Heres a simple and FINAL fix to the "brake pad squeal"
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Road Captain
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 719
Likes: 35
From: SE New Hampshire
Heres a simple and FINAL fix to the "brake pad squeal"
Since new, I've had to yank my OEM rear brake pads twice to clean the pads and attempt to stop the loud harmonic squeal I would experience coming to a stop on my '06 Fatboy. Never had much luck, after a good cleaning, the squeal, would be more quiet, byt incramentally get louder as time went by. I just recently needed to replace the front brakes in my Yamaha YZ450F dirt bike and noticed the pads were grooved, and then it came to me ... why not try this on my POS rear HD brakes? I've had to listen to the brake squeal for the past 15K miles. So I yanked the pads, and did a little die grinder tattooing. Here's a pic of what I did:
You will need an air powered die grinder with an abrasive cut off wheel to sucessfully groove the brake pad material.
No guarantee's that this will work for everyone, but it worked perfect for me! Softail rear brake pads are super easy to remove. Just retract the pads back just a bit with a screwdriver, remove the two 1/4" 12pt brake pad pins, and the pads will drop right out.
Now my rear brakes are perfectly quiet, NO squeal, NO vibration, NO loud chatter... NOTHING. Heck I even think I feel slightly better rear braking force....
You will need an air powered die grinder with an abrasive cut off wheel to sucessfully groove the brake pad material.
No guarantee's that this will work for everyone, but it worked perfect for me! Softail rear brake pads are super easy to remove. Just retract the pads back just a bit with a screwdriver, remove the two 1/4" 12pt brake pad pins, and the pads will drop right out.
Now my rear brakes are perfectly quiet, NO squeal, NO vibration, NO loud chatter... NOTHING. Heck I even think I feel slightly better rear braking force....
Last edited by Road_Clam; Sep 29, 2009 at 05:09 PM.
Banned
Joined: Mar 2007
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From: Woodstock, Ont , Can
Shame on you for iducing metric know how into a Harley. Yes, that will work and braking will improve due to better venting. I would like to add that cuts should only go 1/2 way thru to retain a complete bond of the pad instead of three separate pieces. Good idea for a pesky problem.Ron
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 5,360
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From: Davie, FL
Grooves
Grooves cut into the material are called gas slots. Look at Paul's pads (Lyndall) & you will see them. I have heard some complain about them but I run them and I have never had any sort of problems. But than again, I clean out my calipers with brake clean & blow them out every 2,500 mi. Since they are Organic and not sintred pads (like OEM) it is not necessary to scrub the pistons, just squirt & blow them out (OEM do). The water also wipes more quickly away from the rotor and there are extra edges to increase the bite.
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Road Captain
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 719
Likes: 35
From: SE New Hampshire
My original pads I modified are almost spent, so this was more of a simple "test" to see if it would once and for all cure the PIA squealing issue so many riders complain of. I am good for probably another 3K miles, then i'll probably just buy the Lyndall pads that everyone likes...
Last edited by Road_Clam; Oct 1, 2009 at 08:58 AM.
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