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RK SE new brake pads & noise

This is a rotor question, had the 10,000 mile maintenance on the bike (2007 RK SE) with new pads FT&R. New rubber too. Now I really notice the pads rubbing on the rotors when I am in town riding slow. When the bike is on her lift the pads rub about all the time. Don’t know if the rims were put back straight or if the rotors may be slightly warped? Can rotors be turned on bikes? This SE RK has the 2 floating style rotors in the frt. You would have thought that the 10,000 mile maintenance would have cleaned the pistons in the calipers but I don’t have that much confidence in the shop anymore. What do you guys think? Also if I need to replace the rotors should I go HD or another brand?
 
This is a rotor question, had the 10,000 mile maintenance on the bike (2007 RK SE) with new pads FT&R. New rubber too. Now I really notice the pads rubbing on the rotors when I am in town riding slow. When the bike is on her lift the pads rub about all the time. Don’t know if the rims were put back straight or if the rotors may be slightly warped? Can rotors be turned on bikes? This SE RK has the 2 floating style rotors in the frt. You would have thought that the 10,000 mile maintenance would have cleaned the pistons in the calipers but I don’t have that much confidence in the shop anymore. What do you guys think? Also if I need to replace the rotors should I go HD or another brand?

No. Do NOT turn the rotors on your HD. You may want to break the glaze with some emery cloth on a flat block though.

If you raise the wheels off the ground and they rotate fairly freely (at least a turn or two with a good push) you are good. The pads will stay in light contact with the rotor under normal conditions. The only thing that would cause them to retract away from the rotor is if the rotor was warped and pushed the pads away. So I would not worry about a little noise.

If you do decide to replace them, I second Smitty's suggestion about floating rotors.

TQ
 
Light swishing sound is all I hear, and very little drag, 3 or 4 years is plenty of time for dirt to work it's way into places it is not supposed to go...and time to flush the brake system as well, condensation and air eventually works it's way into the sealed braking system and will cause electrolysis, cast iron, aluminum and other disimilar metals are like a small battery.
 
What a lot of us dont understand about disc brakes is they are meant to run with very little clearance. The square cut seals in the calipers not only seal the fluid from leaking out but also keep a slight drag if you will on the pads for the zero running clearance needed to operate correctly. kind of like residual pressure in wheel cylinder car brakes. Hope this helps. I have been instructing brake clinics and training and try to stay up to date as much as I can.One other thing to watch out for is copper contamination from the brake lines . Its a simple test with test strips available thru auto jobbers like Napa. One more thing of note, when the fluid is turning black its time for a flush for sure, this is residue of the rubber parts in the brake system breaking down. braking generates heat, heat generates moisture, that causes pedal fade, Jack
 
Wow thanks for all your input. Guess I can live with the slight wishing sound. It appears to be getting better the more the brakes get used. One thing that they did do on the 10000 mile is change both Ft&R brake fluid. Thanks again SC-Roadking in S Calif.:hii
 
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