'08 front rotor replacement

[Fossilrider]

Hey guys,Steve here.Well,for those who didn't see my comments about the front tire air pressure sensor,I got that taken care of but while he had the front wheel off he noticed some discoloration on a rotor so I looked at it and told him to go ahead and reassemble everything. When he finished,he test rode the bike and came back and asked me if the front brake lever had been pulling in almost to the bar.I replied that it hadn't and I had been thrilled with the brakes.At that time,the shop owner told me there had been some issues with the front rotors on the early C14s and they had replaced several.When I started to leave and got to the street I reached for the brakes and the front brake lever came almost to the grip! I almost ran out into traffic,but pumped it quickly and got stopped.I know that when you've had the wheel off and get space between the pistons and rotor,you have to pump it a few times to get the piston back out where it should be and I knew he had ridden it in the lot so that shouldn't have happened.I realize I should have gone right back in and addressed the problem right then but headed on home thinking whatever was causing this would get better,or I would check it out at home.(I know,STUPID!).It never really got better.The brakes were fine when I rolled the bike into their shop.Correct me if I'm wrong here,but I believe the mechanic (I'm useing the term loosly) had to have bent one of the rotors and it is pushing the piston back in its bore.Something else I didn't understand,he removed a rotor to dismount/remount the tire while replacing the pressure sensor.Has anyone here ever heard of that?I haven't.I am now waiting for new rotors that I am going to have installed on the front and am really uncomfortable with this mechanic doing the work.Oh,yes,one more thing that I didn't feel was kosher:he really leaned on the rotor bolts with an air impact when he reinstalled it.I'm really confused,and pissed about this whole episode.Any ideas?Regards,Steve 

 

[Cap'n Bob]

    Although he is correct that the C14 has had a problem with front brake rotors. The problem has not been low hydraulic pressure? The problem has been rotors warping and giving an extreme pulsing when the brakes are applied. What your describing sounds like either air in the system (To which I would ask why they needed to open the system?) But my guess is that your probably now missing a front brake pad. You may want to take a look and make sure that all four pads are on each side of those front brakes. IMO, That's probably the most logical place to start. Since that's where they had just been, when the problem arose. (having the front tire off for TPS replacement) 

 

[Pat and Sher in Ma]

"Oh,yes,one more thing that I didn't feel was kosher:he really leaned on the rotor bolts with an air impact when he reinstalled it.I'm really confused,and pissed about this whole episode.Any ideas?Regards,Steve"

Hi Steve,

I'm not sure what the rotor bolts should be on the C14, but on my GPz they are only
16 ft. lbs. and I believe the C10 is about the same. No need for any airpowered tools
when putting in rotor bolts. If he really did over torque those bolts you should think
about getting new ones to go with the new rotors. I'd also find someone local who
would be willing to help you correct these issues. They never should have let the
bike out of the shop if the brakes weren't right. Good luck

 

[elektradw]

I would take it to another dealership. Over torquing bolts is the sign of an amateur wrench. This is my worst nightmare, you bring a bike in for service and the mechanic, and I use that term loosely, screws it up. I don't trust most so called motorcycle mechanics who probably took a course at MMI or UTI motorcycle mechanics school. I take my wheels and tires to the dealer off the bike. I balance and replace them myself. That way I am confident they are mounted and torqued correctly. There is no room for error with wheels, tires and brakes when you only have two and riding miles from nowhere in the dead of night at high speeds. BTW I had to replace my front rotors on my 2011 after 5,000 miles with EBC rotors and pads. The dealership where I purchased the bike was heming and hawing about fixing them under warranty. I decided I didn't want OEM rotors anyway.

 

[dbvolfan1]

My '08 front ones are being replaced under warranty.  Bad warps after just 15k miles.  Nearly 75k on my FJR and no issues but this C14 was staggering under front braking since 4k miles and only gotten worse.
On a side note, my dealer called me yesterday to ask what kind of oil I used.  Why, I said?  Well one of the technicians accidentally drained your oil.  Huh?  :-[
Kinda scary there...........

 

[Cap'n Bob]

Maybe they hit the filter on something and poked a hole in it.  :-\

 

[Fossilrider]

Thanks for the replies,Guys.I checked and the brake pads are indeed in place.I am very lucky to have two very good friends who have decades of experience as motorcycle mechanics and,as a general rule,they do ALL my work that I can't or don't want to do.I got caught up in this situation because Kawasaki had aggreed to cover the sensor and it had to be programmed by a dealer.So, I took it to a dealer.Both of these friends were totally puzzled by the mechanic removing a rotor to dismount the tire,and one even deduced that the guy probably clamped the wheel by a rotor to remove the tire and bent the rotor in the process.On dirt bikes,I've seen this very same scenario where two or three quick pumps of the lever will give good lever position and good brakes but as soon as you release the lever and the bent rotor makes a revolution it pushes the piston back into the caliper and you have to pump it back out to have good brakes again.So.....I'm quite sure I have a rotor that they have somehow bent while working on the bike.Now they are agreeing to replace the rotors but I have to pay for the labor and pads(if needed).I now feel like I need to stand over the mechanic and see that he doesn't screw up the new rotors!SAD INDEED!!! And people wonder why we don't want to use dealers for maintainence on our bikes?I think I will take the advice on new bolts and I am going to research the torque value for them and see that they are done to spec.Again,thanks for the input.Hopefully I can get this taken care of satisfactorily.Steve

 

[suPatramP]

Thanks for the replies,Guys. friends were totally puzzled by the mechanic removing a rotor to dismount the tire,and one even deduced that the guy probably clamped the wheel by a rotor to remove the tire and bent the rotor in the process.    Steve

I remove my rotors, because I do my own tire servicing, and I use tire irons, so I usually lay the wheel on a worn tire. Better safe, than warped.