Never heard of anyone having a bent rotor except from a collision. OK so I'm tired of thinking about it, what is the 3rd way?
Bent Front Rotor - Has anyone else had one?
While in Sturgis I had to take my bike into Kaw Dealer, could not figure out why one front rotor was getting so hot.
About 200 miles from Sturgis, I thought I had a weird vib going thur the bike but figured it was the side road we turned on after filling gas. About 120 mile down the road we needed to fill fuel again, that was when I almost rear ended my buddy. He moved over and slowed down to turn, when I pulled my front brake, NOTHING..... lever went to the handle bars. Started pumping the lever and several pumps later I had brakes but felt really spongy. Inspected the brake lines and caliper but could not find a leak or anything. But the right rotor was quite hot. Every thing looked OK so we filled fuel and took off.
After the no brake incident I was constantly pumping my front brake and it felt spongy. When we got to Sturgis, the rotor was very hot.
I figured I had a stuck piston so next morning I took the caliper apart. Everything moved easy and nothing seemed wrong except the pads were worn almost to metal. Rechecked for stuck piston. Figured I better run it to the Kaw dealer to find the problem.
Being Sturgis week it was show up, get in line and wait your turn. 8 hours later they came out and said I had a bent Rotor. I looked at him and said ' you mean a warped Rotor.' He said 'No, It is bent'. They had to overnight a rotor and pad for me. $582 later I was back on the road and things worked great.
Hats off the the Kaw dealer in Rapid City, they did treat me great for the amount of bikes that were coming in. What I thought was funny is mine was the only Kaw in the repair line the 2 days I was there. I'll let you guess what manufactured bike most of the others were. I ask if they were a _ _ dealer because there were so many in line and 1/4 the bike in the Show Room were HD. He said 'No' they just do a lot of repair work on them and trade in for Kawasaki Cruiser.
I ask the dealer how a rotor could get bent that bad. He said he only know of 3 ways. First way: someone bumped it with a front tire when trying to park. Second way: someone backed into it with their pipe or back tire while trying to park. Third way: I tell you later but would like to hear from others who had a bent rotor.
I know it had to happen the third way. I was pulling my Toe-Pincher Coffin Trailer and always had to park off to the side because it kinda grew larger than plan. When I was finished with the trailer is was 9 feet long. trailer and bike were longer than my car so I always had to park off to the side.
It was quite an attraction because of it uniqueness and we were always surrounded by people who wanted to take pictures and check out the single wheel trailer and the mono- suspension.
The bike sat unattended a lot but always had a group of people around it while we went inside to get drinks and use the restrooms.
Has anyone else ever had a bent rotor and how do you think it happen to your bike?
About 200 miles from Sturgis, I thought I had a weird vib going thur the bike but figured it was the side road we turned on after filling gas. About 120 mile down the road we needed to fill fuel again, that was when I almost rear ended my buddy. He moved over and slowed down to turn, when I pulled my front brake, NOTHING..... lever went to the handle bars. Started pumping the lever and several pumps later I had brakes but felt really spongy. Inspected the brake lines and caliper but could not find a leak or anything. But the right rotor was quite hot. Every thing looked OK so we filled fuel and took off.
After the no brake incident I was constantly pumping my front brake and it felt spongy. When we got to Sturgis, the rotor was very hot.
I figured I had a stuck piston so next morning I took the caliper apart. Everything moved easy and nothing seemed wrong except the pads were worn almost to metal. Rechecked for stuck piston. Figured I better run it to the Kaw dealer to find the problem.
Being Sturgis week it was show up, get in line and wait your turn. 8 hours later they came out and said I had a bent Rotor. I looked at him and said ' you mean a warped Rotor.' He said 'No, It is bent'. They had to overnight a rotor and pad for me. $582 later I was back on the road and things worked great.
Hats off the the Kaw dealer in Rapid City, they did treat me great for the amount of bikes that were coming in. What I thought was funny is mine was the only Kaw in the repair line the 2 days I was there. I'll let you guess what manufactured bike most of the others were. I ask if they were a _ _ dealer because there were so many in line and 1/4 the bike in the Show Room were HD. He said 'No' they just do a lot of repair work on them and trade in for Kawasaki Cruiser.
I ask the dealer how a rotor could get bent that bad. He said he only know of 3 ways. First way: someone bumped it with a front tire when trying to park. Second way: someone backed into it with their pipe or back tire while trying to park. Third way: I tell you later but would like to hear from others who had a bent rotor.
I know it had to happen the third way. I was pulling my Toe-Pincher Coffin Trailer and always had to park off to the side because it kinda grew larger than plan. When I was finished with the trailer is was 9 feet long. trailer and bike were longer than my car so I always had to park off to the side.
It was quite an attraction because of it uniqueness and we were always surrounded by people who wanted to take pictures and check out the single wheel trailer and the mono- suspension.
The bike sat unattended a lot but always had a group of people around it while we went inside to get drinks and use the restrooms.
Has anyone else ever had a bent rotor and how do you think it happen to your bike?
1 - 11 of 11 Posts
The spongey brakes are from overheating of the pads and extreme brake fade when they became that hot. You should also fully bleed the system to rule out any air in the line and be on the safe side.
