How easy should the front wheel spin?

[rocketman1]

I replaced the front brake pads on my 1200GFS 2001 Bandit, 500 km ago, now when when I jack the front wheel off the ground I have noticed that I get about 1-1half spins if I try hard to spin the front wheel by hand, ( It used to spin alot freer than that) I feel the pads are too tight on the discs, they do squeal abit when stopping also.Any one know if this is too tight & what can I do about it? Im thinking this could be causing more fuel consumption than normal, Any Ideas?

[rikpotts]

I wondered the same thing when I first got my bandit.... it was my first bike with disc brakes.

I never did get told by someone who knows but I persevered until I got it to spin as if the brakes werent there.

One problem I have got is the pad pins are nigh impossible to get out and I reckon its got to be because of the calipers heating up due to the brakes binding a bit. Id get that wheel spinning as free as possible to avoid the same problem. For it to only spin 1.5 times it must be pretty tight.

As for sorting it out.... have you serviced the caliper? ie replaced the seals and given the pistons a good clean. If the pistons are excessively rusty around the edges it might be worth replacing them. Replacements cost £20ea in the uk, just to give you an idea.
If you pull the pistons out its a good opportunity to drain the brake fluid and replace with new.
Like I said I had to persevere to get mine the way I wanted them but brakes are certainly worth the effort !

[Bob Holland]

Bleed the air from your brake lines. When you get air in the brake line, the air will compress when you apply the brake, and then the compressed air will keep a small amount of pressure on the brake pads, causing the brakes to drag and over heat.
This may or may not be your problem, but is a good place to start. Also pull your calipters and see if the wheel spins freely, if it doesn't, it could be a bearing.
 

[Earth Brown]

ok ride the bike, 10-15 miles.  Then stop somewhere using the rear brake and engine...try not to use the ft brake.  Then get off the bike and with gloved hand touch rotor, see if it feels warm, if not remove the glove and carefully touch it again.


A slight dragging of the brake will cause great heat after a short distance.  


K

[CWO4GUNNER]

YUP! All air in the brake lines has to be worked out. Be careful you don't spill one drop of brake fluid on any of your paint or plastic because it will eat and crinkle it up.

[Sandman9270]

Hmmm....I was always told that the pads will ALWAYS drag a little.  AND that the rotors will be hot after a ride.

[ricklee4570]

I just replaced the front brake pads on my bike as well. And I only get one full revolution of the wheel when I try to turn it hard (one turn freewheeling)

I think this is normal when replacing the pads. First, the new pads are so much thicker. So the pistons are compressed more. (I also replaced the fluid and bled the brakes as well).

I tried everything from hitting the brakes and then torquing the axle nut, to a full cleaning of the pistons. Still one turn after spinning the front wheel and it would stop.

So I took it out on the highway for a 8 mile run at about 60 to 70 mph. I stopped using only the back brake and checked the front rotor. It was mildly warm, nothing overly hot. So I decided not to worry about it. If it was hot then I would worry. The brakes work great, and I am sure as they wear the drag will be reduced.

More than likely this is very common, and most people just never check the "freewheeling" rotations of the front wheel.

[solman]

When I just recently had my brake bleed problem, my rear brake was dragging and it was too hot to touch.  This was especially true when I compared it to my front rotors.