Front brake rubbing

[barry905]

I recently noticed a noise coming from the front wheel of my 09 GS500F. It sounded like it was the brakes rubbing on the rotor, so I ordered (and fitted) a new set of brake pads. No change. Alright, so next I took off the caliper again and cleaned out the brake assembly. No change. Next I tried to align the brake pad on the rotor by not tightening the caliper bolts until I had pressed the brake and effectively clamped the caliper to the rotor: I picked that tip from the internet). Still no change.

When I rotate the front wheel I can hear the pad rubbing against the rotor, and after a short run there is significant heat in the rotor, so I am fairly sure that the brake is rubbing. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Big Rich]

A slight rubbing is completely normal, so this might fall in that category since there is nothing to actually push the pads away from the rotor. Did you check the pins to make sure they are greased and sealed properly? The pins that the calipers actually slide in & out on btw.... can't think of the actual name at the moment.

[Janx101]

Yep if duck brake pads DONT touch the rotor THEN you have an issue,  they are NOT the same in action as old style drum brakes!

Does the wheel complete a full rotation without a tight spot? ... when riding do you get any sideways pulling action from the bike?

What sort of noise did you hear? A muted squeak? Pebbles in a tin can? Bieber with his fingers caught in a vice?

If there is tugging in the bars while you ride its possible you could have a warped rotor or bad bearings or maybe a misaligned wheel rubbing the front guard.... but these things often provide a fairly noticeable effect when you are moving.

You're sure its the front end?

[Janx101]

Duck brake pads? ..  sigh. .. silly phone. . Disc brake pads!

[barry905]

I was really worried about the duck brake pads for a  while - thought I was missing something there. As for the sound, it reminds me a wheel bearing failure, except that there is no noticeable movement when I try twisting the wheel. And the sounds certainly seems to come from the front of the bike: when I push the bike out of the garage there is a definite rubbing noise coming from the front wheel.

The good (?) news is that there is no side forces on the bars when I ride, and no pulsing on the brake. the bike handles beautifuuly. It just makes a noise!

I will take the caliper off again and check the slider pins and let you know what happens.

Thank you for your input.

[Janx101]

If it quacks like a duck it might be a duck!?.... sounds like a wheel bearing...........?
Maybe a dry bearing or possibly one that's under pressure from axle/wheel  being put back with spacers incorrect? ... worth investigating what a noise sounds like eh!

[barry905]

So as promised I took the caliper off and checked the pins and then cleaned them again anyway. I also checked the little spring things at the back of the pads and cleaned that too, and checked the slider to make sure that it worked properly. The net result was that the brake rubbing noise that I get when I rotate the wheel is minimized, but now I can hear a faint clicking sound when I spin the wheel with the caliper out.

I'm beginning to suspect the wheel bearings, although when I try to rock the wheel I don't notice any free play. But the noise is definitely there under load, but doesn't seem to affect the rotation of the wheel. Strange?

Any thoughts? And thanks.

[Big Rich]

It doesn't take much for bearings to go bad... and if there was any free play rocking the wheel than the bearings would be absolutely toasted. If they are starting to go bad, it might explain the rubbing / grinding.

Take the wheel off if it isn't already, and put your finger inside the bearing. Roll it around while putting some pressure on it. If it is anything other than smooth as glass, you found your problem.

[mennobike]

I've been wondering about this on my bike as well: when I pull the clutch to coast into a stop, I hear a rhythmic whoosh/scrape, that is pretty consistent at all rpms (though I can't hear it at high ones) and isn't around when I idle. I'm not really familiar with mystery noise hunting... related to the front end or not?

[barry905]

latest update: I'm now pretty sure that it is not the brake at all - typical piece of optimism by me. The sound definitely seems more like a bearing noise - it has that rotational quality. And anyway a new set of bearings is only $11 so it's not too expensive to replace. Only problem - no bearings in this city. So I've ordered a set online, which should be delivered this week.

More soon.

[Big Rich]

Barry, where did you get your bearings? I found a good deal on ebay before on rear wheel bearings,  only to install them and find out they were garbage. My wheel was dragging so much I was losing about 7-10 miles per gallon....

Are you replacing the bearings yourself, or taking it to a shop?

[Janx101]

Cheap bearings..... are!

Maybe for a lawnmower wheel no drama... but one of the things that supports the weight of you and bike from the spinning wheelhub at high rotational speed??! ...

If you just got an awesome deal on quality bearings then great!..... but 'garantea top enjiner qualiting as for genuine mayker same items of manufacturing'  or some similar "chinglish" .... hope you wearing good gear when they fail!?

