Burned Out My Rear Rotor

871 Views 53 Replies 12 Participants Last post by DPelletier, 3 h ago

D-Squared

Discussion Starter · 9 d ago

Like the title says, I burned out my rear rotor, but I'm not sure how it happened. I read that it can happen when you adjust your brake pedal - something about the rod blocking the flow of fluid - and now I'm paranoid about how I've set up my own brake lever. I've tried adjusting it up and down , but there's no discernable difference in the pedals travel - it moves about 3/8" from top to total stop at the bottom. Also, there's a slight, soft scraping sound of the new rotor rubbing on the new brake pads. Nothing harsh, but there's definitely contact between the pads and the rotor.
I don't think I'm a mechanical idiot (what idiot does...), but I am mechanically inexperienced, and this is my first brake job on a motorcycle, so I'm not sure how things are supposed to work.
I know the brakes need to bed in, but I'm worried that the slight scraping at speed will burn out my new rotor. Long story short, I can't find much information online and haven't ordered my own shop manual yet (4 kids, braces, food, etc. getting in the way of my fun). I've got a long ride coming up for a training class and don't want to screw my brakes up again.
I'd like the be less mechanically ignorant, and so far I love working on this bike, so any help is appreciated.

ETA: the new pads and rotor are both Tusk, if that matters.

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Reveille

· #2 · 9 d ago (Edited)

You need to check and adjust the levers free play. This is the gap between fully released and the beginning of the friction zone when applied. Put the bike on a jack and spin the rear wheel by hand and use your other hand to depress the brake pedal. The adjustment is made using the jam nut and push rod.
Do you have a service manual?
Also, make sure you assembled the rear wheel cush drive and inner spacer properly. Just covering all the bases.

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Reactions: 1

SirMarksAllot

· #3 · 9 d ago

Reveille said:
You need to adjust the levers free play first. This is the gap between fully released and the beginning of the friction when applied. Put the bike on a jack and spin the rear wheel by hand and use your other hand to depress the brake pedal. The adjustment is made using the jam nut and clevis.
Do you have a service manual?

He stated above, no manual yet😉. But your description above is spot on. It should free wheel without much noise (new brakes/pads will be a little noisier until the scrub in).

If you don’t have a jack or jack stand, a piece of 2x4 cut to length can be placed on the rough side under the frame tube, long enough to hold the rear slightly off the ground. Or ask a buddy to do it.

I would add, once you adjust your pedal travel, you will need to adjust the rear brake light switch to match, so that it activated the light after about 1/8” inch of pedal travel. It’s the black “pod” with the thin metal wire running up from the brake pedal.

And with five kids/braces/college/private school🥴😬🥴, I feel your pain. I just have one left at home and finally have some money for me and the hot wife to enjoy😎😉

D-Squared

Discussion Starter · #4 · 9 d ago

Reveille said:
You need to check and adjust the levers free play. This is the gap between fully released and the beginning of the friction zone when applied. Put the bike on a jack and spin the rear wheel by hand and use your other hand to depress the brake pedal. The adjustment is made using the jam nut and push rod.
Do you have a service manual?
Also, make sure you assembled the rear wheel cush drive and inner spacer properly. Just covering all the bases.

I appreciate you covering the bases, and for supplying a pic from the shop manual. I'll play around with it tomorrow and see if I can make any progress. Thanks for the wisdom.

SirMarksAllot said:
He stated above, no manual yet😉. But your description above is spot on. It should free wheel without much noise (new brakes/pads will be a little noisier until the scrub in).

If you don’t have a jack or jack stand, a piece of 2x4 cut to length can be placed on the rough side under the frame tube, long enough to hold the rear slightly off the ground. Or ask a buddy to do it.

I would add, once you adjust your pedal travel, you will need to adjust the rear brake light switch to match, so that it activated the light after about 1/8” inch of pedal travel. It’s the black “pod” with the thin metal wire running up from the brake pedal.

And with five kids/braces/college/private school🥴😬🥴, I feel your pain. I just have one left at home and finally have some money for me and the hot wife to enjoy😎😉

Thanks for the advice. I upgraded from the 2x4 and got Eagle Mikes quick jack, works fantastic and fits in my tool kit easier

. I ran out into the garage and located the "pod" and can see the adjustment mechanism. I'd have missed that if you hadn't mentioned it. Thank again!

