I'm having a problem when I apply the rear brake...

[Highmiles]

Uh.........just don't use your rear brake?

Highmiles

[dynageno]

Q. What fluid are you using? Dot 4 or 5

Q. Is you rotor warped?

[FXDRYDR]

I'm also thinking alignment and you might try snapping a chalk line to check it.

Also, if I recall, you did a 10K a while back. I'm not familiar with your model bike, but is there a swingarm bushing that could be worn or that possibly was affected when you did your service? You might check all rear suspension-related fasteners.

[O'Rork]

Make sure you have actual slack in the pedal adjustment to the master plunger. There must be a little slack to allow the master cylinder plunger/piston and/or valve to relax and allow back flow.

Without pushing on the pedal.

Try to push the caliper piston back into the caliper with a pry bar/screwdriver between the metal backing of the brake pad and the rotor. It should move back easily. If the piston does not move back easily;

Crack the banjo/hose bolt, on the caliper, loose and try it again. If the pad/piston now moves easily, there is a problem between your toe and the end of the hose. IE: the lack of free play or the hose is restricted or the master cylinder is defective.

If the pad/piston did not move easily. Tighten the hose up. Now open the bleeder and pry it again. If it now moves easily, the hole tapped for the banjo bolt is restricted.

If the piston/pad still did not move easily, the piston is seizing in the caliper.

YRMV

[Pete Logan]

Originally Posted by 8-Ball

I'm getting an uneven rub when I rotate the wheel... its the pad contacting the rotor and then free-wheeling. Like they aren't lined up.

Trust me not to read properly

I'm sorry - I should have caught this the first time around.

You have to be right, Mike. Assuming you're putting the bike on a stand and rotating the rear wheel by hand, then if the pad is making uneven contact with the rotor, then the rotor is not running true to the caliper - the pads, by definition, don't move unless something moves them, so it has to be the rotor to caliper alignment.

I can think of three possibilities:-

1. The rotor is not straight. You said you have a new rotor, so this seems unlikely, but it has to be possible.

2. The whole wheel is wobbling. As the rotor is bolted direct to the wheel, this would cause the rotor to appear to be wobbling also. That might mean loose bearings. Not enough to cause a permanent wobble, but it might show up under braking. Seems unlikely on such a well-maintained machine.

3. The rotor is not mounted exactly straight to the wheel. God knows what would cause this, but maybe a piece of crap between the wheel and the rotor could put them out of alignment with each other

Here's a link to string alignment. Harley preaches measuring back from the swing arm pivot, and that's normally good enough. String alignment is more accurate, by about 1/2 a millimetre

http://www.Cushmanfz1oa.com/sportryde...ntmethod.shtml

The main advantage I have found with string alignment is that simply doing it taught me a whole lot about bike geometry. But it's also true that the HD method relies on the frame being straight in the first place. String alignment works independently of the frame.

The only things I would add to the link explanation is that if you have the space, splaying the string out at the rear increases the accuracy of the measurements.

And that if your bike has an offset between the front and the rear wheels, which some HD models used to, then you need to compensate for that by offsetting the rear wheel measurements to match.

On the whole, the more I think about it, the less I believe it's an alignment problem at all. Not least because I once ran a bike on which the rear wheel leaned noticeably to the right, and never had a judder problem.

I think your rotor has to be running out of alignment with your caliper, though I'm buggered if I can think how that can happen

Best of luck, mate.

Pete

[route66paul]

Could this be a tracking problem? It sounds like something is loose, do you have any of the tracking problems that a ridestr8 or a true track is supposed to take care of?

[vafatboy]

Found this while searching around. Most the stuff found while searching resulted in front end stuff, but if you have a swing arm bushing problem, it appears that this could cause some shutter.

That's all there is to it. You're now a master of basic Vino service. If you detect any of that "joystick movement," the ability to move the handle hars in other directions like up and down, or side to side, or you notice that your bike shudders under braking, let the shop have a look at it, because it's a sign your steering column bearings are loose

Pete... thanks for that extensive reply... the hub was squeaky clean when I put that rotor on there. I just wonder if the wheel has gotten out of round... don't know how. The slide area on the swingarm where the caliper mounts is clean and smooth too.

vafatboy... Interesting... it doesn't say rear braking, but I assume that is what you mean. I was getting ready to check my fall away and replace the front springs to Progressive. Can't see how this shudder is from anything in the front though... I'm beginning to think rear wheel bearings and now the swing arm bushings. Its the same rear wheel and I haven't done anything that would have caused it to become out of round.

Paul... I'm not sure what those would be.

This gives me some good things to look at.

I layed it down one time at about 5 mph... would that have caused anything? The only damage was to the engine guard and it was minor. Could it have stressed the swingarm bushings or the wheel bearings?

[harleyjsb]

Did your trouble start right after you layed it down?????????

Wheel bearings could do it. How many miles are on the bike? Being that the caliper is mounted off the axle and so is the wheel, then one thing that would affect that plane is the bearings. It's an easy thing to check and that is where I would look first. If the swingarm was the prob, I think you'd notice it at other times besides just braking.

Harley... seems like it may have been around then, but I only notice it when Mary rides with me... so I can't be sure.

Jamie... good to see you around! I just replaced the rear tire and noticed some wear marks on the axle at the bearing locations... but the bearings turned smoothly on my finger... so I put it back together. I've got just about 25k on the bike and the problem started around 18-19k best I can recollect. Is there another way to check the bearings and should I replace the axle as well?

[harleyjsb]

Damn 8 I would like to help but I can't figger out what could be the problem..........

[harleyjsb]

And it's ok when you ride by yourself???????????

Originally Posted by 8-Ball

Harley... seems like it may have been around then, but I only notice it when Mary rides with me... so I can't be sure.

Jamie... good to see you around! I just replaced the rear tire and noticed some wear marks on the axle at the bearing locations... but the bearings turned smoothly on my finger... so I put it back together. I've got just about 25k on the bike and the problem started around 18-19k best I can recollect. Is there another way to check the bearings and should I replace the axle as well?

What kind of wear marks? Is it an actual groove or just discoloration? Sometimes the axle will be a different color where the bearings ride, but that doesn't automatically mean the axle is bad. If there is a groove, or scoring, then certainly replace it. If it is just discolored, then measure the runout before you throw money at it. The simplest, easiest (and least accurate) check is to lift the bike and just check for any roughness or grinding as the wheel is rotated. Push and pull the wheel from side to side to see if you can detect any lateral movement. Lots of times, it seems like HD ships the bikes with a dry axle (and very little lube on the bearings)... how many times have you seen a post about a stuck axle? A bunch. You can use a dial indicator to accurately measure runout.

[vafatboy]

Mike,

What I posted was about a shutter in the front, I was pointing out that it could be caused by the same type of thing at the rear, bearings, swingarm bushings etc. Anything that allows the play required to get the shutter when braking.