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[wheelie]

I just picked up a 10' FLHXSE with 2500 miles on it Sunday .. trading in my 2012' Road Glide Custom... this is the first bike with ABS as the RG didnt have it .. My issue i.e. everytime I use the front brake to stop , as I first apply it , I hear and feel a loud Popping sound as if there is a stuck piston in the caliper ..  anyone have this experience ?? suggestions on what else It might be ? It goes back to the straler Sat to have my Chrome Agitators of the RG installed on it , I can ask them then as well but you know what their answer usually is ... Never heard of that . ... I dont hear anything ..... we cant make it do that ... etc etc ...

[Dan_Lockwood]

I just picked up a 10' FLHXSE with 2500 miles on it Sunday .. trading in my 2012' Road Glide Custom... this is the first bike with ABS as the RG didnt have it .. My issue i.e. everytime I use the front brake to stop , as I first apply it , I hear and feel a loud Popping sound as if there is a stuck piston in the caliper ..  anyone have this experience ?? suggestions on what else It might be ? It goes back to the straler Sat to have my Chrome Agitators of the RG installed on it , I can ask them then as well but you know what their answer usually is ... Never heard of that . ... I dont hear anything ..... we cant make it do that ... etc etc ...

Assuming all is nice and tight in the steering head area, it's probably in the front brakes.  I know, obvious right?

What happens is that the pads tend to move down on their guides and when you roll forward and apply the brakes the pads will move with the rotors forward and hit the opposite end of the pad guides.  The rotors are also floating and can in some cases make a slight aligning noise when the front brake is applied.

My '08 SERK and my current '09 SERG made the noise when first hitting the front brakes at slow speeds. 

Unless you have a vibration or "excessive" noise when applying the front brake, it's probably just going to be called normal.

[wheelie]

well I'll look into it a little further if it gets any worse , this is my 13th HD and NONE of the others ever did this , thats why the concern .... thanks for the reply ..

[grc]

ABS wouldn't cause the difference you observed between the 2010 and the 2012.  There is a difference that could have something to do with your noise however.  The CVO comes with floating rotors, while the standard model RGC did not. 

I'd suggest making certain that all the brake fasteners are tightened to spec (calipers to forks, rotors to wheel, etc.), then see if the rotors have excessive play in the "floating" mechanism.  Your noise could also come from other sources like the suspension/steering head.

Jerry

[ultrafxr]

Loose steering head bearings would be what I suspect. Happened on my bike several years ago.


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[hdbrad03]

Has the front end been modified? Like with Progressive Mono Tubes? When my Mono Tubes leaked the Nitrogen Charge it Popped.


 

   B :bananarock:rad

[Hx2]

My bet is on the floating rotors. It is normal for them to pop as you apply brakes for the first time as they align with the pads. Have had a number of bikes with floating rotors and they all did that. Both my current bikes also do this.

[wheelie]

ABS wouldn't cause the difference you observed between the 2010 and the 2012.  There is a difference that could have something to do with your noise however.  The CVO comes with floating rotors, while the standard model RGC did not. 

I'd suggest making certain that all the brake fasteners are tightened to spec (calipers to forks, rotors to wheel, etc.), then see if the rotors have excessive play in the "floating" mechanism.  Your noise could also come from other sources like the suspension/steering head.

Jerry

Jerry , my road glide custom came brand new from the dealer with Agitator wheels and floating rotors .... NO noises from it ...in 11000 miles ...

[Dan_Lockwood]

Wheelie, like I said in my reply to you a couple days ago, this type of noise is somewhat typical of our bikes, but may be not all of them.

If the steering head was loose enough to cause the noise when first applying the front brakes, my opinion would be that your bike would have some noticable shimmy or shake to it while riding.  So my first hunch would be not worry about the steering head.

Do you have a center lift you use for cleaning etc?  If so, lift it up and with someone assisting to hold the bike steady, have them hold the front brake and you grab the front tire in the front and try to "rock" the steering head.  If you feel or hear a noise, then it just could be your neck bearings, but again, I would highly doubt that.

