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[JustDennis]

About three weeks ago as I was leaving work, I noticed something about my bike that I hadn't noticed before.  As I was leaving the parking lot, I came up to the connecting road which was slightly uphill.  I was going slow (10-15 mph) so I just used the rear brake to stop and hold the bike on the hill.  As I was stopping with the rear brake only, it felt like the rear brake was grinding or shuddering as it came to a stop.  It bugged me so for the next several days I would stop using the rear brake in different scenarios to try and determine the cause.  Stopping from under 20 mph caused the grinding/shuddering feeling and the harder I applied the brakes the worse it felt. 

I did some searches on here and began to think that maybe it was a rear wheel bearing or the brakes?  So, last week I took the bike to the local dealer and explained the issue to them.  This dealer has had very good service in the past.  I left the bike and went to work (couple miles away).  After work, I went to pick up the bike and was told that they didn't "hear" anything but went ahead and checked the brakes - everything was good.  They said that the battery drain line was rubbing the tire so that rerouted it I told them that I hadn't "heard" anything either.  They assured me they had checked the brakes and put the bike on a lift to check the wheel bearing but everything was OK.  I rode the bike home.  The next day I rode to work and tested the brakes again.  Same problem and it seemed to be getting worse.

On Monday of this week, I got an email from the service department telling me if I had any problems to call or email the service manager.  As I said, this service department has worked with me over the years so I contacted the service manager and explained the issue and said that something was lost in the translation between the writer and myself.  They were checking for a sound but I felt the grinding/shimming.  He asked if I would bring the bike back and he would check it himself.

I took it in yesterday and got a call about 3 PM.  Anyone have a guess what they found?  My bike has V&H Power Duals.  The right floorboard was less than a piece of paper thickness away from the exhaust.  When I applied the rear brake, it would touch the bike and cause the shudder I was feeling.  Harder I braked the more it did it.  Only noticeable at slower speeds.  They put spacers on the floorboard and I picked it up last night.

Good news is that the issue is gone and the bike actually is much smoother.  I hadn't even noticed but I was feeling vibrations most of the time.  I have to say that the service department manger went out of his way to make sure I was satisfied.  He even called me last night around 5 PM to be sure everything was OK.  The other good news is that they didn't charge me anything for either service.   I did not buy this bike at this dealer but I did buy my previous one. Do have the ESP and always buy parts or have service done there if it is something I can't do.

Just thought I would post in case anyone else experiences something similar and to say how pleased I am with the dealers service.  Even though they missed what I said the first time, they made it right and didn't charge me anything even though I would have expected to pay something.

[willyB]

That's funny!!!!!

When I installed my V&H true dual headers I ran into the same problem. Took me a while to figure it out.

 

[grc]

V&H had the same problem on the pipes for the older models, and on those they started including a thick washer with the pipes to be used to space the footboard out slightly.  Strange that they still have the same problem after all these years and haven't fixed it in the actual pipe bend.

Jerry

[05Train]

Good to hear that your dealer took care of you.

[willyB]

V&H had the same problem on the pipes for the older models, and on those they started including a thick washer with the pipes to be used to space the footboard out slightly.  Strange that they still have the same problem after all these years and haven't fixed it in the actual pipe bend.

Jerry

They had a thin and a heavy washer in my kit. Just didn't install the heavy one the first time around.

[JustDennis]

They had a thin and a heavy washer in my kit. Just didn't install the heavy one the first time around.

When I bought my bike a couple of months ago, the previous owner had already had the V&Hs installed so I don't know what was on there before.  Adding that spacer sure made a big difference

[hd-dude]

Glad they found the problem, had to laugh at the battery drain hose explanation as they haven't used them since the late 90's when the gel batteries came out.

[JustDennis]

Glad they found the problem, had to laugh at the battery drain hose explanation as they haven't used them since the late 90's when the gel batteries came out.

I must have taken the bike in on a bad service tech day the first time

I was pretty impressed yesterday though.  I had convinced myself there was a terrible problem and expected the worse but it worked out well.

[Midnight Rider]

Glad they found the problem, had to laugh at the battery drain hose explanation as they haven't used them since the late 90's when the gel batteries came out.

X2, Jim.

[TinSpinner]

I had that happen with a set of Rush pipes once. Looked like plenty of clearance when the engine was cold and not running but once it warmed up and torqued a little it would contact the rear brake pedal.