99 Fatboy changed the front rotor and now put back together and the brake caliper won't release all the way. any suggestions?

 

Might be as simple as corrosion on the pistons or debris between the pistons and caliper.
Did you lube the pins and pistons prior to reassemble?

 

I did not......I am new to working on bikes so not sure how that is done.

 

The pistons are basically cups that slide in and out pushing on the pads.
They are a loose fit in the caliper and should come out for cleaning without much trouble.
Once out inspect the caliper and clean the cavity the pistons sit in.
Wheel bearing grease is fine for lube. Only a tiny bit is needed.

Do you self a big favor and get a shop manual for 99 Softails.
You might get lucky and find one cheap on ebay.

 

I recently had new break pads put on the front of my rocker by the dealership in antelope valley calif. the first thing I noticed when I pulled the lever for the front break was that it had a lot more travel. the next thing I noticed was that it took more force to slow it down then I heard a very loud squeel nearly drounding out the sound of the motor during non breaking 45 mph travel and less. the squeel for the most part stopped after about 5 days but the lever still has a lot of travel to it. I am taking it back to the dealer friday. my next day off. after they put the new pads on they test drove it and gave me the keys as though nothing was wrong with it. after they hopefully fix it I will be doing my buisness in bakersfield harley from now on. Im not sure if they forced the pistons in too fast and blew out some inner seals or if it is just dabree in the cylenders. it only has 15000 mi on it and the breaks worked just fine when i brought it in to them. they are the ones who told me they only had 30 percent of the pad left and needed to be changed. there isnt that much travel from an open pad to close pad as far as piston travel and I am questioning weather it is dabree or what at this time. I will let you know after friday.

 

More travel sounds like it could be the system needs bled.
A simple pad re-replacement wouldn't have caused air to enter.
While off the rotor, someone might have applied the lever and if the fluid was low enough air would enter the system.
Good idea getting it checked out.

 

Bgdb --> can you describe a little more what you mean with not retracting completely? the brake pads and pistons should not retract fully off rotor. Maybe if you can describe what you are seeing maybe we can have a better idea whether there is an issue or not. And what the issue is.

Also have a look at your rear brake, how the pistons/pads move there if you can. It will give you a good idea what you should be seeing in the front.

also do not forget that all new parts have to wear themselves in. More the pads than the rotor but pads need to adjust themselves to rotors.

 

what i mean by won't release all the way is that the pads rub on the rotor when the wheel is turned while still on the jack stand. I just didn't want to ride it if I had done something wrong.

 

Like Mordrapheus stated, they will drag alittle and that is normal.

 

I have an 01 fatty and mine drag a little. I would put on jack stand and spin it...I think it should make at least a couple rotation before stopping.

Check out this thread...asked this question myself once and no problems since.
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/softa...light-rub.html