1200 issue

[jloomis19]

My father in laws 1996 xl1200c is having a couple issues. I haven't been able to make it over to check it out myself yet, so thought id get some suggestions here first. First thing is he says his front brakes are chattering, I asked if he needed new ones, he said he replaced them last year and they are still good. The other thing is that he said his forks seem like they are sitting lower than what they should, and was wondering if there was anyway of adjusting them. I'm somewhat mechanical and will look onto these when I get time to go over, but like I said, just seeing what the more experienced folks say. Thanks.

 

[HDDon]

First do you know how old the fluid is in the brake system? If it has been in there for awhile it could be contaminated with water. This will cause the fluid to overheat and the brakes will cavitate or chatter. If the springs in the forks are original they are probably shot and will need to be replaced. The front brake chatter could also be the front wheel bearings are failing.

 

[Jack Klarich]

If you have a runout gauge check the rotor for runout, I believe Harley calls out for .008 iMO that is TOO much and will cause pulsation and chatter, Follow Dons advice about flushing the fluid it can only help:s

 

[fin_676]

Front brake can chatter if the floating pad is not correctly secured by the spring clip in its floating mount

A picture tells a thousand words

Brian

 

[jloomis19]

That was a big part of the issue fin....turns out, when I finally made it up to look at it, I took the break apart and found he had one of the pads in backwards....no clue how he managed that, but it was, I turned it around so the pad was on the rotor, and secured it in the clip, put all back together, and it was fine. The forks I think he is just crazy, I compared it to my 06, and the clearance is about the same. Thanks for the info and suggestions.

 

[fin_676]

I am glad to hear that you are now sorted

Brian