2008 xb12r firebolt front brake chatter

[sandman3577]

ok here we go my firebolt has pretty bad brake chatter up front. it had 5300 one owner miles never beat or crashed/ i had to up the preload back to 4 marks showing the previous owner was lighter then me.it sat for 2 years inside a house never ridden .so i figured maybe a bad spot on rotor so its been replaced i tried diff. brake pads very little change would steering head bearings do this? maybe somebody had this problem and can give me some direction. thank you

 

[Cooter]

youcantestifyouhaveaproblemwithyoursteeringneckbearingsbyrockingthebikeuponthekickstandandseeingiftheresplayorclickingupfrontyourwelcome

 

[TPEHAK]

ok here we go my firebolt has pretty bad brake chatter up front. it had 5300 one owner miles never beat or crashed/ i had to up the preload back to 4 marks showing the previous owner was lighter then me.it sat for 2 years inside a house never ridden .so i figured maybe a bad spot on rotor so its been replaced i tried diff. brake pads very little change would steering head bearings do this? maybe somebody had this problem and can give me some direction. thank you

Overheated front brake. I already work on solution https://www.buellxb.com/forum/showt...ur-Buell-today&p=604396&viewfull=1#post604396 Stay tuned!

 

[vicenzajay]

When you say "chatter", what are you experiencing (a bit more in detail)?

 

[user_deleted]

would steering head bearings do this?

No.
your 4 common XB front brake complaints/problems are as follows:
CLUNK. result of severely worn brake pad caliper locating pins and/or faulty/loose steering head bearings.
SQUEAL. multiple causes but typically vibrating brake pads.
LEVER PULSE. warped rotor and/or severely glazed rotor and/or abundance of pad material build-up on rotor
CHATTER. warped rotor in conjunction with severely worn rotor mounting hardware specifically H0506.3AM

cooter must be boozing again(LOL) and of course TEABAG full of **** as usual and trolling with yet more "look at me" chest-puffing link-bait.
if it were me i'd remove front wheel....remove rotor....deglaze it....carefully check all hardware specifically part # listed above...clean out spring holes...install known GOOD hardware correctly....blue loctite each rotor mount bolt....torque to spec which is 25-27 ft lbs.......ditch the POS chinese ebay pads if that is what they are....EBC HH is what you want....install drive inserts correctly....bed-in pads correctly and see what you have. THAT should solve it.
NOTE: often over-looked but sometimes the culprit is heavily worn front wheel bearings resulting in excessive lateral "run-out" under hard braking resulting in rotor "wiggle" and pulsing/chatter. if it were me and i had the wheel off i'd replace them at the same time. they're cheap and you rule them out as the cause.

 

[wickedchop]

Do everything as listed above as John said. It should look like that when finished and you will have ZERO problems.....LMFAO

 

[Cooter]

I think all you guys missed that he has tried a new rotor and pads.....

sandman: "so i figured maybe a bad spot on rotor so its been replaced i tried diff. brake pads"

But yes, his info is uh... lacking. So we're all just guessing until he gets a chance clarify. Wicked, thats FUNNY!!

 

[Silverrider]

John covered all the bases, I am thinking carefully recheck all hardware.

 

[sandman3577]

problem not solved yet installed new buell rotor and hardware brake pads no china anything new stem bearings oem installed with correct stembearing tool/ fork oil changed 10w motul expert the only other thing i was told was the fork slide bushings a friend of mine was one of the occ mechanics is helping me with this problem. front wheel bearings are new also.to eliminate the front wheel altogether i have my 03 lighting i will swap the front tire and see what happens.any thing else that comes to mind? thank you

 

[user_deleted]

problem not solved yet installed new buell rotor and hardware brake pads no china anything new stem bearings oem installed with correct stembearing tool/ fork oil changed 10w motul expert the only other thing i was told was the fork slide bushings a friend of mine was one of the occ mechanics is helping me with this problem. front wheel bearings are new also.to eliminate the front wheel altogether i have my 03 lighting i will swap the front tire and see what happens.any thing else that comes to mind? thank you

you need to COMPLETELY and ACCURATELY describe what the exact problem is which you apparently have no interest in doing. and you've missed the likely culprit but that's fine....keep throwing parts at it. eventually it will be resolved. you're more than welcome for the assistance given.

