Wheel Alignment, Warped Rotors or Paranoia?

With the bike on the center stand, as I spin the rear wheel there is particular section of the brake rotor that contacts with and drags on the brake pads. I'd say that this contact section is the rough equivalent of 15%-20% of the rotor. I'm getting a similar result on the front wheel, though the area of contact is a bit larger; perhaps 20%-25% of the rotor. In neither case does the rotor to pad contact result in the the wheel simply stopping. They're just not turning as freely as I intuitively believe they should which causes me to further believe that the pads may be wearing prematurely.

I've got just over 3,000 miles on the bike and have never overheated the brakes (I don't ride that aggressively), so I'm questioning whether it's a warping issue..? Wheel alignment, perhaps? Or is this just normal and I should ignore it?

Thoughts?

SockMonkey said:

With the bike on the center stand, as I spin the rear wheel there is particular section of the brake rotor that contacts with and drags on the brake pads. I'd say that this contact section is the rough equivalent of 15%-20% of the rotor. I'm getting a similar result on the front wheel, though the area of contact is a bit larger; perhaps 20%-25% of the rotor. In neither case does the rotor to pad contact result in the the wheel simply stopping. They're just not turning as freely as I intuitively believe they should which causes me to further believe that the pads may be wearing prematurely.
I've got just over 3,000 miles on the bike and have never overheated the brakes (I don't ride that aggressively), so I'm questioning whether it's a warping issue..? Wheel alignment, perhaps? Or is this just normal and I should ignore it?

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

I believe this is a normal issue. I haven't checked the FJR for it yet, but I do know my Ninja drags the breaks ever so slightly in spots too. Cars tend to do the same. I think it has something to do with the slight pressure in the brake lines even when the brakes are released.

There is a certain amount of runout that is considered normal. Ideally, you'd like to hear just the slightest hiss coming from rotor/pad rubbing all around the wheel, but as long as the drag you are encountering isn't to the extent that it noticablly slows your wheel rotation, you are probably just fine.

C&C said:

There is a certain amount of runout that is considered normal. Ideally, you'd like to hear just the slightest hiss coming from rotor/pad rubbing all around the wheel, but as long as the drag you are encountering isn't to the extent that it noticablly slows your wheel rotation, you are probably just fine.

Click to expand...

That's also what my mechanic told me

That's normal. If you want to put your bike up on the center stand and not hear that noise when you rotate the front or rear wheel then do this:

1. Get the bike up to speed of about 20 miles per hour or so and stop the bike with the front brakes only.

2. Put the bike on the center stand and rotate the rear wheel with your hands...No Noise!

3. Do #1 again but stop with the rear break. Then use the center stand and check the front wheel.

OTHORWORDS, brakes are of the floating type and it is the speed of the rotor that pushes the brake pads ever so slightly away from the rotors when you start moving. However, if your wheels are moving too slow {as in when you rotate the wheel with your hand after applying the brake} then you will be able to hear and feel that slight touching that your rotors are still doing. Get-up to speed and they stop touching ever so slightly.

Okay!

Thanks for the feedback so far, folks. It's sincerely appreciated! (So what you're all trying to say but being exceptionally polite about it is that I'm paranoid. You can say, it's OK )

Hokay...yer paranoid!

Whut does a pear-uh-noids beet? I noe thet summa thuh thyme Eye gets Uh-noyed, but I cain't thank uvva thyme when Eye ever haid tew noids.

SockMonkey said:

Thanks for the feedback so far, folks. It's sincerely appreciated! (So what you're all trying to say but being exceptionally polite about it is that I'm paranoid. You can say, it's OK )

Click to expand...

You're not being paranoid, you just have not done enough brakes with floating calipers to know that the brake pads don't get away from the rotors until you get some speed going.

The reason that you don't hear them on DRUM type brakes is because they have springs on the pads that pull the pad back off the rotor or drum as soon as you release the break lever.

Disk brake types? they depend on the speed of the rotor going around to push the pads off of them because there are no springs on them to pull them back off tha rotor.

SockMonkey said:

Thanks for the feedback so far, folks. It's sincerely appreciated! (So what you're all trying to say but being exceptionally polite about it is that I'm paranoid. You can say, it's OK )

Click to expand...

If you really want to be paranoid, we can measure the run out with a dial gauge and see if it's within spec. Let me know.

slapnpop said:

SockMonkey said:

Thanks for the feedback so far, folks. It's sincerely appreciated! (So what you're all trying to say but being exceptionally polite about it is that I'm paranoid. You can say, it's OK )

Click to expand...

If you really want to be paranoid, we can measure the run out with a dial gauge and see if it's within spec. Let me know.

Click to expand...

Ok, I'm paranoid but not quite that paranoid..!