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rear brake rotor restoration???

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caseydeuce

Member
Last spring i replaced my rear brake pads. I should have replace my rotor at the same time, it is worn fairly bad. My question is can you turn the rear rotor on a lathe or clean it with scotch brite? My brake pads are still pretty good and i think i can get one more season out of them. what can i do (if anything) to clean up the rotor and get a little better performance out of it for one more season?
 
You said the rotor is worn fairly bad. The job of the brakes is to take mechanical energy and convert it into Heat energy. The mass of the rotor plays a large part in the dissipating of that heat. Once you clean up that rotor the proper way, the mass will be reduced even further from what is already 'worn fairly bad'. I would not do it.
 
caseydeuce said:
i would say they are glazed.
Click to expand...

Just replace them. You do not want them any thinner than they have already worn to. More risk of warping.

My bikes both have the same issue. In the spring I am gonna replace the rotors on my UC, and when I rebuild the Dyna, I am doing them too.

TQ
 
Steve has you covered, just want the rotors to have a brushed/crosshatch like finish, removing as little material as possible if rotors are close to the wear limit imprinted on the side. A $15.00 or so metal digital dial indicator caliper at Harbor Freight or local tool supply house is a worth while investment to check the thickness over several areas to be sure. I use clear water and also roughen up the pads a bit as well so the pads bed in properly.
 
If in any doubt the rotor should be replaced
god or bad brakes can mean the difference between life and death how much is your life worth

Brian
 
I have machined rotors for motorcycles, IMO after all the set up run out checking and cleaning it just isnt worth it I would buy new wash with hot soapy water blow dry install and check run out, Be safe
 
drilled and slotted rotors can not be turned on a lathe,... I'm sure you could find a shop somewhere that will do it for you,... hahaha

unfortunatley other than surface cleaning for appearance, the only thing to do is replace.
There are rotors on the market that disipate heat better than factory,... you may want to consider something. Unless you are exremely hard on your breaks (have a fast bike) replacing with factory may be the safest rout if you are scepticle about trying something new.
The determining factor would be HOW MANY MILES did those rotors last you?
 
I changed the front rotors on my 85. I bought them through Home which seemed pretty reasonable. I also replaced the bolts/screws and installed less abrasive pads. I was concerned about removing the old screws but they came right out. I also flushed the brake lines and installed Russell speed bleeders. I would just replace the rotors if you are going to take the wheel and old rotors off anyway.
 
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