Don't need no stinking brakes.

[DennisJ]

I hope this all works out in your favor and you are able to get down the road to Spain. You always put such interesting pictures up on your site. I've looked at the site you mentioned earlier a couple of times and it looks like a pretty well organized group. I especially like the Workshop for members. Interesting to see the different assortment of after market goodies also.

 

[mcatrophy]

Well, Yamaha and Arnolds Motorcycles have come up trumps.

• Monday: the brakes went really, really bad (as described above). Arnolds Burton said they couldn't fit me in, but they contacted their Loughborough branch, who sent a van out and picked up the bike.
• Tuesday they tried to bleed the brakes, but the proper mechanic wasn't there, and the lever remained spongy.
• Wednesday I'm phoned to say the disc was warped, they'd put in a warranty claim.
• Thursday ... waiting ...
• Friday mid-morning they get the parts, and by 4:30pm the bike is ready.

They've fitted two new discs on the front, and all 8 new disc pads.

Charge to me: Zilch. Yamaha are covering all new parts and labour, Arnolds are covering the bike pick-up, "Since Yamaha accept it wasn't the owner's fault, we think it's unfair the owner should be out of pocket, so we won't charge".

(Click on image for larger view)
Disc "flat" on the bench and turned over


Left (good) disc and right (bad) disc


All back together with new everything.


Picked it up - the mechanic said he'd put some petrol in it because he wanted to road-test it and it was into reserve - rode the 35-odd miles home including some fast roads. Stopped once in a lay-by to feel the temperature of the discs, all good.
So, all's well for Sunday's first leg to catch a ferry

.
And I've nothing but praise for the service I've received.

 

[Denver_FJR]

And topped off the tank too... I don't believe it! Is this some kind dream? Maybe we're all dreaming... a mass hysteria event? Pinch me!

 

[mcatrophy]

And topped off the tank too... I don't believe it! Is this some kind dream? Maybe we're all dreaming... a mass hysteria event? Pinch me!

Don't get into a tizz-wozz, he didn't fill the tank, just put in a couple of litres. Should I complain? I don't think so.

 

[HotRodZilla]

NICE!!

Now, what the Hell did you do to them in the 1st place?

 

[lonerider]

Glad to hear they got your problem sorted, hope you have a safe and enjoyable trip.

 

[bluesdog]

Arnolds' is worth it's weight in gold, and Yamaha is to be commended for doing it right!

And I anticipate awesome vacation pics.

And I still wanna know how that rotor morphed into a salad bowl

 

[Warpdrv]

I'd still keep an eye on that caliper.... wouldn't rule it out as being the problem...

 

[escapefjrtist]

NICE!!
Now, what the Hell did you do to them in the 1st place?

Echoing 'zilla...great service from your dealer! Any idea what caused the issue?

Good luck on the trip!

--G

 

[Donal]

NICE!!
Now, what the Hell did you do to them in the 1st place?

I think the clue may be here.........

Something went wrong with the caliper which held the pads closed, the rotor got very hot and distorted as a result. The fact that it is very evenly distorted is also significant.

As Jeremy pointed out, the Bobbins are designed to prevent this but didn't in this case. Could be a manufacturing defect.

My (slightly cynical) guess is this is why Yamaha were so quick to get hold of the defective discs............

 

[odot]

Was this skoot in a wreck before?

 

[mcatrophy]

General comments on some of the above questions, last shall be first, no wreck unless it was within the first mile before I picked it up.

Looking back at my mpg, it's been dropping off over the last few fills, I surmise the brakes have been starting to bind for a while. I'd assumed the lowering mpg was simply due to lots of local trips, but now I think otherwise. I believe the disk warped during a run I did to check the balance of a new rear tyre. I found a nice private road, took it up to 3 digits, it then refused to go faster, it felt like the engine ran out of power.

Obviously the brakes were seizing, probably the disk was warping and pushing against a fully retracted pad. It got hot enough that the fluid boiled, it lost all hydraulic pressure.

Root cause of the binding? Possibly the brake pads gummed up with crud. Although I've not done anything differently from my previous FJRs, I have a suspicion that the different front mudguard (fender) shape used with the upside-down forks alters the flow of air/water/cow-dung in the area of the brake-pads, maybe they don't self-clean as well as the "normal" ones?

Can't think of anything else, and obviously I'll be keeping an eye on the brakes and cleaning that area when necessary.

 

[jeremyr62]

Wow. I bet the disc got mega hot then if you were giving it beans and it topped out at just three figures.

 

[odot]

......you mean, "potatoes", right?

 

[Bearly Flying]

......you mean, "potatoes", right?

Don't You have some Baby Seals to Kill?

Baby Seals and Potatoes, Sounds delicious.

 

[mcatrophy]

Update: just got back from my Spanish jaunt (a few pics here).

A little over 2400 miles (click on image for larger view)



The brakes (and the rest of the bike) behaved perfectly. And, yes, I have taken them to ABS operation on a dry road (deliberately, not in panic ).

Other observations: the bike seems easier for me to push around than I remember. I also have a suspicion that my fuel consumption was deteriorating for a while prior to The Event. So maybe the brakes have been binding for a while, possibly even from new???

Anyway, I'll continue to monitor them.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Good to hear the FJR performed as expected mcatrophy.

Thanks for pics of your trip, that's a bit of traveling you did!

--G