V-Rod front brake rotors - Harley Forum

#1 08-02-2007, 07:29 AM

I have 21,000 miles on my 2006 VRSCD. It's in the shop right now for it's 20.000 service and it's about to get it's fourth set of front rotors because they all have warped at about 4000-5000 miles. They will get to the point that the pulsing is so bad I can't use the front brake at all. The latest out of Milwaukee is that they'll replace the wheel (cast slotted disk), calipers, and pads but they want me to pay the labor. They have accused me of being too aggressive and blamed the problem on everything but the bike. If I ever get it repaired, I'm going to trade it for a M109R. I'm really pissed that in three attemps to fix the problem all they could do was mask the symptoms with new rotors which warped again and again. It's too bad because otherwise the bike is a screamer. Has anyone else had the same type of problem?

texan321 · #2 01-14-2008, 01:20 PM

You know I have read this several times and I just can't believe that this is your fault. I would take it to another dealer in your area and get their opinion. you being too aggressive - I would have gone ballistic with that comment - bikes are to be ridden - aggressive or not ..... I still don't get it.

#3 01-14-2008, 02:39 PM

I agree with Texan 100%. The bike is a high performance fun machine. If you can't push it a little or a lot once in while what good is it? Shame on Harley!

I have a 2000 Toyota Tundra pick up that had the same problem. The rotors would warp at about 10k (mine did too) but Toyota wouldn't acknowledge a design problem. Their first "fix" was to turn the rotors. Second fix was to turn the rotors on the truck. That only worked for another 10k. Newer style rotors didn't cure the problem either. It took them until 2004 to finally fix the problem and that fix meant changing the calipers to a larger size. It seems the smaller calipers caused a kind of wobbling in the system that actually caused the warping to start.

In my case, although I called the dealer about the rotors at 14k, they told me on the phone that they (and no carmakers of any kind) warranteed the brakes which I knew was true in general. Unfortunately I didn't leave a paper trail and the truck's warranty expired by the time I heard from a friend of a good friend who was a service manager at at Toyota dealer out of state about the whole mess. A recall was never issued although a series of Technical Service Bulletins were issued to dealers. I moved 100 miles away from the dealer I bought the truck from and they wouldn't fix it and the local dealer wouldn't fix it either. I took my complaint step by step to the top of the Toyota Customer Service department and got stonewalled all the way because,"You're off the warranty sir and there is no record of you reporting this before". I could have gotten the real fix for $1600 but in the end I bought the parts and did it myself for about $400. It really left a bad taste in my mouth about Toyota. I had grown up in Flint, Michigan and had been a "GM guy" for many years but switched to Toyota in search of a good product and service after experiencing GM's BS vehicles and policies in the '70's and '80's. All I can say is I must have been a shady horse trader in a past life or something cuz, try really hard as I did to get Toyota to fess up , I got left holding the bag.

Sorry about your bad experience with the dealer and Harley. If I was going to keep the bike I would bite the bullet and go to an aftermarket brake set up with more macho calipers and rotors. I always thought the front brakes on some of the Vrods looked a little spindly to begin with. You also might get away with just aftermarket hypo rotors.

Good Luck

whylee · #4 01-14-2008, 08:10 PM

I feel the biggest problem with most Harleys is that the brakes are not big enough fot the weight of the bikes. If you look at modern sport bikes, they have very big diameter rotors and large calipers with anywhere from 2 to 6 pistons each. These bikes have almost twice as much horespower and almost half the weight, so you can see that Harley needs to update this area. Yes the brakes work ok on Harleys, but they are working very hard to do so, which produces alot of heat to the rotors which is the main reason for warped rotors.

#5 01-14-2008, 08:54 PM

Lyndall makes some really nice composite rotors for Harleys. I don't know about Vrods though. You'd have to call them to find out. They have some nice kevlar pads too.
Expensive, $549 each for the rotors and about $56 for each pair of pads.

texan321 · #6 01-15-2008, 03:18 PM

See that is the problem - we figure out how to fix a problem instead of the MOCO owning up to the fact that it is a problem and coming up with a fix.

94flhtcu · #7 01-15-2008, 08:55 PM

That does suck, and I wish I could say they'll take care of ya. They won't, but YOU will! Get ready to have some dirty finger nails!

That one don't set around, huh? Good for you.

A little off the topic...almost all newer vehicles (4 wheels)
warp the rotors any more. It's terrible...on my ranger, I have another set of rotors ready to go as soon as I feel it happening. That's interesting about the caliper size, milindh. I have always felt it was the heat warping them like a cookie sheet. I think I'm using Moog ceramic pads, and they're the best so far.

#8 01-15-2008, 09:52 PM

94, I think the most basic problem with single thickness discs like we have on bikes is the cookie sheet syndrome like you said but not all vehicles have the problem to an equal extent. Along with the Tundra I have a '91 T-bird that has never had front brake chatter and I use the cheapest Chinese rotors Auto Zone has. My brother, who is pretty good with a wrench and up on this stuff said the cheaper rotors are often the most resistant to warping for some unforseen reason although they wear out faster because they are made of pretty soft steel.

Myself I don't know if the problem can be solved or not, at least using steel rotors, but, man, you'd think it shouldn't be as prevalent and hard to deal with as it is.

94flhtcu · #9 01-16-2008, 09:32 AM

I agree. I forgot to post that on the ford, I'm using wagner brake rotors and am very happy. They still warp(lead foot) but not as much.

texan321 · #10 01-17-2008, 05:15 PM

I had to replace the rotors on my 97 at 56,000 miles - that is why I asked on the other thread if anyone had seen the guy that was producing a ceramic rotor - I would buy a set just to have when the current ones warp. But I can't find his ad nor can I find him on the web. The ceramic - he claims- in front of Michele Smith - they won't warp - weight less - if Michele Smith thinks its OK - then I am ready!!!!!