ABM rotors have excessive movement

[twowheelnut]

WC
Let me guess, because of the actions of some idiot, your not going to make an offer to us for a brake system GB.

Say it aint so?

What if we all say please?

Did you really have to ask that? You thinkin' hell's about to freeze over or what? <_<

 

[DucatiSSsp]

Agree with WC that you got a defective carrier. Have seen a aluminum sprocket turn into mincemeat in one day of offroad riding. MY EBC race rotors came with extra buttons since there was some "expected wear" that was going to happen, especially on the racetrack. Also wonder if the left side rotor was doing most of the braking due to the system not being bled properly or damaged caliper/glazed pads etc. Food for thought.....

Have had 2 sets of EBC rotors and pads on 2 different bikes. Can't say I liked the light blue carriers, but did like the stopping power.

Good luck!

Bryce

 

[GunMD]

Also wonder if the left side rotor was doing most of the braking due to the system not being bled properly or damaged caliper/glazed pads etc. Food for thought.....

Certainly a valid question. While I cannot say definitively that this wasn't the case (who could, really?) I will tell you that I have a more than competent wrench that does almost all of my mechanical work and he's meticulous about the details. Lil Dawn, the owner of Desert Cycle Works in 29 Palms is my ONLY mechanic. He installed the Spiegler stainless lines, ABM rotors and Carbon Loraine pads for me (while I watched actually). He used Motul brake fluid and bled them like a champ. In fact he often bleeds 'em when I have the bike in for oil changes, etc. just to be certain that everything is still on track. The brakes had a fantastic feel to them, but the rotors have always had "the rattle" that I describe earlier in this thread. I'm 150% confident that the system was properly bled and maintained. I'm a stickler for the little stuff and that's why I trust Dawn. He's been wrenching my bikes for almost 10 years now and I've never had any worries. I may not be a mechanic but I am an asshole for the details.

I have dealt w/ Matthias on another issue in the past. When my braided lines came in from the group buy one of the banjos was wrong and after taking a couple of pictures and sending them to him, he took great care of me. Please note that I gave Spiegler some props for their quick response to my problems (I'm not a horrible customer, IMO).

This thing w/ the rotors is a little disappointing to say the least. I'm most surprised at the fact that I'm being told that these rotors have reached the end of their usable lives at only 25K miles. That along with the fact that only ONE of them is out of specs seems funny, but that's what I'm being told.

Oh well, I'm sure that Germany isn't the only place I can send my money.

 

[Warchild]

Edit: removed thread hijack posts.

 

[GunMD]

We now return you to the thread's original topic:

After some additional email traffic w/ Matthias last night and this morning he has indicated to me that Spiegler will be picking up the tab for the replacement of the worn carrier. :clapping:

Thanks for taking care of business, Spiegler / ABM.

 

[beeroux]

2nd angry post deleted.

 

[GunMD]

2nd angry post deleted.

Not before I had a chance to read it! Nice.

 

[SkooterG]

Glad they took care of you. Way to stand up on their part.

Were they reading this thread by any chance?

 

[GunMD]

Glad they took care of you. Way to stand up on their part.
Were they reading this thread by any chance?

YES, they were.

 

[GunMD]

UPDATE:

Just got off the phone w/ Matthias. He clarified some of the things that had been said via email. The carrier in question is undeniably "not right" according to him and he has agreed to replace at no cost to me. We discussed riding style, riding mileage vs racing mileage (he races, I ride) and various other variables. Nothing seemed to stand out to either of us that would explain that left rotor's carrier falling out of specs the way it did. No matter though because he's going to take care of it.

I should have my rotors back (with new carriers) in two to three weeks (parts coming from Germany).

Problem looks to be solved, and I'm once again a happy camper.

 

[DucatiSSsp]

Good to hear! :clapping:

Bryce

 

[FJRPierre]

Here is a link to a page where you can download a video of my problem rotor.

Holy crap....you ride with that?? I'd be scared shitless. Looks to me like they are the wrong size???

 

[GunMD]

Here is a link to a page where you can download a video of my problem rotor.

Holy crap....you ride with that?? I'd be scared shitless. Looks to me like they are the wrong size???

Uhhhh...no. If you read more on this thread you'll see that I stopped riding immediately and shipped those puppies back to Spiegler for repairs.

 

[Heber Guy]

Guys,

I decided to change tires for the SFO weekend coming up and was concerned about some front end noise I had. So during the tire change we went over the front end of the bike. To my surprise and horror we found the front rotors to be in the same condition as described in this thread by Gunnie only worse.

When I returned home I did a search and found this thread and thought I would add my experience. I have called Mathias but he has not returned my call.

Both of my rotors were like Gunnies left or worse and also my left was worse than the right just as his. I replaced them with the stock rotors. These ABM rotors were also purchased during the March 2005 group buy.

The bike is a 2005 ABS with 42,000 miles and about 39,000 miles on the rotors. Pictures or movies would be redundant because of Gunnies excellent post.

In 42 years of riding this is the most dangerous thing I have ever found on one of my bikes. I am greatly disappionted with the safety aspect of these rotors.

Look out and be careful those of you who have purchased this product.

I will keep you informed of the outcome of this situation.

Al

 

[fjrchooser]

My group buy rotors are still new in the box, thinking they'll stay there now until the stockers are wore through. By the way, 39 K and still on the original pads..

 

[Heber Guy]

Chooser,

I would not hesitate to use your rotors but I would keep a careful eye. They do work great.

Al

 

[GunMD]

Yeah, they are fully capable of stopping this big ol bike...but at what cost? My rebuilds are still in the box that they arrived in. I'm running EBC's right now.

I guess maybe my concerns were well founded after all.

 

[yamaholic]

Damn, sorry to hear this.

I have about 25K on Galfers on my 03. They are still tight as the day I bought them. They are full-floaters and I'm a hard braker.

However, if they were hosed at this point, I'm not so sure I would be disappointed. After all, they (waves in general) are RACING spec rotors. Meaning they perform as racing parts do during the expected lifetime. Which to me is somewhere between 1 race and 1 season.

Glad they are taking care of you, and more importantly--glad you discovered this now before injury occured.

Me thinks this is probably an anomoly since as you mentioned, you're a rider not a racer so the load they sustained is probably considered light in racing terms.

 

[Neville McNaughton]

Rotors are a fairly well understood subject at the track, the wavy washer behind the disc are replaced at the track on a regular basis, retainers removed and replaced with after market items. However fitment of rotors by some of us amateurs can cause problems. EBC will tell you that you should take great care to make sure the rotors are centered in the caliper, in one past situation I had to put a 20 thou spacer between the lug on the fork leg and the caliper, a pain but no more adverse wear or drag on pads and rotors. EBC were of the opinion that after I warped a set it was my poor fitment, I had to agree in hindsite, they blamed it on variable OEM tolerances that can cause this problem.

A by note, I just replaced the pads on my FJR art 32,000 miles and the inner pad was almost gone and the outer one looked good and healthy, the mechanic said this was normal, but it was disappointing.

Neville