Blue Rear Rotor

[joel]

Well there I was, Going down the 10% grade for the 12 miles, or was it 21 miles, [ hiway 14a east of Cody, Wy. ] attempting to keep the wife happy and do 35 mph so she could get pictures, and I began to overheat the brakes, was telling myself the smell was from the bike in front of us but by the time we stopped in Cody, Wy. the rear brakes sounded like I was in the metal to metal sounds, I pulled the right side bag off the Ultra to take a look, brake pad still looks ok for 18,000 miles on them, thin but should get home, but the rotor has a blue tint to it, I looked the some of the brake tip threads but didn't find my answer, should the rotor be replaced or just cleaned up, don't have any pulsation from the rear brakes but I have some from the front.

 

[Hoople]

That heat will sink to the caliper pistons and fluid. It has to. If it turned BLUE and it sounded like metal to metal, the heat had to be horrific. I would take the whole thing apart and inspect it, but that's just me.

 

[joel]

I tried to keep it slow, was in 3rd most of the time but a 10% grade and a fully loaded bike, you still gain speed, and those corners look sooo inviting. I will be changing the fluid, and pads, and a closer look at the caliper dust boots.

 

[TQuentin1]

Well there I was, Going down the 10% grade for the 12 miles, or was it 21 miles, [ hiway 14a east of Cody, Wy. ] attempting to keep the wife happy and do 35 mph so she could get pictures, and I began to overheat the brakes, was telling myself the smell was from the bike in front of us but by the time we stopped in Cody, Wy. the rear brakes sounded like I was in the metal to metal sounds, I pulled the right side bag off the Ultra to take a look, brake pad still looks ok for 18,000 miles on them, thin but should get home, but the rotor has a blue tint to it, I looked the some of the brake tip threads but didn't find my answer, should the rotor be replaced or just cleaned up, don't have any pulsation from the rear brakes but I have some from the front.

Well, you heat treated that thing at least once!!

If you are in this situation again, as mentioned above, downshift a gear or two so that you are up around 3000 rpm. You will not need to use the brakes as much, because when you let off the throttle, the engine compression will help slow the bike.

TQ

 

[Locke]

Just curious, what was your RPM range in 3rd gear?

 

[joel]

Just curious, what was your RPM range in 3rd gear?

Thinking at and above 3000 prm, road was loaded with turns, switchbacks, and the jabbering for me to slow down more, thinking this could be a solo riders dream ride destination as the wife isn't real fond on floor boards scraping the ground

 

[TQuentin1]

Thinking at and above 3000 prm, road was loaded with turns, switchbacks, and the jabbering for me to slow down more, thinking this could be a solo riders dream ride destination as the wife isn't real fond on floor boards scraping the ground

In third? Kinda doubt it. Second should take you up around 3krpm at 30-35 mph. If you were running in third at 30-35 mph you would be down close to 2000-2200 rpm. This low would not help slow the bike much and would make you rely on your brakes too much especially with the full load.

TQ

 

[Locke]

The reason I asked, I have the five speed.
Talked to a guy who lost his brakes in the mountians. After riding with him I understood why, high gear, lugging the motor and stayed on the brakes.
As was suggested, I was in a lower gear, 3000 to 4000 RPM, and was hardly ever on the brakes. Motor did most of the work. Burnned a good bit of gas but was a lot of fun!

 

[dcfatboy]

This is a timely thread.

I just returned from a trip to NH, where I rode the Mt. Washington Auto Road 2-up. The speed limit was 15mph. I ascended in 1st and 2nd gear, keeping rpms between 1800 (1st gear only) and 3000 rpm, and going no faster than 20mph. Engine temps reached 363 degrees.

On the descent, I stayed in 1st gear, stayed around 15 mph, barely used breaks. Engine temp was 226 degrees.

Air temp was 60 F at the top and probably mid 70s at the bottom.

If I do it again, I will restrict my ascent to 15 mph, thinking the engine temp will be lower.

BTW, I found the descent much easier to negotiate than the ascent.

Speaking of controlling rpms, on the way back from NH I was getting on the Jersey Turnpike from the Garden State Pky. Ramp speed was 15mph. The bike was leaning a bit because of the acceleration required to get in the correct lane after leaving the toll booth.

The minivan in front of me almost came to a complete stop in the curve and I had to slow down quite a bit.

My passenger asked me how was I able to slow down so fast and safely with the bike leaning. I told her it was because of the rpms I was at and how I setup and enter curves. I like to be at around 3500 rpm so that when I let off the throttle and use engine compression, I can slow down quickly and still be at about 3000 rpm. I don't like to use my brakes in curves.

 

[deucedog]

This is a timely thread.

I just returned from a trip to NH, where I rode the Mt. Washington Auto Road 2-up. The speed limit was 15mph. I ascended in 1st and 2nd gear, keeping rpms between 1800 (1st gear only) and 3000 rpm, and going no faster than 20mph. Engine temps reached 363 degrees.

On the descent, I stayed in 1st gear, stayed around 15 mph, barely used breaks. Engine temp was 226 degrees.

Air temp was 60 F at the top and probably mid 70s at the bottom.

If I do it again, I will restrict my ascent to 15 mph, thinking the engine temp will be lower.

BTW, I found the descent much easier to negotiate than the ascent.

I did the auto road last year and had a ball. Even came across a sow and her cubs on the way up. That gave me the only real nervous moments as we had to stop in the middle of a tight hairpin turn to let her cross the road. The guy in front of me just didn't want to go, so I had to pass him sitting in the middle of the road, which put me between him and the sow bear, maybe 15' from her. Anyway, the trip up was not bad. I kept my speed to around 20 mph. Coming down was mostly 2nd gear and minimal brakes. At least until I got behind the guy on the aging Kaw that just didn't want to go faster than 5 mph. Temps at the bottom were in the mid 80's, at the top 47.