aptyp Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 Dunno what I did wrong but after installing Vesrah (green) pads on my 99, the front wheel is not completely free to spin. I can feel the brakes dragging lightly and slowing down the wheel when on the front stand. Went for a short ride to see which side is grabbing harder and both rotors are equally hot so they are both dragging. So it would appear the new brakes are dragging enough to cause all sorts of friction. Should I wait for the brakes to "brake in" (pun intended) or do I need to tear everything apart to see what the hell I did wrong? Big ride on Friday and I need to figure this out in time! HELF! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxexcess Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 Sticking calipers maybe, bad install maybe, pads not sitting quite right, i would do it again and put a little copper brake grease on the backs of the pads, and press in the pistons a little on the calipers to make sure it's all free'd up ok. Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in PA Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 I've learned to take new pads and sand them on sand paper on a flat surface before instalation. The finish from the factory is very rough and causes the dragging you have now. You can just use them and wait, but it took too long for me. I can't stand the dragging brakes feeling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aptyp Posted July 27, 2004 Author Share Posted July 27, 2004 I don't mind so much the dragging feeling but I'm worried about the rotors warping from the heat and pressure. Any risk of that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northman Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Take the bike for a short, 3-5 mile ride, where you can come to 10 or so easy stops. Bring it home, and re-check the drag on the rotors. If the front end is still hard to turn, you may have to remove the shims on the back side of the pads until the pads bed in enough to make room to re-install them. A short run won't ruin your rotors, but a highway blast definitely will. :shock: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aptyp Posted July 28, 2004 Author Share Posted July 28, 2004 Ok, maybe all of this is in my mind... I dunno. The bike rides fine and I can move it around like usual but when I get off and feel the front rotors they are too hot to hold on to for more than a split second. Is this maybe normal and I just never paid attention to it? Also I'm just thinking about just buying another set of vesrahs and replacing these. Just don't want 30 dollar pads to ruin 150 dollar rotors... ugh... this sux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardCranium Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 Your rotors are definately going to be hot. Think about it. Brakes work off of friction. Friction generates heat. My brakes drag too. I think a bit of drag is normal. You could however have some sticky pistons. You might clean everything up really well with brake cleaner and see if that helps. Unless you are having trouble stuffing the brakes back up into the calipers I dont thnk they are too thick. I could be wrong though. I assume after putting the new pads in but before touching the brakes the wheel spins freely. Then you probably have to pump the lever a couple times to get the piston to move back out far enough to engage the pads after which you have the drag. If that isnt the case then disregard everything I said. :grin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardCranium Posted July 28, 2004 Share Posted July 28, 2004 BTW I have actually seen auto races at night where you can see the rotors glowing red when they are hard on the brakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aptyp Posted July 28, 2004 Author Share Posted July 28, 2004 I'm definitely going to tear everything apart again to see whether I'm crazy or there is actually a problem... damnit I hate this obsessive compulsive thing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aptyp Posted July 29, 2004 Author Share Posted July 29, 2004 Well screw it, I just exchanged the Vesrahs' for EBC HH. Lets see how they work out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXrider Posted August 1, 2004 Share Posted August 1, 2004 It's common to remove the shims from the back for a few hundred miles, then re-install when the pads are bedded in and worn a bit. At very worst you might get a little brake squeal from time to time, but it won't hurt anything. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aptyp Posted August 2, 2004 Author Share Posted August 2, 2004 So the brakes were running hot for the first 20-40 miles but it seems to have worked out. The new brakes just really can't compare to the stockers. Amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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