brakes squeal

[wmh9680]

Good Morning. Lately my brakes have started squealing. I just took her in for an oil change and the front are 1t 65% and the rear are 80%. What causes this and how do I stop it? How do I tell which one/ones it is? She has about 11,000 miles on her. Thanks, Mike

[Chupaca]

Try cleaning the brakes and disks...simple green does a good job or some brake cleaner. Brake dust is one of the main causes of the brake squealing and a good place to start.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Good Morning. Lately my brakes have started squealing. I just took her in for an oil change and the front are 1t 65% and the rear are 80%. What causes this and how do I stop it? How do I tell which one/ones it is? She has about 11,000 miles on her. Thanks, Mike

................I'll deal with the wear issue .... If your pads are original OEM and have not been changed since the bike was new ...... and your wear is now 20% used on rear and 35% used on the front, I think something is wrong with your brakes ..... Not just mine but I think most if not all Spyders wear the rear brakes considerably faster than the fronts .... so even if your wear pattern was Equal it would be very unusual .... Mike

[Tazzel]

This is very common on Spyders. All 3 of my spyders brakes squeaked. Always a light squeak but there non the less. Brake cleaner did not help and dealer said its within acceptable tolerance.

[2dogs]

Pressure wash the dust out of them. But don't get so close that you blow the pads off the backing plates.

[2dogs]

This is very common on Spyders. All 3 of my spyders brakes squeaked. Always a light squeak but there non the less. Brake cleaner did not help and dealer said its within acceptable tolerance.

Sorry Tazzel, but your dealer is full of crap-O-la. That's like saying if your tire has a slow leak it's within acceptable tolerances.

[trikermutha]

Try a couple of hard braking stops. Go from 40mph to 10 mph it may come back again but just try the hard braking seems to clear my sqeeking as long as you have good pads etc

[Tazzel]

Sorry Tazzel, but your dealer is full of crap-O-la. That's like saying if your tire has a slow leak it's within acceptable tolerances.

Had 3 dealers check it out when I had my bike in for various routine maintenance things. No big deal, one dealer said he could not hear it at all that's how slight it was and not all the time. I'm not concerned after 3 spyders and now I hear the same thing on my new 2017 F3T I pretty much don't let it bother me.

[cptjam]

Squeal stop is a pink fluid you paint on the back of the pads. We have used it many times; works every time! Try it.

[dickgi]

I guess it is a relief that this is a common problem. My 2013 with 3,600 miles (~6000 Km) does it occasionally and I was starting to wonder about it.

This is very common on Spyders. All 3 of my spyders brakes squeaked. Always a light squeak but there non the less. Brake cleaner did not help and dealer said its within acceptable tolerance.

[Bob Denman]

We used to file a beveled edge onto the leading surface of the pads. It would stop all squeaking!

[otter28169]

I bought some pads from Baja Ron, excellent ones at a great price of course, and in the directions it describes how to seat the pads after they are installed. Take the bike up to 60mph and then brake all the way down to a stop, as quick as you can stop safely of course. Repeat the process several times. This helped me.

Just sayin'............

[wmh9680]

Thanks everyone, I did back down my driveway (about 120') with the brakes on when I came home today (It was about to rain so she is sitting in the garage now). I will try a fast stop as soon as I can take her out again. Thanks, Mike

[Buckeye Bleau]

I use a a pump bottle of chrome wheel cleaner, anything will do, spray them really well, let it sit a few minutes and hose it off, it works every time. Or while on the road I will stop at a car wash and pressure wash them clean, it is just the brake dust accumulating on the components.

Joe

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I bought some pads from Baja Ron, excellent ones at a great price of course, and in the directions it describes how to seat the pads after they are installed. Take the bike up to 60mph and then brake all the way down to a stop, as quick as you can stop safely of course. Repeat the process several times. This helped me.

Just sayin'............

..
I'm reading this from the install sheet Ron sends with the Newer Fully sintered Pads " Do NOT come to a complete stop ... as this will cause uneven Heating & Hot spots on the rotors where the pads are in stationary contact !!! " .......... if His earlier semi sintered were different I don't know ..but He only sells Fully sintered ones Now

[otter28169]

..
I'm reading this from the install sheet Ron sends with the Newer Fully sintered Pads " Do NOT come to a complete stop ... as this will cause uneven Heating & Hot spots on the rotors where the pads are in stationary contact !!! " .......... if His earlier semi sintered were different I don't know ..but He only sells Fully sintered ones Now

I did buy my pads in 2013

Just sayin............

[Gasman129]

I roughed up my rotors and new pads with some sandpaper the used caliper lube on the back of the brake pads. This did the trick. Do get a little squeak once in awhile but a whole lot better.

