TheOriginalEasyrider
Member
Hi! I found this thread while searching for info on a brake dragging issue I am working on. I have to say that I was really impressed at the quality of the advice and the generosity of those contributing their time to the process. Over my very long lifetime my experiences with public forums has been all over the board. Some are great. Others are inhabited by total jerks. So far, what I've seen here is very impressive so I'm hoping I will be welcomed to hang around for a while.
I've been riding since 1962, first bike was a 1951 hydraglide. So obviously not a young guy. Formerly from the east coast (Boston) and headed west from New Hampshire in the mid-80's. I am definitely NOT a gifted mechanic but for whatever it's worth I do most of my own wrenching and I was a machinist mate in the US Navy. Computer systems engineering was my profession and I have a BSEE.
In my old age I am trying to learn more about what makes my bikes go. As much as a mental agility project as it is a hobby. For most of my life I rode them until they broke. These days I am digging in and being much more proactive about looking into things that are wearing out, need attention and so on. In some ways I hate doing anything that might disable my bike since if there is any way to install something backwards, I'll find it. But I do have a second "daily driver", my 1997 FXR so if I botch something up I won't be a pedestrian.
I'm currently working on an issue with my rear brake that I believe was there from day one. I've found several serious issues on my 2010 FXSTC (purchased new) that could have only happened from the factory so when I'm working on a problem I have to assume nothing on this bike is what it should be unless I have personally taken it apart. This bike has always had a rear brake issue and until fairly recently I thought it was just because Harley brake pads are crap. Now I'm thinking the pads are dragging just a tad so I'm working on figuring out why. Wheel turns freely and no scuffing sounds are heard. But there is zero clearance between the bad and the rotor with no pressure applied to the brake lever.
Not in need of any help at this point but OCD that I am, I figured finding a friendly forum populated by guys who know a lot more than I do might be a good place to drop by. So thanks in advance for your hospitality! I have a number of projects in mind so I will probably be picking people's brains now and then.
I've been riding since 1962, first bike was a 1951 hydraglide. So obviously not a young guy. Formerly from the east coast (Boston) and headed west from New Hampshire in the mid-80's. I am definitely NOT a gifted mechanic but for whatever it's worth I do most of my own wrenching and I was a machinist mate in the US Navy. Computer systems engineering was my profession and I have a BSEE.
In my old age I am trying to learn more about what makes my bikes go. As much as a mental agility project as it is a hobby. For most of my life I rode them until they broke. These days I am digging in and being much more proactive about looking into things that are wearing out, need attention and so on. In some ways I hate doing anything that might disable my bike since if there is any way to install something backwards, I'll find it. But I do have a second "daily driver", my 1997 FXR so if I botch something up I won't be a pedestrian.
I'm currently working on an issue with my rear brake that I believe was there from day one. I've found several serious issues on my 2010 FXSTC (purchased new) that could have only happened from the factory so when I'm working on a problem I have to assume nothing on this bike is what it should be unless I have personally taken it apart. This bike has always had a rear brake issue and until fairly recently I thought it was just because Harley brake pads are crap. Now I'm thinking the pads are dragging just a tad so I'm working on figuring out why. Wheel turns freely and no scuffing sounds are heard. But there is zero clearance between the bad and the rotor with no pressure applied to the brake lever.
Not in need of any help at this point but OCD that I am, I figured finding a friendly forum populated by guys who know a lot more than I do might be a good place to drop by. So thanks in advance for your hospitality! I have a number of projects in mind so I will probably be picking people's brains now and then.