While on the lift, spin the front tire backwards quite hard and then hit the front brake. This should slide all the components in the opposite direction as your normal forward travel.  Then spin the front wheel forward and apply the front brakes again and see if you hear the noise.

If this dosen't show up any issues or noise, with the bike down, roll it backwards as fast as you can with your feet and hit the front brakes.  This may be more energy than spinning the front wheel backwards can generate.  Once you have setted everything going backwards, move the bike forward again and hit the front brakes.  This should repeat the noise.

When I back out of my garage my driveway is slightly down hill.  When I stop the bike backwards and load the wife on the back, by the end of the driveway when I tap the front brakes, I get the popping noise just about every time.

Remember you have slight clearance on the brake pads, pistons and calipers. 

Also about the front floating rotors.  I had my front wheel replaced on my '09 SERG under warranty and the bolt kit to hold the rotor on is a "one time" use only.  The dealership had to order a new bolt kit to reinstall my rotors.

I guess we can all speculate about your noise and offer some suggestions, but if bothers you, you're the one that riding it.  Take it to the dealer or your local Indy if you use one and have it checked out to be sure.

Keep us posted on your results when you find the cause.

Have a great weekend...

[wheelie]

Going in to the dealer tomorrow to have my chrome agitators put on it , I'll mention it to them and see what they say ,....thanks everyone for the responses ..

[wheelie]

well took to dealer yesterday and told them about the noise that happens EVERYTIME YOU APPLY THE BRAKES ....., they said "the ABS clicks" , I said not like this , which you can feel in the whole bike ,,  they said its normal, but guess what , when I got it back and rode it all afternoon  yesterday , it never made a sound ... imagine that ... oh well as long as its fixed , Im good with it ....

[Dan_Lockwood]

Wheelie, I rode solo yesterday and was paying a lot of attention to the front end and the noise being discussed here.  Again I have an '09 SERG with just over 12k miles and new tires this past spring.

I noticed the popping sound many times throughout the day.  It would not happen from stop to stop while riding, but every time I stopped and got off the bike, the first time I'd hit the front brake I got the load click/bop sound.  There is no vibration of handlebar feel when it pops, just the noise.

Some days I don't notice it and other times I do.  Maybe it does come and go day by day, but I've put the frontend through its course on the lift and I'm confident that I have no mechnaical issues.  So I ride and it's not a big deal.  My '08 also had the same noise.

I NEVER hear the noise at speeds above parking lot speeds and on the first front brake application.

At least after the dealer has checked it out, you can ride without any concerns.

[sscooter5150]

I ride an 08 FLHTCUSE3 and I had the dealer duplicate the noise.
They said it is because of the floating rotor and not a concern.
I'm gonna ride the piss out of it! 

[MrSurly]

My '10 CUSE does this. To me it sounds exactly the way loose caliper bolts would sound. Of course, multiple disassemblies/inspections later I'm convinced it's the floaters.

MAYBE the rotors from your RG are in better condition (or simply made better) than the floaters on the SG.

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[Tractor Bubba]

My guess is the floating rotors are popping into alignment.
My '14 SERK makes a noise such as this the first time I apply the front brake sometimes.
Only the first time, not every time.

[VANAMAL]

If its a floating rotor id ck it closely. Ive had them loosen up. If you can grab it and move it then its ngk( no good kind)

[qwicker]

I had this same problem with a 2011 CVO Road Glide, especially after I had rolled it backward out of the garage.  When I put the brakes on the first time going forward it would pop or click.  I found the problem was the smaller retainer pin boss that goes through the pad on front brakes.  Buy rear pads and use the pin from the rear set on the front pads...the boss is slightly larger and will eliminate the pad movement each time you change directions. 

I now have a 2015 CVO Road Glide, and it isn't as bad at the '11 was.  Perhaps they changed the pins on the newer bikes.

[harleychef2011]

Jerry , my road glide custom came brand new from the dealer with Agitator wheels and floating rotors .... NO noises from it ...in 11000 miles ...

That's most likely exactly it!  I had the same concern and that's exactly what the dealer told me.  It's totally normal.