Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Front Brake Pusling

Hi there,
I'm on a 2006 Speedmaster and recently have had problems with the front discs pulsing when at low speed - you don't notice it when you brake more heavily at higher speeds.
Its like a grip/release feeling which delivers very uneven braking.
Has anyone else experienced this problem and what was the solution? My dealer said the discs could be warped or the calipers need attention.
Any help would be appreciated.
MC

Probably warped disc. Been alot of that going around lately

My bike is an 04 and when I replaced the rotor, I got a bad one that was warped...couldnt see it just by eyeballing it, but when I took it back off, i spun it on large bolt and you could definately tell. Bad thing is the new rotor only had 3 miles on it when I took it back off and Triumph wouldnt replace it. Claimed I must've braked too hard (whatever that means) and warped it myself.

i would write an email to the guy dill talked to, i think he will make it right

Frank

Hey Mark. That makes 5 of us on here. Welcome. I have had trouble with my rotors as well. Replaced at 7000km by Triumph at the Palmy North Dealers. Now at 18000 looking at another set. Waiting to hear back re the written Warranty. My thoughts are if the problem was there from the start the Triumph people should put it right. I will sent you a PM.

Jeff,
My immediate thoughts are that you have a Speedie that you have put an America (or other) wheel on. If you'd left the original wheel and twin disks on they'd replace it without even thinking.

When mine went at 3500 miles there was no question, it was changed.
However 1500 miles it's going again. It's booked in for the 6000 mile service soon, so I'll get them to do it then.

I also have noticed the pulsing front brake. Not sure what to do, bike is an '03 with 5k miles on it, beyond warranty. I am expecting to just live with it for awhile, but still disappointing. Since its a speedy, I wonder which rotor is warped...or if both are....

if you know someone with a dial indicator just put it against each rotor and that will tell the tale..tail?

Good point....not sure I know anyone with an indicator, but I'll keep my eye out....still, not sure what I'd do to fix them. Doesn't seem wise to buy rotors from Triumph....I believe Brent might have some....too rich for me right now anyway.

Another less accurate way is to nail 3 pieces of wood together in a foming a U shape with a v notch cut in the top of each upright. Drill a hole in each upright slightly larger than a nail, set the axle in the V notches and slide a nail through the upright so it touches the rotor, slowly turn the wheel and if the nail moves or you see daylight between the nail tip and the rotor it's warped.

Good idea. I might just give that a try. Thanks.

An even easier way is to tape a sharpened pencil to the fork so the point of the pencil is very close to the rotor. Get the wheel off the ground and check to see if there is run out. You can check the wheel itself this way too.

Phil, are you sure you are a Credence Verifier and not an undercover NASA operative (whatever that is)

i have been riding for a couple of months with what i thought was a warped rotor. i went in this morning and had the shop change my front tire. they said i had warped rotor. i rode down to cycle outfitters her in indy. they told me the same thing. is there a recall? how muchis a rotor? joe

there is no official recall but Triumph has been replacing them under waranty (I have had 2 replaced)

thanks, rob i have 15,000 miles on the bike. i guess i'll ride for a while until i get the money. i just replaced the front and rear tires . replaced the front and rear brakes and put a new seat on for my wife. i had better wait another month or so . i don't think it will hurt the bike.

why wait? the waranty is 2 years unlimited miles...and some have been done past this time...

I've already had the front rotor replaced on my 07 America after three months and 4000km due to warping, so it's not just Speedmasters with this problem.

I would like to have Wendys replaced but she is out of warrenty and it isn't bad but you can feel it.

Triumph have been replacing the front rotors on mine ever since I bought the bike back in 2004, infact it has just come back 16th July 2007 where they replaced the rotor and brake caliper all under warranty, and even took the bike to Hinckley to carry out tests

I have just upgraded to speedy wheels so hopefully I will have left all these problems behind me if I am lucky, if not I will now have to go with the EBC option.

Take yours back to the dealer and rant and rave, what's it going to cost you a phone call or a ride down.

I've got 12,100 on my '06 America and have started having this exact same problem. Looks like they get to throw in some free work at the upcoming 12K service.

I had the same problem X2...out of the warranty period and the dealer replaced them (discs) for free the first time....second time after seeing that triumph still hasn't been able to fix the problem (forum posts) I decided to put the aftermarket discs on...so far no problem w/ the ebc's (only about 500 miles)...I rode around w/ pulsating front brakes for 3 years and developed some really bad braking habits...one way or another get it fixed

I've had the front rotor replaced twice under warrentee. the first time at 600 miles and the second at 1500.

The front fork would bob up and down during breaking.

The repairman couldn't explain why??

Mine warped around 5k miles and I rode around like that for another 5k. Put the EBC floater on it and No problems 15k later! Well worth the $165.00 to avoid repeats!

Also, you can put a "hose" clamp on the fork, with the extra length just barely touching the wheel or the rotor, whichever you are checking for "warpage".

Also, I clean and slightly grease the two large top caliper bolts about every 3,000 miles to make sure the caliper moves freely. They tend to accumulate brake dust, etc, looking like old black thick greasey crud and then prevent the calipers from freely moving as they should.