[EdChen]

I just purchased some new wheel bearings for the front. You can hop on eBay and buy quality bearings for not too much more than cheap ones on Amazon. All you need to know is the bearing sizes:

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=24346.0

Front wheel has 2 bearings, both size 6302 2RS, dims 15x42x13
Rear wheel has 2 bearings, both size 6303 2RS, dims 17x47x14
Cush-drive has 1 bearing, size 6305 2RS, dims 25x62x17.

The 2RS indicates that it has a rubber seal on both sides, which you want to maintain (they sell metal shielded bearings, but the rubber sealed ones are better for this application).

Some good brands are SKF, NTN, F A G (auto censor changes it to 'nancy boy'), NSK, Nachi, Koyo, and more. I think most bearing sets online (like from All Balls Bearing) are repackaged industrial bearings, usually KML brand, which are probably adequate. I almost got a pair of SKF bearings (made in indonesia) on ebay, but for a buck more, I got Nachi bearings that were made in Japan. About $8 each. I think most bearings on eBay are C3 tolerance, which I think is right for a motorcycle.

Good luck!

[HPP8140]

It doesn't take much for bearings to go bad... and if there was any free play rocking the wheel than the bearings would be absolutely toasted. If they are starting to go bad, it might explain the rubbing / grinding.

Take the wheel off if it isn't already, and put your finger inside the bearing. Roll it around while putting some pressure on it. If it is anything other than smooth as glass, you found your problem.

Yikes!!...had 74k on my 95 GS500 never changed bearings.

[barry905]

Rich,

I'm doing the replacement myself - I try to keep away from shops so that I know what has happened to my vehicles and if it fails I know exactly who to blame.The bearings come from Canada Motorcycles who have always supplied quality parts whenever I ordered anything so I hope I'm OK there.

The new bearings arrived yesterday and I've been having fun removing the old ones. There seems to be very little space in which to get a probe in to push/knock out the old ones. In the end I used a concrete sleeve anchor as a drift to put pressure on the inner race and then heated the wheel to get a little slack and after many attempts it finally came out. What fun.

The new bearings are in the freezer to get a little shrinkage, and I plan to fit them tomorrow. More after that!

[Big Rich]

Good for you man! Nothing wrong with that attitude.

The freezer thing works fairly well. A little bit of grease around the outer diameter, and remember to not push / hit the inner race when installing the bearings, and you'll have it done in no time.

[bmf]

Bit of a heat gun on the rim bearing surface expands that up and it slips in easy- see told you all I love my heat gun.
I prefer oil on the bearing rather than grease, the grease can get quite tacky on a frozen bearing.
I bought the motion pro bearing tool to knock out the bearings , does make life easier.
When knocking the bearing in go slowly near the end, there is a spacer between the bearings and it is possible to push the outer race in a bit too deeply and that spacer than applies lateral pressure on the inner race -  which they don't like. I had to knock the bearing back out a ball hair to release that pressure.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

[gsJack]

For others using this thread for reference with older model GSs:

I replaced all four wheel bearings in my 02 and all were driven in solid against the bottom until the bell rang tapping all around. The spacers then were not tight, didn't move laterally but did move radially with the little pinky applied.  The bearings turned free and smoothly.  Obviously the bearings must have had a bit of preload when the axle bolt was tightened.

I have the wheels from my old 97 with the original bearings and 120k miles on them and the bearing inner races feel a bit looser due to wear but they were tight up and the wheel couldn't be moved laterally when they were shaken when last on the bike.  Now I can lift the inner spacer with my little pinky and hear it fall.

I don't doubt what bmf posted above about the bearings going tight when the they were driven in and it was necessary to back one off a bit, there were others also reporting the same.  Seems there was a different wheel bearing fitment between the 89-02 older models and the newer assembled in Spain 04-09 GSF models sold here.

[barry905]

And my final (?) update. So I fitted the new bearings and put the wheel back together and took it out for a road test. And the noise was still there!

But on the higher speed portion of my road test I noticed that at one point the sound got significantly worse. So I put the bike up on the centre stand and checked the front wheel. Quiet as a mouse. So I thought - why not check the rear wheel? Spun the rear wheel - godawful noise. Red face noises from me here. The noise wasn't coming from the front wheel as I originally thought, but from the front drive chain sprocket. So I checked the chain and sure enough there was very uneven wear along its length. At some points there was an inch of play in the chain, at others nothing at all. I replaced the chain and now it runs perfectly.

The moral  of this sad tale is don't just assume (guess) some part has broken, check everything before starting repairs. I would have saved myself considerable time, money and particularly embarrassment by doing that. On the bright side (what there is of it) I learned more about the front end of the bike, and had some fun doing the work.

Thanks for everyone's input. I really appreciate it.


Barry

[Janx101]

glad you found it! ... I once spent $850 on a new diff in a car that was 'suffering from bad rumble noises) .... and right after that had the left front wheel bearing replaced cos it was the noise culprit! .. I feel your pain! Lol

You must have the minty freshest front bearings of anyone here though!