Author Topic: C-14 Galfer Rotors pulsating. UPDATE (Read 16133 times)

Steve Bell · « **on:** May 26, 2011, 04:28:25 PM »

I only have 3500KMS on these Galfer rotors and Pads and now I am starting to feel pulsating when I slow to a stop. I sent Galfer an E-Mail and asked about the run out tolerance for these rotors and also asked if bead blasting was required after only 3500KMS maybe due to pad material build up, On Galfers website under Rotor care they suggest bead blasting every year! Anyway I got an E-Mail back right away but they did not answer either of my 2 questions?? They only said send them back to us and we will take a look!
I live in Canada and can just imagine how long that would take.
25 Years of riding on the street and 4 years of road racing and this is the first bike I have even had rotor issues with.
I sent them another E-Mail asking for both of my original questions to be answered so I will keep you guys informed.

JetJock · « **Reply #1 on:** May 26, 2011, 07:43:48 PM »

Ask them to send you new replacements and THEN you'll send them the old ones. Otherwise you can't ride.

Well you can ride, you just can't stop, which comes in handy sometimes.

VirginiaJim · « **Reply #2 on:** May 27, 2011, 04:18:31 AM »

Do you feel the pulsing in the brake lever or with the wheel? It may make a difference in what might be wrong. I have the EBC rotors on the front and they started shuddering... No pulsing in the lever, though. Removed the pad material left overs with a rotor hone and they are quite a bit better. I still think I have a pad issue that I'm working on this weekend, though.

Steve Bell · « **Reply #3 on:** May 27, 2011, 06:17:59 AM »

Quote from: vajim on May 27, 2011, 04:18:31 AM

Do you feel the pulsing in the brake lever or with the wheel? It may make a difference in what might be wrong. I have the EBC rotors on the front and they started shuddering... No pulsing in the lever, though. Removed the pad material left overs with a rotor hone and they are quite a bit better. I still think I have a pad issue that I'm working on this weekend, though.

I do not feet it in the lever just the in the front end as I slow to a stop. It feels like there is a smooth spot where the pads slip and then another section where the pads grab?

VirginiaJim · « **Reply #4 on:** May 27, 2011, 09:41:15 AM »

Yep, it could be an over deposit of pad material. Which pads were you using?

Steve Bell · « **Reply #5 on:** May 27, 2011, 10:08:07 AM »

Quote from: vajim on May 27, 2011, 09:41:15 AM

Yep, it could be an over deposit of pad material. Which pads were you using?

Galfer HH Street pads. Bought new with the rotors.

VirginiaJim · « **Reply #6 on:** May 27, 2011, 10:54:34 AM »

Did the same with my EBC rotors. They told me it would take up to a thousand miles to break them in and that some 'shuddering' was normal. Well, it's been longer than that for me but I probably caused my issue. I just replaced the CL pads with the EBCs without checking on the brake fluid level. I ran a few miles before I realized that it was overfull. When I came back the rotors were somewhat warm and I think probably overheated the pads. My bad. So after I removed the pad deposits it was at least 75% better but not perfect. I'm going to give the pads a little sanding and then if that doesn't help, I'm ordering the Kawi pads for the '10 model as they've been changed...

Steve Bell · « **Reply #7 on:** May 28, 2011, 06:20:54 PM »

Well I sent my reply E-Mail to Galfer Thursday night asking them to answer my questions about run out for the rotors and if Blasting the rotors after only 3500 KMS was common and Friday there was no responce. Maybe they packed up and left for World Superbike in Salt Lake City? I will let you know if they reply next week.

Steve Bell · « **Reply #8 on:** May 31, 2011, 06:59:55 PM »

Still no responce back from Galfer??? Not really liking the customer service right about now! Sent yet another E-Mail tonight.

B.D.F. · « **Reply #9 on:** May 31, 2011, 07:13:24 PM »

Just a thought but I have had better results calling companies on the phone in cases like this. The customer service is generally better and other useful things will come up in a conversation that might not happen in e-mails. It is also a lot harder for most companies to ignore a ringing phone than it is to put off an e-mail. I am not saying Galfer or any other company is not performing correctly, just saying that the phone has worked better for me with other companies.

Brian

Quote from: Steve Bell on May 31, 2011, 06:59:55 PM

Still no responce back from Galfer??? Not really liking the customer service right about now! Sent yet another E-Mail tonight.

Steve Bell · « **Reply #10 on:** May 31, 2011, 07:37:37 PM »

Quote from: B.D.F. on May 31, 2011, 07:13:24 PM

Just a thought but I have had better results calling companies on the phone in cases like this. The customer service is generally better and other useful things will come up in a conversation that might not happen in e-mails. It is also a lot harder for most companies to ignore a ringing phone than it is to put off an e-mail. I am not saying Galfer or any other company is not performing correctly, just saying that the phone has worked better for me with other companies.

Brian

I am sure you are right Brian, I will try to call tomorrow.

Steve Bell · « **Reply #11 on:** June 02, 2011, 04:52:42 PM »

After a few days of phone tag I finally got to talk to a Tech at Galfer. First off he is aware of the Kawasaki rotor issue and he heard that the problem with Kawasaki's warping Rotors was pistons not retracting in the calipers properly and brake pads dragging and warping the rotors!! He also said it was easier for Kawasaki to replace rotors rather than brake calipers.
So he tells me I probably have a brake piston problem.
He told me that the run out tolerence for Galfer is .004" and if I want to blast my rotors to remove old pad material to use #90 glass beads. The other method he recommended is 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper wet with soap and water in a figure 8 motion.
I will check my calipers for binding pistons and the run out on the rotors and let you know.

