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Front brake shudder/pulsing - DC area

Buellxb Forum

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Pdg17838

Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2020
Messages
6
I need to fix a front brake shudder on my 08 Ulysses.

I'm suspicious that the Uly needs a new front rotor.
25k miles on the bike. The brake pads have been replaced recently.

Any recommendations for a shop in the Northern Virginia/Centreville area are appreciated.
Normally I would do this work myself but I don't have access to a lift and shop right now.

Thanks in advance for constructive inputs.

pdg
 
Correct. What our experienced and knowledgable Barrett is referring to, is the 98% mis-diagnosed as a warped rotor being uneven brake deposits especially after a pad swap change without re-bedding the new pads. Possibly sticking hardware too. If the brake hardware is over-torqued (even ONCE) it will put a ridge on the shoulder of the bolt and make the square washer stick to it, also causing the wobble feeling. needs to be sanded down with emory cloth. Use the manual for proper procedure '08 is fine:
https://www.buellmods.com/#TabbedContent

I can save him the long winded description, but I would still whatever his sage advise is:
https://www.buellxb.com/forum/showthread.php?48151-EBR-Racing-front-rotor-install-instructions

Or whatever, buy a rotor. If you can manage to take off your own front wheel, it's easy.
:eagerness:
 
Use em' hard or don't use em' at all.

I don't have a job so I'm on my 3rd Whisky.
 
In other words I don't have to get up in the weeee hours of the morning anymore. Just early enough to make my wife's lunch & coffee.
 
Cooter said:
I can save him the long winded description, but I would still whatever his sage advise is:
https://www.buellxb.com/forum/showthread.php?48151-EBR-Racing-front-rotor-install-instructions
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting that other thread Cooter. So wondering about the protocol of 3 start/stops at 30,50,70mph-
Ideally you could find a stretch of road to do that on, with virgin pads and rotors. Which unless you live in Amish Country, is nearly impossible to do starting from home for the rest of us.
The nearest stretch of road for me to do that is about 25 miles away. There's a stretch of freeway riding, a handful of traffic lights, and some unavoidable braking along the way. So would the protocol above still work? Better than nothing? Or do you have to start with some freshly sanded rotors for the ideal bedding procedure to work at all?
 
No need to over-think it or tow you bike to a desolate area:) I'm in the middle of nightmare urban chaos myself and a one mile stretch without stop lights is plenty, u-turns won't affect anything.

Yes, the rotors need to be clean and free of the old friction material. The best way is to take it off and might as well clean/check and lube the hardware (caliper lube or anti-seize).

The point of that procedure is to run the brakes through a complete heat cycle to transfer new friction material to the rotor. From stone cold, to max temp slowly, and back to stone cold.

The final cool down is very important! I have rushed this procedure and skipped the overnight cool down with poor results. YMMV.

When done correctly, I have had shocking results taking wobbly, glassy, scary front brakes, to functional, gradual, dependable brakes with nothing more than a good cleaning and re-bedding. Even with old/good pads:encouragement: I'm a believer:angel:

Since we are talking about heating your brakes to max temp...
Flush your dang brake fluid! Every, single, year! A $20 vacuum pump makes it a 5 minute job, no bleeding required. I just took the blackest grossest fluid out of Bubbles Ninja before this last track day. There was even a water bubble in the front stuff:down: and it's a 2020 she bought new, 9 month ago:mad-new:
 
Last edited:
Adding this post to get my 3 in so I can edit my own profile. :D Not sure if this is the best way to do it, but here goes.
 
I have a 2008 Uly XB12XT. Like it so far. I'm finding good stuff on this forum so far. Cooter seems to the the Master Yoda...but I'm new so no offense to anyone.
 
#3 of 3...I'm having the front brake shudder problem as well as some concerns with my starter. I'll be diving into these 2 areas more later. Thank you all for being here. I look forward to learning from you all and hopefully returning the favor later.
 
dpruitt said:
#3 of 3...I'm having the front brake shudder problem
Click to expand...

The stock rotor is designed to float on its mountings from the factory. If that setup is gummed up with brake dust/road grit/etc, the rotor can stick on one or more of the mounting points causing the shudder.

Take the rotor and caliper mounting hardware off and clean the components and mounting surfaces. Examine the "bushing" pieces for wear and either clean up any grooves or rough edges with a file or replace if too bad. I usually stretch the springs a little bit to help restore some tension. A lot of times when one or more of the floating points is stuck, it will flex the rotor out of true. Often, the rotor does spring back if it hasnt been too badly abused.

If this does not solve the problem, then look into a new rotor (and pads) or replace the stock rotor mounting hardware with the solid mount kit from EBR.

Be sure to bed in the new brake pads to the rotor to restore full braking power.
 

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