Reactions: 1

Gen3piglet

· #5 · 8 d ago

SirMarksAllot said:
He stated above, no manual yet😉. But your description above is spot on. It should free wheel without much noise (new brakes/pads will be a little noisier until the scrub in).

If you don’t have a jack or jack stand, a piece of 2x4 cut to length can be placed on the rough side under the frame tube, long enough to hold the rear slightly off the ground. Or ask a buddy to do it.

I would add, once you adjust your pedal travel, you will need to adjust the rear brake light switch to match, so that it activated the light after about 1/8” inch of pedal travel. It’s the black “pod” with the thin metal wire running up from the brake pedal.

And with five kids/braces/college/private school🥴😬🥴, I feel your pain. I just have one left at home and finally have some money for me and the hot wife to enjoy😎😉

Hot wife 🤣 ? Has she been known to "monitor" your online activities ? A little insurance goes a long ways. You da man !!

Reactions: 1

SirMarksAllot

· #6 · 8 d ago

Gen3piglet said:
Hot wife 🤣 ? Has she been known to "monitor" your online activities ? A little insurance goes a long ways. You da man !!

I married WAY up and make sure she knows it!😉🤣. My buddies all tell me I out-punted my coverage for sure😂😂😬

Reveille

· #7 · 8 d ago

5 kids says it all. Haha.
I'd like to clarify a bit on the free play adjustment. Kawasaki states in the manual the brake pedal free play isn't adjustable however if your brake light switch and linkage are too tight, it will effect the engagement point so it's best to address everything at once to make sure all components play nice together. My guess is your tail light/brake light is stuck on already.

Reactions: 1

D-Squared

Discussion Starter · #8 · 8 d ago

Reveille said:
5 kids says it all. Haha.
I'd like to clarify a bit on the free play adjustment. Kawasaki states in the manual the brake pedal free play isn't adjustable however if your brake light switch and linkage are too tight, it will effect the engagement point so it's best to address everything at once to make sure all components play nice together. My guess is your tail light/brake light is stuck on already.

Yes, my rear brake light was stuck on. So I got the pedal adjusted, fiddled with the "pod" as @SirMarksAllot calls it. Nothing worked. Then I realized I had the front brake held closed bc the bike was up on one wheel...🤦‍♂️. Once that was taken care of, everything went back to normal. The brakes are now adjusted per the book spec, but the noise is still there. I'll have to ride it a bit and see what's happens. Thanks for the help.

SirMarksAllot

· #9 · 8 d ago

D-Squared said:
Yes, my rear brake light was stuck on. So I got the pedal adjusted, fiddled with the "pod" as @SirMarksAllot calls it. Nothing worked. Then I realized I had the front brake held closed bc the bike was up on one wheel...🤦‍♂️. Once that was taken care of, everything went back to normal. The brakes are now adjusted per the book spec, but the noise is still there. I'll have to ride it a bit and see what's happens. Thanks for the help.

Does the rear wheel turn freely? If it does that, with a little scrubbing noise, the noise will likely go away after a few miles at speed.

Reactions: 1

Gen3piglet

· #10 · 8 d ago

Take note after every ride to see if the rotor is warm. Begin with hovering your hand OVER the rotor and note any excessive heat. Don't immediately go in for the kill with your finger in case it is hot. Also a burnt brake smell may be detected as well.

Reactions: 1

Gen3piglet

· #11 · 8 d ago

SirMarksAllot said:
I married WAY up and make sure she knows it!😉🤣. My buddies all tell me I out-punted my coverage for sure😂😂😬

I treat mine like the chamber maid she is. "Wench !! Bring me the Kings coffee" Don't want her ego to get over inflated.

Reactions: 2

D-Squared

Discussion Starter · #12 · 8 d ago

SirMarksAllot said:
Does the rear wheel turn freely? If it does that, with a little scrubbing noise, the noise will likely go away after a few miles at speed.