Steve.

Pokey · « **Reply #12 on:** June 02, 2011, 05:00:00 PM »

I have some new Galfer HH pads coming to me soon, hopefully they are a winner for me.

Steve Bell · « **Reply #13 on:** June 03, 2011, 08:36:43 PM »

Ok here are the results of the run out measurements:
Right side rotor has .014" run out.
Left side rotor has .0065" run out.
Galfer Tech told me they have a .004" tolerence so I would have to say they are hooped.
The Tech asked me to check to see if each button on each carrier was loose and that I was able to compress the spring washer by squeezing with my thumb and they were all loose and free. Then I blew out every button to be sure they were free of any brake dust and I removed my calipers for the run out test as well.
All my pads still look brand new and have even wear.
guess I will see what they have to say now.

B.D.F. · « **Reply #14 on:** June 03, 2011, 08:55:09 PM »

Best of luck with them Steve.

I have to say that this is not encouraging. Those rotors are not cheap and I think anyone buying them would hope to put an end to warped rotors.

On a slightly different note, Kawi spec.'s the factory rotors to be w/in 0.010" TIR and I have always thought that was a ridiculous specification. Mine were chattering the entire front end of the bike when they were reading less than 0.007" (each rotor). I think Galfer's spec.'s are a lot more reasonable than the ones in the service manual for a C-14.

Brian

Quote from: Steve Bell on June 03, 2011, 08:36:43 PM

Ok here are the results of the run out measurements:
Right side rotor has .014" run out.
Left side rotor has .0065" run out.
Galfer Tech told me they have a .004" tolerence so I would have to say they are hooped.
The Tech asked me to check to see if each button on each carrier was loose and that I was able to compress the spring washer by squeezing with my thumb and they were all loose and free. Then I blew out every button to be sure they were free of any brake dust and I removed my calipers for the run out test as well.
All my pads still look brand new and have even wear.
guess I will see what they have to say now.

Steve Bell · « **Reply #15 on:** June 03, 2011, 09:41:18 PM »

Quote from: B.D.F. on June 03, 2011, 08:55:09 PM

I have to say that this is not encouraging. Those rotors are not cheap and I think anyone buying them would hope to put an end to warped rotors.

I thought long and hard about spending the extra cash on Galfers compared to EBC or even some E-Bay knock offs and went with Galfer because I "heard" they were the best rotors for the money and I thought I would no longer have rotor problems.

VirginiaJim · « **Reply #16 on:** June 03, 2011, 09:47:06 PM »

As the French say, 'I laugh in your general direction..'. I can say this because that's why I went with EBCs and had the same problems....sigh.

B.D.F. · « **Reply #17 on:** June 03, 2011, 09:52:52 PM »

Yeah, I was in that same spot and was chewing on expensive, name brand rotors or the cheap Chinese knock- offs. Not that I believe the copies are as good but they are so inexpensive that you could buy several sets for the price of one set of 'real' rotors. It ended up that my second set of Kawasaki rotors (replaced under warranty) were just coated with pad material and an aggressive cleaning restored them to brand new smoothness so I didn't end up buying anyone's rotors.

The Galfer and EBC rotors warping makes me wonder if the rotors themselves are just too small for the bike? FJRs seem to have similar sized rotors but there is not much chatter about them warping.

We (the C-14 community) have been chewing on this since the early days and still have no definitive solution that we know of. Perhaps the 2011 rotor carriers will fix the problem but it is too soon to tell.

Brian

Quote from: Steve Bell on June 03, 2011, 09:41:18 PM

I thought long and hard about spending the extra cash on Galfers compared to EBC or even some E-Bay knock offs and went with Galfer because I "heard" they were the best rotors for the money and I thought I would no longer have rotor problems.

Steve Bell · « **Reply #18 on:** June 04, 2011, 09:29:31 PM »

I have a 2006 Suzuki GSX-R 1000 that I bought new and have about 27000 KMS on it right now and thought I should see what the run out is like on those rotors while I have the dial indicator here from work....
about .001" on one side and .0015" on the other. Maybe I need to mount a Suzuki front wheel assembly on my 14!!

Kidding.

B.D.F. · « **Reply #19 on:** June 04, 2011, 10:15:46 PM »

I don't know about the wheel but swapping the rotors might be a good idea (not kidding here). How do your Suzuki rotors compare with the C-14 rotors in size (outer diameter, inner diameter of the part the rotor touches), and thickness? Are they substantially more solid (fewer lightening holes)?

Brian

Quote from: Steve Bell on June 04, 2011, 09:29:31 PM

I have a 2006 Suzuki GSX-R 1000 that I bought new and have about 27000 KMS on it right now and thought I should see what the run out is like on those rotors while I have the dial indicator here from work....
about .001" on one side and .0015" on the other. Maybe I need to mount a Suzuki front wheel assembly on my 14!!
Kidding.

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Author Topic: C-14 Galfer Rotors pulsating. **UPDATE** (Read 16133 times)

Author Topic: C-14 Galfer Rotors pulsating. UPDATE (Read 16133 times)