f-3 brakes

[Semper Fi]

I will be getting the Spyder back from the dealer tomorrow. He told me that the Spyder was way out of alignment. I find that hard to believe because, I could let go of my handlebars with the cruse control set around 55, and stay straight. He also said there was nothing wrong with my brakes. He said he did hear a squeal coming from the left front. He took the brakes apart and cleaned them. He said there was a glaze on the brakes and that was why the squealed. My wife and I have talked about this and, we think it may be because the brake pedal is on that side. Maybe I lean to that side and pull the handlebars that way when I step on the brakes? It is something I will pay attention to here in the future!

[Darren111]

Last weekend I washed my Spyder and used wheel cleaner to clean wheels and discs. Brake squealing has stopped. Job Done.

[Buckeye Bleau]

My brakes squeal, my freind's do it, one of my HD riding partner does as well.

Solutions;
1. Just spray off the wheels when they start singing at a car wash or with a pressure washer at home.
2. I buy a good chrome wheel cleaner, spray that on and let it sit for a few minutes then just hose it off.

In either case it works, the noise I see just all the brake dust, when u spray them off you will see it. If this is part of your regular cleaning, it is no problem, if not, then go ryde your dirty bike around town and squeal all you like. Hey, just kidding, but that is the disease, the symptom and the cure.

Joe

[Semper Fi]

I got the Spyder back today. The dealer told us that it was out of alignment and the squealing that was heard was nothing more than the brakes needing cleaned. He also told us that he could not get it to pull to the right at all. We have talked about it and decided that is just something I am doing. Either way, the Spyder is running great again and we are happy people.

[Firefly]

I have concerns over my brakes on my 2015 F3 with 7,000 miles on it. When jacked up they do not spin freely like my GS and RT did. They spin.. but won't keep spinning on their own. The pads have contact with the discs all the time. I know they're usually supposed to be CLOSE.. but touching all the time just seems wrong to me.

I'm starting to wonder if this is contributing to some of the vibrations I get.

The rear appears to be rubbing all the time as well, but I'd have to pull the belt off to see if it spins freely or not. My guess is that it doesn't.

Can anyone else confirm if their wheels spin freely (keep spinning after you let go) ?

[BajaRon]

I have concerns over my brakes on my 2015 F3 with 7,000 miles on it. When jacked up they do not spin freely like my GS and RT did. They spin.. but won't keep spinning on their own. The pads have contact with the discs all the time. I know they're usually supposed to be CLOSE.. but touching all the time just seems wrong to me.

I'm starting to wonder if this is contributing to some of the vibrations I get.

The rear appears to be rubbing all the time as well, but I'd have to pull the belt off to see if it spins freely or not. My guess is that it doesn't.

Can anyone else confirm if their wheels spin freely (keep spinning after you let go) ?

Disk brakes touch all the time. It is simply the way they are designed. The amount of friction from the seals, etc., on the piston pretty much determine how much 'Touch' the pads have with the rotor. Yet the wheel should spin pretty free as you suggest.

There is a very good way to determine if you have too much 'Touch'. If you can ride your Spyder (from a cold start) for a few miles at 45mph or better without using your brakes. Then pull over and stop (again, using your gears and no brakes). Then feel your rotors to see if they are warm (be careful as they could be very hot). Always use the the back of your hand close to the rotor for a moment or two. The back of your hand is much more sensitive to heat than your fingers or palm. This way you can determine if the rotor is cool enough to touch.

If you have done this properly, the rotor should be pretty much ambient air temperature. A bit warm is OK. But if they are much warmer than ambient air temperature or hot, then the pads are getting too much pressure/contact with the rotor.

[Darren111]

I got the Spyder back today. The dealer told us that it was out of alignment and the squealing that was heard was nothing more than the brakes needing cleaned. He also told us that he could not get it to pull to the right at all. We have talked about it and decided that is just something I am doing. Either way, the Spyder is running great again and we are happy people.

It is always good to read happy endings.

[Firefly]

Disk brakes touch all the time. It is simply the way they are designed. The amount of friction from the seals, etc., on the piston pretty much determine how much 'Touch' the pads have with the rotor. Yet the wheel should spin pretty free as you suggest.

There is a very good way to determine if you have too much 'Touch'. If you can ride your Spyder (from a cold start) for a few miles at 45mph or better without using your brakes. Then pull over and stop (again, using your gears and no brakes). Then feel your rotors to see if they are warm (be careful as they could be very hot). Always use the the back of your hand close to the rotor for a moment or two. The back of your hand is much more sensitive to heat than your fingers or palm. This way you can determine if the rotor is cool enough to touch.

If you have done this properly, the rotor should be pretty much ambient air temperature. A bit warm is OK. But if they are much warmer than ambient air temperature or hot, then the pads are getting too much pressure/contact with the rotor.

I'll give that a shot... I'm betting they'll be HOT.

[Firefly]

Well... I went out and did a 'no brake' test today.

I measured the temps of the discs using a laser temp gauge.. and also felt my hand.

When I started out the fronts were 68 - 70 degrees. Rear was about the same 68.

I rode 15 miles on back roads... speeds up to 65. Never touched the brakes once. Came to a stop and check the temps.

Fronts were at 76 - 80, rear was 85.
None of them felt hot to the touch at all.

So I'm calling my brake pad 'rubbing' perfectly normal and not an issue.

Still feeling some creeking vibrations in the footpegs. Can feel it at a low speed and sometimes hear it . Considering it could be a bad rear wheel bearing. Will change that later this summer. For now I'm just going to trust that my dealer adjusted the belt correctly and keep riding.

[OJ UK]

While we're on the subject of brakes - has anyone tried the Vesrah fully sintered pads?

Read good things about their pads on-line and wondered if anyone had tried them on a Spyder?

Hi MBM! I had both front discs replaced under warranty. Both were warped despite the fact that neither the discs or the pads
showed signs of excessive heat. The OEM discs are, shall we say, not the best. I would shy away from using any sintered pads
with the OEM discs. Maybe when the discs need to be changed you can use EBC replacements. I know that some dealers will fit
other manufacturers parts (especially if the after-market part is superior!). 158 Performance fitted my new Shock Factory rear shock.

In a nutshell, only fit sintered pads to after-market discs.

[Rattlebars]

Yes, I was going to suggest the IR temp gun. Pretty cheap on eBay >CLICK ME<. While I would not use one of these cheepos for critical measurements, they can tell you the difference among brake rotors. They are a bit of fun to check other things too. You can use them to measure an exhaust manifold to determine whether you have a bad plug (the bad one will be "cold").