 

[Silverrider]

problem not solved yet installed new buell rotor and hardware brake pads no china anything new stem bearings oem installed with correct stembearing tool/ fork oil changed 10w motul expert the only other thing i was told was the fork slide bushings a friend of mine was one of the occ mechanics is helping me with this problem. front wheel bearings are new also.to eliminate the front wheel altogether i have my 03 lighting i will swap the front tire and see what happens.any thing else that comes to mind? thank you

If that does not help, can you swap the forks from the 03 to the 08 ???

 

[TPEHAK]

Change brake fluid and eliminate air bubbles from the brake system.

 

[rchuff]

Here we go! Are you sure all the hardware for brake rotor is in good shape and installed right?

 

[sandman3577]

what did i miss as the culprit?new rotor/hardware/stem bearings wheel bearings brake pads including oem.changed the fork oil also.during front braking chatter in the lever and through the front of the bike/ similar to a car with bad rotor.as of right now its better but still there i even tried pulling the clutch lever in to eliminate the engine vibration.at low speeds not bad /but highway speeds and have to slow down fast i feel it through the lever and front end/my xb9s brakes very smooth so i have something to compare it to.it now has 7430 miles on it this shouldnt even be an issue.any thing else causes this?i finally got a dry day to road test it thank you

 

[user_deleted]

what did i miss as the culprit?new rotor/hardware/stem bearings wheel bearings brake pads including oem.changed the fork oil also.during front braking chatter in the lever and through the front of the bike/ similar to a car with bad rotor.as of right now its better but still there i even tried pulling the clutch lever in to eliminate the engine vibration.at low speeds not bad /but highway speeds and have to slow down fast i feel it through the lever and front end/my xb9s brakes very smooth so i have something to compare it to.it now has 7430 miles on it this shouldnt even be an issue.any thing else causes this?i finally got a dry day to road test it thank you

it's pretty simple actually but never checked which is baffling to me. you are describing both a pulsing brake lever and type of shaking in the front end under moderate braking....correct?????
if that's the case and everything new and properly installed as you stated then one obvious culprit: "lateral run-out" is to blame. in the motorcycle world of cast aluminum wheels the acceptable limit is approx. .040 or 1mm and change. any more than that causes a myriad of problems with the most obvious being chatter...pulsing...disconcerting handlebar/clip-on feeling during breaking. a PITA to check as follows:
lift bike so that front end is off the ground and wheel can be spun freely.
lock the front end in place so wheel is true and straight and pointing forward.
on a buell with a perimeter brake you can either check the rotor side or the left side. i check right on the rotor myself.
rig up a dial indicator by whatever means necessary and zero it out with wheel locked in place.
now spin wheel and read the indicator. by all indications you'll find that your rotor laterally is way off the mark.

 

[sandman3577]

i finally had a chance and swapped the front wheel assembly with my lighting and it was perfect no chatter pulse smooth/ so new doesnt mean perfect i looked up surdyke and for $300 its all in one kit so i will try this i guess buying a rotor and hardware from differant vendors the rotor isnt true.so one last problem with taking this apart 10 times and retorqueing the caliper bolts one is now stripped is there a fix other then a heilcoil?there is room for a nut if i use a longer bolt.or does somebody have a used front caliper i can buy? thanks

 

[sandman3577]

and the front wheel bearing are new made in japan nachi and lunaticfringe you know your buells i was doing what you said to check just takes a while sometimes buells have strange things go wrong but again i do appreciate the help i dont mind replacing worn or bad parts on a bike, brake failure usually means death or close to it.

 

[user_deleted]

and lunaticfringe you know your buells

yes.....i most certainly do.


i finally had a chance and swapped the front wheel assembly with my lighting and it was perfect no chatter pulse smooth

again....just confirms what i previously told you...........which is...............drum-roll please............lateral run-out of wheel WAY BEYOND acceptable limits.

 

[njloco]

Yeah, he knows his stuff, comes with age !

You called it, again !

 

[rchuff]

Let me tell you guys something , John has probably forgotten more then we will ever know!