever is slightly applied the calipers take over and reset ready to break and the pads slightly move away from the rotor......

 

if you're talking about the 'buzzing, cicada type noise', then its perfectly normal. the reason is the cooling holes drilled into the rotor.

 

They all do that....

 

No, its not that kind of noise. If you raise the wheel off the ground and rotate it you can clearly hear the pads touching the rotor. Does Harely NOT have a way to retract them. I have an old 75 Honda supersport that sat idle for eight years. The front brake was seized and I tore the caliper down cleaned out the crap, reassembled and its doesn't do that. I have read many post on this and the consensus is, "they all do that". Am I the only one annoyed by this noise? Ive been following these forums for years and I have seen innovation, and ideas the big HD company should take heed to and has, yet in this case it continues. If as everyone says USA engineering is superior and we need to support our own then someone needs to look into this. The Japanese can do it, why cant we? Or perhaps the next time people here start railing on overseas junk, they should come and listen to a Harleys brakes before they start pointing fingers. Rant over.

randy