Brakes - Harley Davidson Forums: Harley Davidson Motorcycle Forum

TINYTIM77 · 03-02-2009, 08:40 PM

Hey Ya'll, Sorry Its Been A While. Been Through Hell Recently Going Through Crap. Anyways, I Have A Question. My Brakes Are Sticking A Little In The Front And Back Wheels. Not Much But Enough To Hear When Bike Is Shut Off And I Am Duckwalking Out The Garage. Pads Are Failry New And The Brakes Work Great. Its A 03' Fatty And I Thought Maybe The Brakes Might Need Bled. Just Hoping Someone Might Have The Fix I Need

vlade · 03-02-2009, 08:59 PM

I'm thinking you dont really have a problem, they tend to rub a little. Unless they are actually biting in andmaking it hard to move the bike.?
Something being wrong with BOTH wheels not likely. Did you just have the pads changed and this happened right after??

TINYTIM77 · 03-02-2009, 10:02 PM

No, I Bought The Bike About 4 Months Ago And The Pads Looked Fresh. Its Not Hard To Move At All And Doesn't Effect Anything Other Than My Ears. A Little. I Was Just Wondering If There Is Something I Could Do To Get Rid Of This. If It's No Big Deal, Then Screw It. Hey Vlade, I Appreciate Your Response. I Am Trying To Learn As Much As I Can, I Know A Little About The Little Things But Some, I Leave It Up To Guys That Have Been Around Bikes A Lot Longer Than Me. Thanks Again.

**Dave63** · 03-02-2009, 10:10 PM

It's normal. If the pads weren't as close to the rotors as possible, the travel for the lever/pedal to make the bike stop would be 10x more then the little bit that it takes.

Bleeding the brakes won't do anything, or change normal brake drag.

Race bikes have floating rotors and fixed calipers where you can adjust the caliper (shim it) to get about 2.5 rotations on the wheel before it stops.

Our bikes have floating calipers and fixed rotors. (Although HD makes an optional floating rotor.) You *could* take the calipers off and make sure the sliders are well lubed, to assist in the caliper "relaxing" and not sticking against a rotor and causing more drag then necessary.

Outside of that.....

Hawkmann · 03-02-2009, 11:01 PM

Also depends what type of pads you bought. Some materials are different compounds and will rub or squeal.

GearheadDrew · 04-03-2009, 08:40 AM

I see that this is and older thread but I too have a question about brakes.

I have a 00 night train just bought it from a guy on wednesday. he said he replaced the ft and rear pads with "the good ones" and now when comming to the end of a stop the front pads make a squeel/rubbing/hum noise.

Is there a fix for this? He recommended removing the pads and cleaning with brake clean. It sounds to me like the pads need to be scuffed up and disk brake quiet applied.

Badassbrutus · 04-03-2009, 01:53 PM

no disc brake quiet!! ride your brakes for a liilte bit not long just enough to wear em a little and it should go away if not you might have the wrong pads or there are groove in your disc.

vlade · 04-03-2009, 02:08 PM

What Bad said, all brakes, even the old drumbrakes make noise. new pads tend to squeel noticeably at first. And even old ones will occasionally.

**Dave63** · 04-03-2009, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GearheadDrew

....now when comming to the end of a stop the front pads make a squeel/rubbing/hum noise.

Rubbing and humming noises are normal. Squeeling can indicate a rotor that not's aligned correctly, meaning your tire/rim may not be installed straight.

HorizontalMike · 04-03-2009, 04:25 PM

Give it a blow job!

Just take your compressed air hose and blast a bit of air at the pads once in a while. This tends to keep the dust/grit low without having to wash the bike all the time with water.