free website stats program Wheel noise | Harley Davidson Forums

Wheel noise

Tristan

New Member
Hey guys Im experiencing a sound that is coming from my front wheel. It sounds to me like the rotors and the brade pad are touching at some point each revolution. Its like a slight scrape everytime the wheel goes a round. Looking for help this is my first Harley
 
Welcome to The Forum, get a flash light and check the thickness of the front pads. Has the bike been sitting for a while? Some times the pads need to be reburnished
 
If the rotor is slightly warped, it will give you a periodic "shushing" sound as the wheel rotates. If you want to confirm this, jack the front tire off the ground and gently rotate the wheel while watching the rotor move in the caliper. A small amount is OK and probably inevitable. All my bikes have had that.

Cheers,

TQ
 
Welcome to the forum. 1st check the brake pads as Jack suggested, if they look good do as TQ mentioned. One or the other should point you in the right direction. Good luck.
 
It is not unusual for there to be a wee bit of warp on a brake rotor but if you can feel it when you are braking then it is time to replace the rotor
Even a tiny bit of grit between the rotor and the wheel can translate to a wobble at the outer rim of the rotor

Brian
 
It's been to long to remember if my issue was the same, but I had a squeak/squeal from my front rotor. I've had bent rotors, which were easy to figure out, but another puzzled me. A suggestion, from this forum me thinks, was to rub anti-seize on the back of the brake pads.

I thought it strange, but it worked!
 
I get a steady thumping/scratching noise from my brakes when they are cold sometimes, but it goes away when once the brakes are warm.

I also got a throbbing noise from the front tire when the rubber tire had "cupping"-- uneven wear. My Fat Bob's wider tires can get dramatic uneven wear, especially with small patch style thread. This tire wear felt strongest going downhill with the clutch engaged, there was a slight shaking or vibrating in the handlebars.

The fact is that left turns cause more tire wear than any other motion because we ride on the right side of the street. Turns consume the most tire rubber, and a left turn can be 3 to 10 more revolutions than shorter right turns.

Does your front tire have spokes? If the noise is not from brake pads or tire wear, it might be from a bad spoke.

Good Luck!

:44:
 
Back
Top