Brake Judder

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Jamiefumi46
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Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2019 12:14 pm

Brake Judder

Post by Jamiefumi46 »

Hi all, thanks for having me, lol.

I wonder if anyone can help me get to the bottom of this brake judder.

I recently put a new pair of EBC HH pads on my Storm. I never noticed it before, but I’ve started to get the following symptoms:

1. Vibration when braking hard at 70mph
2. Level oscillation at low speed (15mph or so)
3. Snatching feel at very low speed (7mph or so)

I have no problem with replacing the rotors, but I’d like to diagnose the issue, rather than just swap stuff out.

To the eye, the rotors aren’t warped – propped the front wheel up and g-clamped a needle just shy of the disc – with no noticeable lateral movement.

The pads do seem to graze the disc slightly without applying the brakes, so I half wondered if the pads are glazed?

Another thing I noticed, the rotors are incredibly shiny – with an almost mirror-like appearance: not sure what this indicates, if anything at all.

I have yet to rebuild the callipers, but I may start with this because it needs doing anyway.

Please note, there seems to be no play in the wheel bearings and the rotor bobbins are all spinning freely.

Any thoughts? And, thank you!

Jamie
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KermitLeFrog
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Re: Brake Judder

Post by KermitLeFrog »

Try de-glazing the pads first.

On another note, I've found EBC HH pads to be, how do you say it politely, sub optimum compared to Brembo or SBS.
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AMCQ46
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Re: Brake Judder

Post by AMCQ46 »

i had similar after fitting CBR600 calipers with new EBC pads. in the end I bought new rotors and it went away, but when I sold the rotors [with full disclosure on why I removed them!], they reported no problems on a different bike.

same as you there was no runout or bend in the discs and I tried cleaning the bobbins to ensure they were floating OK. I also tried deglazing the surface, but only new rotors made it go away.
AMcQ
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8541Hawk
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Re: Brake Judder

Post by 8541Hawk »

KermitLeFrog wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 10:56 am On another note, I've found EBC HH pads to be, how do you say it politely, sub optimum compared to Brembo or SBS.
What is funny to me is that while not so PC with my reply, this attitude towards EBC pads is the root cause of what got me banned from the US forum....
Guess I should have just been silent when it was claimed the EBC pads are the best thing ever.... :whatever
Vesrah is my pad of choice :thumbup:
Loud pipes don't save lives, knowing how to ride your bike will save your life.
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AMCQ46
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Re: Brake Judder

Post by AMCQ46 »

not a fan of EBC either ... the zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz noise when they are applied is annoying, and the initial bite is not as strong as others.
AMcQ
Jamiefumi46
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Re: Brake Judder

Post by Jamiefumi46 »

KermitLeFrog wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 10:56 am Try de-glazing the pads first.

On another note, I've found EBC HH pads to be, how do you say it politely, sub optimum compared to Brembo or SBS.
Thanks for your replies, yeah, a quick pad inspection won't cost a thing and it might reveal something.

In the meantime, I'll rely on the ridiculous amount of engine braking these bikes have :thumbup:
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popkat
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Re: Brake Judder

Post by popkat »

rough up the discs with emery cloth, do the same to the pads. Also remove the brake lever, clean and grease the pivot and bolt. a dry lever can cause a grabby brake, i see it loads when doing mot's

I find EBC pads generally fine for road use, good bite and progressive feel. on my VFR race bike I've gone over to SBS RS they are a little better and they don't cause any binding, I found with the EBC they seem to warp the back plate and bind up. on my XJ race bike I use EBC with no problems at all.. My road Firestorm has had EBC HH pads in for years and they are fine.




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2014 CRMC Post classic Superbike champion.
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sirch345
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Re: Brake Judder

Post by sirch345 »

Interesting to hear members views on EBC brake pads.

I always thought EBC pads were very popular, although I tend to use OEM Nissan pads for the Firestorm front brakes, although wouldn't say no to a bit more bite :wink:

Chris.
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Pete.L
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Re: Brake Judder

Post by Pete.L »

I’ve got EBCs on the Sp and they are one finger stoppy power. Same pads in the Suzi and they aren’t half as good.
I wonder if they have batch issues ?
I’m going to look for something else the next time I change them


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lloydie
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Re: Brake Judder

Post by lloydie »

Never liked the there hh pads especially in wet conditions .
Went to brembo pads in the end
Jamiefumi46
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Re: Brake Judder

Post by Jamiefumi46 »

Just a quick update.

