Road King Front Brakes - Harley Forum

admin · #1 05-24-2007, 03:42 PM

I have a 2000 Road King Classic with about 35,000 miles. It's been (and still is) a great bike, with a history of ultra reliability .... never a problem .... except for ....

The front brake lever pulls back almost to the grip before there's any braking action. At that point the brakes work normally. "Pumping" the lever does not improve the condition. The brake system has been examined, bled, etc, and found to be OK (except for this condition). I read on another forum that there was a H-D service bulletin that addressed this condition with a recommended "fix" of manually / mechanically pushing the front brake pads back away from the discs.

Does anybody have any information about this condition and "fix"?

Posted by: Poki on Jun 8, 06 1:12:38 pm

admin · #2 05-25-2007, 11:36 AM

That sounds like a warped rotor. I've had that happen with every bike I've had. I replace old slotted rotors with floating rotors and it's fixed.

Posted by: ranger140892 on Jul 23, 06 10:51:14 pm

admin · #3 05-25-2007, 11:36 AM

Is this a new prob or has it always plagued you..??
Are the brakes stock..?? Changed master cylinder, correct thickness rotor/rotors..????
You've probably checked this already but hey maybe not,,,
whenever I've had similar symptoms, after bleeding and eliminating all other possibilities, it can be the pads them selves are worn way down neccesitating a longer pull on the handle or pedal... If you've always had this prob, I wonder if somehow you got the wrong size master cylinder...
I've warped 2 rotors, didn't act like this, but, did get very bad very fast... However ranger has a point, I like my floaters too...
I'm interested in knowing if that "fix" works... Normally when you push the pads back, which is very easy to do btw, you have to pump a few times before contact then it goes right back where you started...

Posted by: frisco-rigid on Jul 24, 06 12:54:03 am

admin · #4 05-25-2007, 11:36 AM

Yes, I've always had this problem with stock rotors. I don't use my rear brake a lot so my front gets pretty heated. I've never warped a rear rotor.
Sounds like you've been around the block with this.
I still think it's the rotor. If it's warped, it pushes the pistons apart with one full rotation, then you have to take up the slack with the lever.
One way to narrow it down: You said pumping doesn't help, and it won't help while you're rolling since the warped rotor keeps opening up the pistons. Try pumping while stationary. If it tightens up, and everything else is right, I can only think it would be the rotor.
If you've got a lift, pick up the front end, remove the caliper, and rotate the wheel. You'll probably see some serious side to side movement on that rotor. You can also watch it while you're rolling.
I've used the really expensive floaters but I'm running Harley floaters now. They don't really float but since the outer rotor is isolated from the inner, theres very little heat transfer to the inner rotor. This keeps warpage to a minimum.

Posted by: ranger140892 on Jul 24, 06 9:36:38 am

admin · #5 05-25-2007, 11:36 AM

I'm sorry guys for not closing this out. New pads did the trick.

Posted by: Poki on Sep 15, 06 10:17:16 pm