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[JoeVibe]

Hey Guys,

My bike's had a problem with the front brakes pulsating for a while now. It's not an ABS pulse, it feels more like a warped rotor. I checked the service manual and it says 0.008" is the max allowable lateral run out. I checked mine and they are in the .004"-.005" range. The pulsation isn't severe enough to affect control, but it's not right and it bugs me. Could I be feeling the .005" run out or should I be looking at something else?

Thanks,

Joe

[grc]

Yes, you can definitely feel a .005" runout problem.  And the Harley specification is total BS, but there again this is a company that tells customers a crankshaft with .012" TIR is within specifications and sends them back out the door.

If the bike is still in warranty, you might want to consider making sure the runout becomes .009" or more and then take the bike to the dealer for warranty service.  I don't normally condone doing this sort of thing, but when you're dealing with a company with no ethics that refuses to accept responsibility for defects, you do what you have to do to avoid being their next victim.

JMHO - Jerry

[Fired00d]

Have you tried jacking the bike up and free spinning the wheel? You should be able to hear/see it dragging.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[JoeVibe]

Thanks Jerry. My bikes under warranty until January, that's why I was looking into it now. I thought .008" was crazy high myself but that's HD's number. I'll keep an eye on it, maybe it'll get worse before January. Any idea what rotors cost? I might need to look into the ESP.

Hi Dood, I have jacked it up and spun the wheel and it really doesn't drag noticeably, and it's only strongly noticeable when I grab quite a bit of front brake.

Joe

[Fired00d]

Thanks Jerry. My bikes under warranty until January, that's why I was looking into it now. I thought .008" was crazy high myself but that's HD's number. I'll keep an eye on it, maybe it'll get worse before January. Any idea what rotors cost? I might need to look into the ESP.

Hi Dood, I have jacked it up and spun the wheel and it really doesn't drag noticeably, and it's only strongly noticeable when I grab quite a bit of front brake.

Joe

I had my front rotors replaced due to warping and when I did that I could see/hear them dragging... maybe mine had gotten to the spec the MoCo has... either way it's a damn shame that floating rotors warp. I understood the whole idea behind them being floating was to prevent them from warping.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[phato1]

I had a front brake pulsation on mine. I took the calipers off, removed the pads and put a piece off glass on my bench top to ensure a flat surface and "deglazed" them with some medium and fine grit sandpaper. Then I took some baretex/scotchbright pads to the rotors and cleaned them ( the rotors) thoroughly with clean rags and brake cleaner. No more pulsation.

[JoeVibe]

I had a front brake pulsation on mine. I took the calipers off, removed the pads and put a piece off glass on my bench top to ensure a flat surface and "deglazed" them with some medium and fine grit sandpaper. Then I took some baretex/scotchbright pads to the rotors and cleaned them ( the rotors) thoroughly with clean rags and brake cleaner. No more pulsation.

Thanks Bruce! I'll give that a try and let you know what happens. For sure I've got nothing to lose!

Joe

[grc]

Just FYI, the stock rotors are P/N 41300019 and MSRP is $188 each.

Jerry

[JoeVibe]

Just FYI, the stock rotors are P/N 41300019 and MSRP is $188 each.

Jerry

That's less than I thought they'd be. Good to know. Thanks Jerry!

[08glide]

joe, i had that pulsation with mine. thought it was the abs. under warranty & they replaced the rotors. mother co knows of this problem & just hops it is a few instead of doing a recall. take it ot the dealer & even if they say it isn't out of spec enough, make them do a work order for a paper trail & later reference. hope all else is well with you. have you been able to drag any pics off our post. I know Larry & Sue said they talked or mailed you something. great to see ya at the gtg. hope we'll see ya before next year

[garretn]

I had the same problem with my 09 SG with floating rotors.  Stopping at slow speeds with the pulse made it hard to stop smoothly for me.  I had it in the dealer 3 times they replaced one rotor each visit and then told me it was the pulse of the motor that was making it feel like that. Total bullchit.  I got tired of taking it back and was another reason I decided to get rid of the bike.

[Skullglide09]

I would say yes to the warped rotors I went through 3 sets on my 2009 street glide and then I told them I would pay the difference to get floating rotors and never had trouble again. Well worth it.


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[garretn]

I would say yes to the warped rotors I went through 3 sets on my 2009 street glide and then I told them I would pay the difference to get floating rotors and never had trouble again. Well worth it.


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I had the floating rotors on mine from day one. I was thinking that was why I kept having issues but I guess not.   

[Honneybeast]

I had the same exact problem , took to the dealer and were within spec . The dealer replaced them anyhow under warente and the problem was solved. Was not enough to radically pulse the break lever but could feel it in the front end for sure. Good luck and hope your dealer is as good to you as mine was to me.

[Classic Beast]

Had the same thing on mine, bitched a lot to the dealer and got them replaced under warranty been good ever since but probably because I haven't been back to bear tooth pass since.