03 FXD Brakes : V-Twin Forum: Harley Davidson Forums

boydn1 · 10-14-2008, 05:54 PM

I've for an 03 FXD, Love the bike really hate the brakes....
Quote recently sent to regional HD rep
"I bought a 2003 FXD new in 9/19/2002 with a 7 year extended service plan. The problem I have is that after 3-5 thousand miles the front brake becomes soft to non-existent. Meaning, when new and after service with very little pull on the brake the bike stops. After a while The brake requires more pull to have any effect. My fault but, the second time it would come all the way back to the grip. With the importance of the front brake, I feel sort of unsafe not knowing when this fade is going to happen."

When I take it to the dealer they take the caliper apart, clean it, it works fine for a while.

1. Is this Normal?
2. I was looking at a parts kit in the catalog to make it duel caliper. How much braking improvement should be expected from this?
Thanks in advance!

jerry34208 · 10-14-2008, 06:09 PM

I'll be interested in this thread. It seems like both my bikes are like that. One has dual front rotors and one has single (Ultra/FXD) so even though logic would say that two are better than one, I'm not sure the problem you write about would be any different. Just would take longer to show up with two rotors and twice the amount of pads to wear out. Both of my bikes seem to go through pads a lot quicker that I expected but so far every time I have replaced the pads, the levers have seemed to get firm again and not need too much movement to activate. One thing different in my case though, I have not had to have mine disassembled and cleaned ~ yet.

bigmikaele · 10-14-2008, 07:02 PM

I've seen a lot of people switching to Lindall Golds and swear by them, supposedly wear a lot better, have better stopping capabilities and feel, and no dust to speak of...

boydn1 · 10-14-2008, 11:47 PM

1st thanks for the quick replies.
I should have been more specific. Two different problems/question.
1. Is the problem described with the brake lever "Feel". After they get a half hours labor for taking the caliper apart and cleaning it the brake lever is stiff and requires VERY little sqeeze to brake. Then 3-5k later repeat. At some point since the bike was new the moco has changed the part number for the caliper (making me believe there was a problem). The pads wear normal, no issues there.

2. Is the question. How much more stopping power do yo think I would get by adding another rotor and caliper?
Thanks again!!

jerry34208 · 10-15-2008, 09:18 AM

On Q#1, I don't know. On Q2, One thing to think about is "how much is enough?" One rotor has enough stopping power to lock the wheel if you "bring it to the bar". If you are a typical HD rider who rides one up, likes to cruise around, uses the brakes well in advance and you don't race from corner to corner then one rotor is probably fine.

Duals are better, period. Especially for heavy loads and many hard applications in a short amount of time when the brakes don't have enough time to cool between tasks. Duals will give you many more hard stops in a row before they boil the fluid and fade. Even when both designs are cool the dual caliper/rotors will be easier to "modulate", easier accurately adjust braking input when you're on the edge of locking up for maximum stopping effectiveness. So it's not about power as much as it's about brake feel and fade. With two rotors the "swept area" is doubled (the amount of un-swept area that is cooling the rotor is doubled too) so the heat generated per rotor is halved for the same amount of work being done when performing a stop.

One more thing to ponder is that you may have to change out the master cylinder. I think there are two different diameters, one for single and another for dual calipers.

Good brakes are like money in the bank. With good planning, discipline and luck, you can get by with less. But surprises come to us all and planning to be lucky is not good strategy. If you can afford them, buck up.

murphdog · 10-15-2008, 12:25 PM

In answer to question 1, no it is not normal. When your dealer takes the caliper apart and cleans it, he's bleeding the brake after he puts it back together. After he bleeds it, it works fine until air gets back in the system again from somewhere. I'd start looking elsewhere for both a dealer and the source of the problem (like the master cylinder).
Adding a second rotor and caliper will probably help only because you'll be replacing almost everything in the front brake system. I don't like the dual front brakes on touring bikes because they seem too touchy to me.

boydn1 · 10-16-2008, 02:16 AM

Again, Thanks much for the help. Think I'll have to ride a little further and get another service dept to look for a leak.

ChopperDude · 10-16-2008, 09:02 AM

In switching to dual calipers, you might have even WORSE problems.

From my experience, I'm guessing that the pistons in the caliper's are getting "stuck". This was a problem that is REALLY bad with the touring bikes (two calipers). The master cylinder can't create enough pressure to force the pistons loose.

I had many customers come in with touring bikes and complain about "soft" front brakes. I'd pull the pads, and clean the sides of the pistons. Block one side back and force the pistons out. I think there are instructions for this on Lyndall's site. Or you can search for the thread where I gave detailed instructions on this. I could change soft front brakes to ROCK HARD in about 20 minutes.

However... what's puzzling me is you're having the problem (repeatedly) on a single caliper bike. I didn't run into this all that often with them. But I still think that's what it is. They tear the caliper apart and it works better. Over time... brake dust and grime get in there and dirty up the piston, and it can't move past the rubber seal properly, so it doesn't stay out.

If you "pump" the lever several times, can you get it to be "hard"? If not, then ignore everything I'm saying.

Something else to look out is a warped front rotor. We had a brand new bike come in. We'd use the brake, roll the bike 3 feet and all of a sudden the lever is soft. The warped rotor was pushing the piston back in too far, the next time you went to use it, it would be soft.

pbass · 10-17-2008, 10:46 PM

I know talking to a reputable tech that the front calipers are notorious for sticking. That was the case with mine.

boydn1 · 10-21-2008, 12:09 AM

Thanks for all the input.
No, pumping does not help.
If the front caliper sticking is a common problem is there a way to fix it? I'm tired of worrying about when it's going to go flat and not work as well as paying 1/2 hour labor every 3k to fix it.

ChopperDude · 10-21-2008, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boydn1

Thanks for all the input.
No, pumping does not help.
If the front caliper sticking is a common problem is there a way to fix it? I'm tired of worrying about when it's going to go flat and not work as well as paying 1/2 hour labor every 3k to fix it.

If you can't "pump it" so the lever is hard... then it's neither a sticking piston or a bleeding issue. With either of those, you can pump the lever and it will get firm.

I'm thinking it's a warped rotor or something.