Topic: Squealing brakes have me howling mad!

[Tintop]

No he was serious.  Lots of race bikes I've looked at don't have the adjuster (some do).  My 400SS has just begun the squeal.  So I to have a vested interest in hearing these solutions.

[Nortstudio]

Ok, just checking. So is there an alternative to making sure the caliper is lined up correctly?  I would think of this as a last ditch effort for me - since I haven't tried many of the others.

The stockers are going to have a field day with this one

[brooze72]

My rotor has been drilled but the squeal started this year on brake application.  I strongly suspect a combination of the brake pad type (installed about 1000 miles ago, will have to look back thru my bills to see if it's genuine Honda) and a glaze or excessive hardness of the rotor due to useage & age.  Maybe part of the answer is a softer steel rotor or annealing the old one & regrinding or just the regrind?  Any thoughts on this idea?  Is there a minimum thickness spec for the rotor?

[johnny]

I've tangled with that issue a number of times and it seemed like a verity of slotions worked (seemed like something different each time) but only for a while, then reoccurred. 
In the past 6 months I've developed the most effective long term solution to date:
http://www.vinmoto.org/gallery/v/VinMoto-Garage/album03/Godfferys-Garage-123/album185/Anti+squeal+Brake+Insulators/

BTW; I also recommend removing the adjustment Screw, nut & spring; then put them in a safe place where they'll never be seen from again!!!

As it happens, I ran into Godffery tonight at a local bike night and he generously installed one of brake insulators. It took less than 5 minutes! So far, so good! No squeaks during my ride home.

[Tintop]

My rotor has been drilled but the squeal started this year on brake application.  I strongly suspect a combination of the brake pad type (installed about 1000 miles ago, will have to look back thru my bills to see if it's genuine Honda) and a glaze or excessive hardness of the rotor due to useage & age.  Maybe part of the answer is a softer steel rotor or annealing the old one & regrinding or just the regrind?  Any thoughts on this idea?  Is there a minimum thickness spec for the rotor?

I'll be corrected if wrong, but 5mm is the number I remember reading.

[Tintop]

Actually... There are some thing in the Honda manuals that should be pretty much ignored.

The current industry standard for stock rotor thickness is an average of 4mm .

I have been developing some light weight modern style rotors lately.
Here's one of them:
http://www.vinmoto.org/gallery/v/VinMoto-Garage/album03/Godfferys-Garage-123/album185/Front+brake+rotors+CB+450K-500T-500K-550K-550F/

Granted modern disk are much thinner, but they also use 35+ year newer metalurgy.  They are also floating rather than fixed, so less stresses are induced into the disk.

[Greggo]

Minimum rotor thickness is cast into the side.  IIRC, it states 6mm. 

[Nortstudio]

It's like using a home improvement book from the 70's to see what kind of paint to use on your house, going to the hardwhere store and expecting them to provide you with led base paint because the "book" said that's what you need.

Wait, isn't the stock rotor in this story the Lead paint?  Like tiptop said, is it possible that the newer tech in metal could make thinner rotors safer?

Regardless, does the thinner rotor (which seems the most difficult and expensive to do - if you don't own the proper gear) make the squealing stop?

[Nortstudio]

I could go into a lengthy post about why they were so thick back then and there not now but I just don't have that kind of time.

No worries on not having the time, I don't really have the patience. 

I was just pointing out that it seemed, by your logic, which was trying to correct someone else's logic, that you walked into a modern auto dealer and bought a turbo charger, and then insisted it should work on a Model T.  Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't.....

..now, back to the original point of this thread - Do the model T's brakes squeal?!

[dave500]

put silicon around the edges of both pads,it will flex enough to allow correct operation.

[Simpson]

2cents
In my experience, noisy brakes come from pads over heating and creating a "glaze".
Light pressure on a glazed pad to the rotor will cause a squeal.
The pad must be allowed to relax to cool off during normal operation.
Indication the brake is not working correctly is a dark color rotor, should be shinny.
Good way to check is spin the front tire on the center stand, expect a free spinning wheel!

This can come from:
-Too much resistance on the caliper piston
-Pads not able to adjust/move in their "nests"

To remedy a sticky piston:
-Buff stainless piston with mothers compound to a high shine
-Take o-ring out of inside  caliper housing and polish thoroughly with 0000 steel wool. Be sure to clean the groove out well.
-Free feel to replace oring seal if old

Be sure to blow out caliper housing with high pressure air hose and clean 100%

-Clean perimeter of pads and remove glaze.

Drilling holes in the rotor helps cool, but still does not fix the light braking action.
Fixing the brake correctly will help the performance of the bike by not loading the suspension on "off-braking" times, additionally load the engine due to extra drag and over heat the rotor.

Silicone, drilling holes and magical creams are band aids to most real brake issues.

Good Luck

[nilsey]

BTW; I also recommend removing the adjustment Screw, nut & spring; then put them in a safe place where they'll never be seen from again!!!

oh man, i see the logic but it juts seems wrong to want to get rid or=f the factory adjustment mechanism for the caliper arm.... is anyone else running like this? what is the downside to taking that off?

[Tintop]

The down side is possible delayed brake application.  If the rotor has any runout, it will push the 'live' piston back into the caliper.  Doesn't effect racers because any runout is felt as a pulse, and the rotors get changed.  Also they are applying the brakes in quick succession, so there is also little time for this to happen.

[MCRider]

Also, in routine operation, if you go down a bumpy road for even a short distance, the A pad will get pushed back into the caliper too far just by beiing jarred. When you grab a handle full you'll pull to the grip or nearly and you'll have to quick pump1 or 2 times more to get the pad back out where its supposed to be and have some brakes. Dangerous.

Cannot recommend removing the adjuster. If everything is operating properly the adjuster will not be a burden in any way.

[Tintop]

+1 MCRider