The rotors are relatively thin on bikes and very exposed. It could have gotten smacked or kicked while sitting in your garage or a parking lot. It would be rare but something getting kicked up like a large rock or part of a blown tire could also be the culprit. I've never experienced a bent rotor but unless they saw a dent or sharp bend then there's no way to tell it was warped versus bent. I've had warped rotors before but due to age/miles.
Have you recently replaced tires? A wheel removal would be a very easy opportunity to set it down and smack a rotor or whack it with a wrench/breaker bar. I think that would be my most likely reason if its truly bent versus warped.
The rotors are relatively thin on bikes and very exposed. It could have gotten smacked or kicked while sitting in your garage or a parking lot. It would be rare but something getting kicked up like a large rock or part of a blown tire could also be the culprit. I've never experienced a bent rotor but unless they saw a dent or sharp bend then there's no way to tell it was warped versus bent. I've had warped rotors before but due to age/miles.
Have you recently replaced tires? A wheel removal would be a very easy opportunity to set it down and smack a rotor or whack it with a wrench/breaker bar. I think that would be my most likely reason if its truly bent versus warped.
Could the third way have been someone so jealous of the look and style of your mean streak that they snuck a kick in while the crowd surrounded you bike???I know it had to happen the third way.
:argue:
That what the dealer said, can't believe someone could be that big of an a_hole.Could the third way have been someone so jealous of the look and style of your mean streak that they snuck a kick in while the crowd surrounded you bike???
:argue:
As I've been back, ppl ask about the trip. Tell them it was great and look forward to next year. When I mention the Rotor incident, there is always a HD guy who will tell you how it happened. They say they do it because it is a Jap bike.
Glad to see you got it repaired, sorry some people have such poor behavior. alot of times attitude+alcohol= Little ****, big a**hole syndrome
They believe they are riding the best bike ever made, but they are still jealous. Go Figure.That what the dealer said, can't believe someone could be that big of an a_hole.
They say they do it because it is a Jap bike.
There are guys who love all bikes, and there are guys who hate anything that is not theirs. That goes for all brand of riders, not just HD.
Plus 1They believe they are riding the best bike ever made, but they are still jealous. Go Figure.
There are guys who love all bikes, and there are guys who hate anything that is not theirs. That goes for all brand of riders, not just HD.
What a deal. Seems like it would be a case for an A$$ whoopin' Probably some dip$hit, pot smokin' Harley rider, stuck in the sixties. We have a little Bar and Grill in my town and a HD riders club wanted to make it their watering hole until the owner kicked a few of them out for starting $hit with the local customers. Grow up guys, the sixties are long gone. Get over it. Harley is just a name. There are alot of parts on the new ones that are foreign made.
[/I]What a deal. Seems like it would be a case for an A$$ whoopin' Probably some dip$hit, pot smokin' Harley rider, stuck in the sixties. We have a little Bar and Grill in my town and a HD riders club wanted to make it their watering hole until the owner kicked a few of them out for starting $hit with the local customers. Grow up guys, the sixties are long gone. Get over it. Harley is just a name. There are a lot of parts on the new ones that are foreign made.
I just don't get the Dumb *** Harley Lemmings. I guess they are not smart enough to know that a large percentage of their bike is foreign parts.
Beside I don't think they can figure it out. They say to buy 'American' If they damage a metric bike, going to have to buy a metric part. More money going overseas. So if Harley is really American parts, they should damage a Harley, then money would be going to buy American parts.
I wish Harley Davidson themselves would grew some balls and say what percent of a Harley is foreign parts. I wonder what percent of Harley Stock is owned by foreigner, China or the metric bike makers themselves.
Harley does not say it is an American bike, just an American tradition.
But the Harley Lemmings will still be Lemmings.
I'm sure there are some hard core metric lemming too. I just have not met any.
It's great that people have pride in something but they lose all respect when they will destroy what they are jealous of.
.
http://www.bikeshareworld.com/education/pages/harley.htm
I am using my phone to type this reply otherwise I would make the above an actual link. Anyway, I think if you are willing to read the whole article you will see that there are a few relevant parts to this thread. Fyi....per the window stickers on each, my dads Toyota Camry has more American parts content than my Dodge ram...and Chrysler has the luxury of claiming parts from Canada and Mexico as American so I don't buy into this nonsense that I'm somehow less patriotic for riding a "Jap" bike. Ever seen the bumper stickers that read "Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign"......that's just plain ignorance. (Ill get off my soapbox now)
Chris
I am using my phone to type this reply otherwise I would make the above an actual link. Anyway, I think if you are willing to read the whole article you will see that there are a few relevant parts to this thread. Fyi....per the window stickers on each, my dads Toyota Camry has more American parts content than my Dodge ram...and Chrysler has the luxury of claiming parts from Canada and Mexico as American so I don't buy into this nonsense that I'm somehow less patriotic for riding a "Jap" bike. Ever seen the bumper stickers that read "Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign"......that's just plain ignorance. (Ill get off my soapbox now)
Chris
1 - 11 of 11 Posts
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