As recommended, I roughed up the disc and pads, cleaned the lever pivot and also lightly lubed the slider pin.

And...all problems have disappeared! It'll be interesting to see if the problem returns.

If it does, would that suggest that binding is causing the glazing (both the pads and discs were shiny AF)?

Thanks again!
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MacV2
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Re: Brake Judder

Post by MacV2 »

Jamiefumi46 wrote: Sat Aug 24, 2019 5:30 pm Just a quick update.

As recommended, I roughed up the disc and pads, cleaned the lever pivot and also lightly lubed the slider pin.

And...all problems have disappeared! It'll be interesting to see if the problem returns.

If it does, would that suggest that binding is causing the glazing (both the pads and discs were shiny AF)?

Thanks again!
Strip & clean the callipers it may be a sticky piston. Whilst it can be done with the callipers in place... Take the pads out & carefully squeez the leaver to see if all the pistons move freely. However if it was me I would take the callipers off the from the forks & with the pads out see if all the pistons move, it will be much easier to see with them off. If you have a sticky piston it'll be easy to see as it wont retract when you let the pressue off...

If it's obvious then drain the system, split the callipers, pistons out, seals out & give every thing a damm good clean. Make sure the the seal grooves are clean & free of any corrosion/grob...

However as these are your brakes & if your not confident in doing it take them to someone who you trust to fettle with them.

On the bike I commute on the callipers get a 6monthly overhall, full strip & clean.
Making up since 2007, sometimes it's true...Honest...
Jamiefumi46
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Joined: Mon Aug 19, 2019 12:14 pm

Re: Brake Judder

Post by Jamiefumi46 »

MacV2 wrote: Sun Aug 25, 2019 10:04 am
Jamiefumi46 wrote: Sat Aug 24, 2019 5:30 pm Just a quick update.

As recommended, I roughed up the disc and pads, cleaned the lever pivot and also lightly lubed the slider pin.

And...all problems have disappeared! It'll be interesting to see if the problem returns.

If it does, would that suggest that binding is causing the glazing (both the pads and discs were shiny AF)?

Thanks again!
Strip & clean the callipers it may be a sticky piston. Whilst it can be done with the callipers in place... Take the pads out & carefully squeez the leaver to see if all the pistons move freely. However if it was me I would take the callipers off the from the forks & with the pads out see if all the pistons move, it will be much easier to see with them off. If you have a sticky piston it'll be easy to see as it wont retract when you let the pressue off...

If it's obvious then drain the system, split the callipers, pistons out, seals out & give every thing a damm good clean. Make sure the the seal grooves are clean & free of any corrosion/grob...

However as these are your brakes & if your not confident in doing it take them to someone who you trust to fettle with them.

On the bike I commute on the callipers get a 6monthly overhall, full strip & clean.
Thank you for that.

It'll be the first time I've stripped a caliper, but I'd like to give it a go myself. I don't rely on my Storm for transport, so I can take my time.

I'm going to do it next weekend regardless. The bike has been neglected somewhat, so I'm slowly working my way through the problems.

Thanks again!
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popkat
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Re: Brake Judder

Post by popkat »

Jamiefumi46 wrote: Sat Aug 24, 2019 5:30 pm Just a quick update.

As recommended, I roughed up the disc and pads, cleaned the lever pivot and also lightly lubed the slider pin.

And...all problems have disappeared! It'll be interesting to see if the problem returns.

If it does, would that suggest that binding is causing the glazing (both the pads and discs were shiny AF)?

Thanks again!

Ride it and see how it goes now, you might just have cured the problem, if you start doing other stuff you won't know.
If your pads glaze up again then replace them with new ones, don't take them out to look at them just go by the brake performance, if your happy with it then all good... glazing can be caused early in a pads life during bedding in, new pads can fix it, but you may have it sorted now anyway.




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2014 CRMC Post classic Superbike champion.
2014 CRMC Post classic senior production champion. On a Suzuki Katana 1100
My bikes, Firestorm, Suzuki GSX-s1000 Katana, VFR800Fi. Projects, 1986 popup Katana, 3 XJ600’s
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TaxiDriver
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Re: Brake Judder

Post by TaxiDriver »

AMCQ46 wrote: Tue Aug 20, 2019 2:53 pm not a fan of EBC either ... the zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz noise when they are applied is annoying, and the initial bite is not as strong as others.
I wondered wtf was going on with that zzzzzzzzzzzz noise myself,now I know,cheers.
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