Brake Pads

Dart451

Registered
Last fall i installed HH pads and stainless lines, after breakin they started doing a low speed shimmy. I could hit the brakes at 60 and hold them firm and steady at about 5mph they would start shimming real bad, if you let off brakes and reapplied it would be fine. Called the sponser I got brakes from and they said rotors where to thin. So I install new rotors (altha from other sponser) and still getting a shimmy.
Any ideas?
Ready to go back to stock brake pads
 
Too little info....year, miles, mods, tires (new/used miles) ? Oh wait, 2005...mmm-hmm.

Okay, you had new HH pads and installed them when you replaced the brake lines. Nothing touched that would cause a shake there. Are you positive you got all the air out of the calipers ????....even with one side operating fine it shouldn't shimmy. Next question, was the front wheel ever removed, and maybe not reinstalled properly ?. Torquing the front axle is definitely a procedure. Next question, is all the valving equal on the forks, compression, dampening, coil loads ?. Next question, do yo do a lot of wheelies ?. Next question, did you cross-torque the rotors properly ?.

See, you're description is that you broke the pads in after you installed the pads, and the brake lines. This is when the shimmy started, correct ?. Some tech told you that you may have warped a rotor because they're too thin, correct ?. So you put Altha's on, and didn't replace the pads again at that point, correct ?. The shimmy still remained at that point, correct ?.

I'd start by bleeding the front brakes over, per manual, and double check the reassembly of the calipers, then see if the condition still exists. I would also check front tire pressure. If yes, then I would pull the front wheel and check the bearings, and make sure that the front tire is in good, condition. Reinstall wheel, per manual, then move on to forks. I would check all the fork settings and make sure that neither fork seal is leaking also. You could possibly have air in your fork stabilizer also. If the nut fell out, you have might have no stabilization at all. Something's up. More info........

Something happened "after" the first install, but just changing pads and brake lines isn't enough to develop a shake unless something was damaged just prior to the first installation. Then it's just being magnified. More info....
 
blown fork seal wont cause a shimmy atleast the 2 blown ones on my bike havent in the 12k miles I have rode with them that way...check the wheel bearings,spacer,head stem nuts and bearings, def cross tighten the rotors...
 
I had the same problem, went to the HH's and I think it warped my rotors. I replaced the rotors and now it doesn't have a shimmy.

If you have a front stand, put the bike up on stands, loosen the caliper bolts and rotate the front wheel and observe the rotors going throught the brake calipers, you should be able to see if the rotor is warped by watching the movement in the calipers.

Regardless, keep us up to date on what you find. It will help others down the road if they happen to search for this subject. Thanks...
 
Bike 2005
30,000+ miles
Just installed new front tire, air pressure is good
At 15,000 miles switch to heaver fork springs and replaced seals
not much for wheelies
Just rechecked all fork settings
When installed new rotors, sanded brake pads on flat surface as instructed
Have bleed brake lines a couple times and the lever feels solid
 
When I first hit the brakes it is fine it is just the last couple mph, it is like the brake pads are grabbing to hard then they release, if i let off and regrab the brakes it is fine. Don't want that problem in a panick situation.
 
ok my two cents you put new pads on old rotors that can cause a lill misalignment that will wear in after a lil bit depending on how old the rotors were so you broke the pads in on those roters a bit then swapped the rotors for new ones now the pads are a lil worn so they dont contact exactly again . i took my rotors off this winter n forgot to mark them now i get a similar shimmy from mis alignment it got better in a few days
 
Last edited:
let kim ride the busa and then you can ride the 636 see if she notices a shimmy, if it does it still, atleast you will get enjoyment out of riding behind her...
:laugh:
 
I road a thousand miles on old rotors, and have a thousand miles on new rotors. I found my old brake pads and reinstalled on new rotors and alot better. Think something was wrong with pads and they heated up, the rotors now seem to have a small warp in them but the bike stops alot smoother. No more low mph shimmy. Not real happy with the brake pads and the rotor situation

Kim wants the busa and I'm thinking the 636 might get traded in:thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Last edited:
Rode some more with stock pads and better, but they are are about wore out. I checked the rotors and one looks real good and other has about .010 warp in it. No more low speed shimmy:thumbsup:
So anyone have good stock pads they want to get rid of?
 
Back
Top