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Rear rotor feels hot

67wizard

67wizard

Junior Member
Went for a short ride last night. When returned home felt front rotors both cool, rear rotor felt hot. Checked pads this morning and they were close to being time to replace so I replaced them. Went for another short ride, when I returned home checked the front and they were cool, rear felt hot again. Is this normal or do I have a problem?
Thanks
 
HD brakes do not have retraction springs. If you have very true disks, pads will likely loosely ride on the discs. If your discs have a bit of eccentricity in them, they will tend to push the pads off a bit more. To some degree, what you see is normal. You will need to determine if they are dragging or riding on the discs.

Enjoy,
Rich P
 
Cleaning the caliper pistons will also help. This can be done with a shoe string and some brake fluid on it. Or remove caliper and pads and carefully clean the outside of each piston. Lots of info on this site about cleaning the caliper and such.
When they are clean it will allow whatever retraction does happen to happen with ease instead of pushing against the build up of dirt.
 
My '10 ultra was the same way, rear disk would be hot after a ride, I never could find anything wrong my guess is its normal. Bodeens suggestion to clean the caliper is a good thing to do though.
 
over the last month I have been checking my rotors also, found the fronts to be cool and the rear too hot to touch, cleaned things out and replaced pads, still hot, then I replaced the rear master cyl. and all is good. could not find a thing wrong with the old master cyl.. puzzled me.
 
The rear rotor does not get as much wind as the front rotors plus the rear wheel being the drive wheel will generate a bit more heat= normal operation
 
Re: Rear rotor feels hot update

Thanks for all the ideas. I cleaned everything with brake cleaner, installed new pads. Went for a short ride still seemed hot to me. Pushed down rather hard on the pedal a couple of times while sitting in the shed. Today went for a long ride up on the mountain for breakfast didn't use the rear brake it was cool to the touch. Had to use the rear brake coming down and in town. Arrived home rear felt rather hot. Jack up the rear end, spun the rear tire brake don't drag very much. Guess its normal.
Thanks guys
 
Re: Rear rotor feels hot update

Be careful with the brake cleaner in and around those calipers. It is pretty harsh on the seals and usually still leaves a dirt ring on the pistons.
 
If your brakes are working, then the rotors will get warm. They are a friction item. The brake pads squeeze the rotors when you pull the lever or stand on the brake pedal. Keep in mind that about 70% of your braking power is on your front brake. Remember too that you have two rotors on the front and only one on the rear, so the rear will usually be warmer/hotter than the fronts. Most people seem to use their rear brake more often than their front so it could very well be warm while the front rotors are cool. I would say what you are experiencing is probably normal for your riding style. You might have one of your pads which is dragging a little bit which might cause some extra heat in your back rotor. Try ridding 5 miles or so without using your rear brake and then get off the bike and feel the rear rotor. If it is warm, then you have a dragging pad. Most bikes do have pads that drag a little. Over time the pad just wears down a little and it cures itself.
 
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