[Purple Guy]

Squeal stop is a pink fluid you paint on the back of the pads. We have used it many times; works every time! Try it.

100%
This is the most effective way to eliminate brake squeal!

[BajaRon]

..
I'm reading this from the install sheet Ron sends with the Newer Fully sintered Pads " Do NOT come to a complete stop ... as this will cause uneven Heating & Hot spots on the rotors where the pads are in stationary contact !!! " .......... if His earlier semi sintered were different I don't know ..but He only sells Fully sintered ones Now

I still carry EBC semi-sintered pad sets for the 2008-2012 Spyders. I have not found a better pad for the earlier Spyders. I have been told that someone makes a Fully Sintered pad set for the 2008-2012. But I have never been able to find them and have come to seriously doubt the few reports I received concerning them.

My tip sheet recommends 'On a straight, dry, open, safe roadway, repeat this process 4-6 times in succession. Under hard braking, decelerate as quickly as you can from 60 mph to 20 mph.' ​This cures the binding resins in the pad which increases stopping power, pad longevity and reduces the chances of brake squeal. This actually works for any brake pad to varying degrees.

The instructions also state (for either the EBC Semi-Sintered or the EBC HH Fully Sintered Pads). 'During these hard brake applications it is important that you NOT come to a complete stop as this will cause uneven heating and hot spots on the rotor where the pads are in stationary contact.' It isn't so much heat that warps a rotor. it is the uneven heating and cooling of the rotor that is the main cause. While the EBC rotors are not very susceptible to warpage. The OEM BRP rotors are.

So really, if possible. After any hard braking event or when riding the twisties hard. Or anytime the brakes get very hot. It is best, IF POSSIBLE TO DO SO SAFELY! To give the rotors and pads time to cool without coming to a complete stop where the hot pads are in full contact with the hot rotor which will prevent even cooling of the rotor's surface.

I roughed up my rotors and new pads with some sandpaper the used caliper lube on the back of the brake pads. This did the trick. Do get a little squeak once in awhile but a whole lot better.

You should not sand or rough up new pad sets. But if your pads get glazed, you can buff them up a bit (as you did). Also, applying a Disk Quiet product to the back of the pads can make a big difference in squeal issues. I recommend doing this at install because by the time you know you need it, you will have to take everything apart again. This product turns to a vibration dampening gel (high frequency vibration is the cause of the noise). So you want to apply a fairly thick layer over the entire backing plate of the pad. The more gel (to a point) the more ability it has to absorb vibration. You may see pictures of pads with a little bit here and there on the backing plate. But you want as much as you can reasonable get over the entire backing plate surface.

Other things you can do for noise include, as mentioned by Bob, beveling the leading edge of the pads (Green Area picture below). I recommend doing this to the leading edge only as the trailing edge doesn't need it and you would be reducing the pad friction area unnecessary. The reason commercial pads are beveled on both ends is to make the pads bi-directional so the customer cannot put them on backwards. But Spyder owners are much to smart to make this mistake....

You can also cut grooves in the pad as pictured below (Red Arrows). This not only helps to wipe water from the rotors reducing wet pad/rotor barking loss. But it also helps to keep the rotor clean of brake material buildup. Most have vertical groves (Because it simplifies the production process). But I prefer the slanted groves as they do a better job. It doesn't really matter which way you slant them.

It is also recommended to clean up the rotor surface when changing pads. Especially if you have had vibration issues when applying the brakes. Brake material gets embedded into the rotor surface and can build up unevenly (as when you come to a full stop, clamping the pads against the rotors when they are very hot). I used to think you needed to sand in the direction of rotor rotation, but have since discovered that this is not necessary. Sorry to all of you who I said this to. Still, I think it easiest to sand around then across. But at least it will work fine either way.

I prefer using 300-400 grit Emory paper on a small block of wood. But any reasonable sanding method should work fine. You can even use power tools if you are careful. I emphasize CAREFUL. Power tools are fast but that is because they can remove a great deal of material quickly. You want to end up with a flat surface and you don't want deep scratch marks. For vented car or truck rotors it's not a big deal. But for the Spyder you want a less aggressive finish.

Pictures are not necessarily Spyder components. But are representative of the subjects discussed.

[KX5062]

Sorry Tazzel, but your dealer is full of crap-O-la. That's like saying if your tire has a slow leak it's within acceptable tolerances.

I disagree. Brake noise, while annoying, is not harmful in and of itself and has nothing to do with performance. It's merely the harmonics of the various brake components. Like Joe said, the pink stuff muffles the noise and changes those harmonic.