Happy Easter everyone. I have a 2008 883 that I took in this week to have a new rear tire put on. Afterwards, I went on an approximately 300 mile ride and noticed that the rear brake is pulsing when I slow down. The bike seems to be otherwise riding well. Could they have bent the disk while changing the tire, or would the brake pulse if the wheel was not put back on straight? The work was done at a metric dealership, since there are no Harley dealers or independent bike mechanics in my area. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Take it back to them and describe the problem. Nothing wrong with using a metric dealer...I use them all the time for tire swaps because the H-D dealers are just too damn high. I do however take the wheels off and re-install myself.

 

Could be they got some grease/dirt on the rear brake pads, and after a bit of heat they've got "hard spots" in 'em.

 

Could be nearly anything related to the rear end. Best thing to do is take it back to them and have them take a look at it.

Also, do bikes have the same requirement as cars (gotta be taken in after x miles to make sure everything's good)?

 

The rear axle on Sportsters is famous for siezing up, I bet they used some penetrating fluid on removal and some dripped down on the brake disk, that would explain the pulsing as the pads would not grip as well on that area only.
Try cleaning BOTH sides of the disk real good with some brake clean all the way around, I'm sure that will do it.