Yes, the rear wheel turns freely. I can't detect any rough or catchy spots. Based on what you and others have said it sounds like the brakes just need bedding and it'll settle down. I'm beginning to think I was riding with my big foot on the lever and just didn't realize it, rather than some kind of mechanical kerfuffle. Not that it's the bikes fault, I'm the idiot who adjusted the darned thing. I just can't help tinkering with my stuff.

Gen3piglet said:
Take note after every ride to see if the rotor is warm. Begin with hovering your hand OVER the rotor and note any excessive heat. Don't immediately go in for the kill with your finger in case it is hot. Also a burnt brake smell may be detected as well.

I usually gauge temperature based on how many layers of skin I lose, but I think I like your way is better

.

Reactions: 3

SirMarksAllot

· #13 · 8 d ago

D-Squared said:
I just can't help tinkering with my stuff.

Don’t all men feel this way😂😂😂

Reactions: 2

Gunnar88

· #14 · 8 d ago

You can do some "testing" make several stops with the rear brake only say 4 from 40 to 5 mph them climb off and feel the heat from the rotor, touch the hub but be careful that rear hub will be crazy hot too. Then from bone cold ride and dont use the rear brake at all, then get down there and see if there's any heat on the rear. Every time I do the rear tire I go through the brake real quick, bleed, and check and clean the pads and rotor and make sure the rotor moves back and forth correctly, those pins can be lubed a lot of times the grease in the gators is dried out. The pins on the pads themselves can get notchy I wire wheel them and put a tiny dab of anti seize on the threads, if one of those freezes up it's the end of the caliper. There will always be some dragging of course.

New2kaw

· #15 · 7 d ago

A cheap laser thermometer is like 20 bucks and takes all the guesswork out of it.

Not saying it will be Laboratory accurate but 223.5 degrees is a better guesstimate than 2nd vs 3rd degree. Lol

Reactions: 1

Cuchulainn

· #16 · 7 d ago

SirMarksAllot said:
I would add, once you adjust your pedal travel, you will need to adjust the rear brake light switch to match, so that it activated the light after about 1/8” inch of pedal travel. It’s the black “pod” with the thin metal wire running up from the brake pedal.

Is there a way to adjust the arm length of that "pod?" I tried to lower my brake pedal, but too far and it puts enough pressure on that spring where it activates the brake light. I was going to go to the hardware store and see if I couldn't find a spring about 1/4" longer or so. But saw this post and wondered if I was missing something else in adjustment.

SirMarksAllot

· #17 · 7 d ago

Cuchulainn said:
Is there a way to adjust the arm length of that "pod?" I tried to lower my brake pedal, but too far and it puts enough pressure on that spring where it activates the brake light. I was going to go to the hardware store and see if I couldn't find a spring about 1/4" longer or so. But saw this post and wondered if I was missing something else in adjustment.

I think the pod is actually the brake light switch (I was tired the other night and couldn’t think). IIRC there are threads on the switch with a nut and jam nut to allow it to Be adjusted up and down. Again, I may not be remembering correctly as it’s been a few months. Later when I get home I can look at mine.

Reactions: 1

Cuchulainn

· #18 · 7 d ago

SirMarksAllot said:
I think the pod is actually the brake light switch (I was tired the other night and couldn’t think). IIRC there are threads on the switch with a nut and jam nut to allow it to Be adjusted up and down. Again, I may not be remembering correctly as it’s been a few months. Later when I get home I can look at mine.

Yeah, it is just the brake light switch, activated by the plunger when there is enough tension on the spring to pull it down. But after installing the JNS lowering mounts and IMS pegs, the brake pedal was way to high.

There are threads and jam nut to lower the pedal itself for sure, but beyond a certain point it causes to much tension on the spring and engages the brake light.

I had though a slightly longer spring would solve it. But I will take another look to see if there is a way to lengthen the arm instead.

Sent from my SM-X700 using Tapatalk

Reveille

· #19 · 7 d ago

If necessary, one can install a small split ring to give you more length. Easy fix.

Reactions: 2

Cuchulainn

· #20 · 7 d ago

Reveille said:
If necessary, one can install a small split ring to give you more length. Easy fix.

I was thinking about that. I worried that it might be a little janky, but probably would be fine.

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