Front brake issues
Road Captain
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 500
Likes: 2
From: Springfield Ohio
Well I for one owe you an apology. I never thought I could have a warped rotor without any feedback in the lever but my right side rotor is bent at one spot. I did notice before that the pistons on that side where more visible than the other side but never thought much of it. I guess before with brake cleaner on the rotors it spun very freely and didn't bind but once it cleaned off you can definitely feel where it grabs. I took a flashlight and you can see where part of the rotor completely loses contact with some of the brake pad and pushes the pad back in.
New rotors are on order right now. Some nice looking stainless ones that I think would go well with the spoked wheels. Not sure if I want to get different pads or just keep what I have. The pads still have some life left in them.
New rotors are on order right now. Some nice looking stainless ones that I think would go well with the spoked wheels. Not sure if I want to get different pads or just keep what I have. The pads still have some life left in them.
As long as you're planning to remove them anyway, you could try straightening the warped one. A forum member recently posted that it is actually very easy to do with nothing more than a crescent wrench and an indicator with .001" increments. You mount the indicator to a stationary part of the bike, set the indicator against the rotor and slowly rotate your wheel to find the high or low spot. Using the wrench as your lever, you pull or push that spot into line with the rest of the rotor. He said it takes surprisingly little effort to bend the rotor. Might be worth a try. If nothing else, you'll know how easily a stock rotor can be warped.
Good luck!
Road Warrior
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,692
Likes: 22
From: Denham Springs, La
I'm getting in here a little late and it seems like you have found your problem.
For future reference, with your bike sitting still you can pump your brake and hold heavy pressure on the lever. If the master cylinder is bypassing fluid, the lever will slowly move to the grip. If it doesn't move past the original pumped up point then it's not bypassing and you need to look elsewhere.
For future reference, with your bike sitting still you can pump your brake and hold heavy pressure on the lever. If the master cylinder is bypassing fluid, the lever will slowly move to the grip. If it doesn't move past the original pumped up point then it's not bypassing and you need to look elsewhere.
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Road Captain
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 671
Likes: 159
I'll be darned... I would have expected a rotor warped enough to require the lever to be pumped would have made the brakes pulse, as you said earlier. I hope this does the trick for you.
As long as you're planning to remove them anyway, you could try straightening the warped one. A forum member recently posted that it is actually very easy to do with nothing more than a crescent wrench and an indicator with .001" increments. You mount the indicator to a stationary part of the bike, set the indicator against the rotor and slowly rotate your wheel to find the high or low spot. Using the wrench as your lever, you pull or push that spot into line with the rest of the rotor. He said it takes surprisingly little effort to bend the rotor. Might be worth a try. If nothing else, you'll know how easily a stock rotor can be warped.
Good luck!
As long as you're planning to remove them anyway, you could try straightening the warped one. A forum member recently posted that it is actually very easy to do with nothing more than a crescent wrench and an indicator with .001" increments. You mount the indicator to a stationary part of the bike, set the indicator against the rotor and slowly rotate your wheel to find the high or low spot. Using the wrench as your lever, you pull or push that spot into line with the rest of the rotor. He said it takes surprisingly little effort to bend the rotor. Might be worth a try. If nothing else, you'll know how easily a stock rotor can be warped.
Good luck!
I'm getting in here a little late and it seems like you have found your problem.
For future reference, with your bike sitting still you can pump your brake and hold heavy pressure on the lever. If the master cylinder is bypassing fluid, the lever will slowly move to the grip. If it doesn't move past the original pumped up point then it's not bypassing and you need to look elsewhere.
For future reference, with your bike sitting still you can pump your brake and hold heavy pressure on the lever. If the master cylinder is bypassing fluid, the lever will slowly move to the grip. If it doesn't move past the original pumped up point then it's not bypassing and you need to look elsewhere.
I'm happy it's all (hopefully) figured out. I got some used rotors to put on and then the new shiny ones get to go on later. A bent rotor was the last thing I expected to see but I'm surprised it wasn't the first given how bad it looks when you try to keep an eye on it.
Advanced
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 69
Likes: 0
From: Prescott Valley, AZ
Soft Front brake lever
Well thanks to this forum, I finally found the problem. My front brake was soft/spongy pull and required increasing pressure to hold at a stop. The brakes would work but the initial pull didn't provide much braking. After replacing pads there wasn't much difference (some). I took a suggestion from the forum and pulled the calipers off, placed a thin metal bar between the pads and pumped the brakes. Suddenly the cylinders moved out about 1/4 inch and I was able to spray brake cleaner on the cylinders and brush them with a tooth brush where I could. Put them all back on the bike and WOW, the brakes are firm and requires two fingers to activate. They are working as they should and provide a nice firm, smooth stop. Thanks guys!
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