[domn8r]

So I'm cruising along enjoying the weather on Saturday and come up to a stop sign. I pull in the clutch and wham I didnt glide to, but slowed down remarkable quick. I immediately looked to my right rear disc, it appears to have been rubbing the pads, to the point of being very hot, I could feel the heat.

What should I be looking at? I sprayed some brake cleaner into the pistons but still doesnt seem right. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.
tbone

 

[ohiomotoxer]

Time to rebuild or replace the caliper, the piston is not releasing most likely due to contaminated fluid or a corroded piston/bore.

 

[domn8r]

What does that all entail? I assume a rebuild kit is available. I guess I should remove the caliper and take a peek at what I got going on in there.

 

[road_king]

If the pistons in the rear caliper are indeed sticking, it will need to be removed, disassembled and parts cleaned with denatured alcohol. Its not difficult but a bit lengthy. The HD service manual has a nice detailed procedure on how to perform this work.

 

[petrock]

Or you could use this "opportunity" to get a nice Performance Machine's rear caliper...

 

[reg26]

Dom are you sure you weren't riding the rear brake with your foot without realizing it? I recently sold my Heritage to some one and he called me the next day and said he fried the rear rotor (it was a brand new polished Weld rotor) He wanted to know what was wrong with the bike. When I put the Lindy engine guards on the bike my dealer cautioned me about my heal rubbing on the rear brake pedal . I asked him if this could have been the problem and he paused for a minute and said that that's what he had done.. He fixed the rotor and it never happened again.

 

[baggersport]

Hi Dom...I would look to the master cylinder. After the brake has been applied and you release the pedal, the fluid that was under pressure in the system must return through a bleed back hole (the small one) in the master cylinder. Clogged lines, dirty fluid and/or a plugged bleed back hole will usually be the culprit. It will allow the fluid to push the calipers piston out but some of the pressure will remain, the more you push the pedal, the stiffer the brake will get. Then it starts to get hot and expand, applying more pressure, more heat. Vicious circle by now until the rotor morphs into a dinner plate and your engine starts to detonate because you're riding the brake hard. Quick fix when you're on the road is to loosen the bleeder screw and let the pressure off, then no brake use till you do some maintenance. At the very least, you'll need to flush the brake system well and dissassembling the other components for cleaning would be recommended.