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Solution to front brake pulse?

C

CC Rider

CC Rider
Member
Saw an interesting comment after a Motoresto video. The commenter had a C14 brake pulse problem at 3000 miles. My bike did about the same. Kawasaki replaced his rotors (they also replaced mine). Pulsing came back after a few thousand miles.

The commenter fixed his problem by removing and retorquing the rotors. I installed EBC rotors, and carefully torqued them to spec in the crosswise manner that should be used. Pulsing has been gone for over 10,000 miles now. I thought the new rotors fixed the problem. Maybe it was the installation, not the rotors.

This explanation seems a bit far-fetched, but I don't have a better one. At some point I'll reinstall the last set of OEM rotors to find out if in fact they are OK. If anyone else encounters a front brake pulse issue, it would be interesting to find out if in fact poor installation is the root cause.
 
I had the pads & discs replaced twice under warranty on my 08. In speaking with the Kaw tech rep at the time, I was told that it was due to pad material build-up on the discs as a result of riding like an old granny. He said the ZX14 had the same brakes and because owners rode them hard, they were virtually trouble free. These days I sand blast the disc faces when pulsing returns. I found it's the only effective way to really clean the dark crud off of them. I've used only Kaw pads - when they wear out I'll try ECB pads, but that could be a while coz I AM an old granny.

The disc and pad part numbers have changes a few times over the years in the effort to eliminate pulsing.

Pulsing is also caused by warped/damaged discs. It can also be caused by a thin area on a disc. I had one on a used C14 which was 0.5mm thinner than the rest of the disc for a bit less than a quarter of its circumference - obviously a manufacturing defect.
 
i Tried the simple fix of freeing the floating disk buttons first and it worked for me.
maybe I just got lucky but it’s free to try before throwing parts at it.
lube the buttons (union rivots between the two disk halves) with a rag around it to prevent overspray from getting on the friction surface, insert the biggest size Allen key that will fit throughthe hole in the button and move it in every direction to make sure none of them are stuck. Hope this helps
 
I scrub mine abrasively with a scotch brite pad & brake cleaner every time I mount tires. Which is usually 3 - 4 times a year & never had a issue with pulsating.
 
Just Cliff said:
I scrub mine abrasively with a scotch brite pad & brake cleaner every time I mount tires. Which is usually 3 - 4 times a year & never had a issue with pulsating.
Click to expand...

I've tried that AFTER pulsing has shown up, to no avail. I think you way is good. A tyre lasts me a couple of years these days.
 
I don't actually do it myself. I take the discs to the local cyl head recon shop and they do it for me. I believe they use glass bead but I don't think it would matter. The bobbins must obviously be cleaned afterwards as canman describes with spray and compressed air.
 
I pulled the rotors and used a ball hone with light oil to refresh the surfaces. The OEM pads went straight in the trash can replaced with sintered high friction pads. New rotor bolts all around torqued to spec in a cross pattern. This was done at 15k and she was smooth as glass all last season.
 
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