I took the front wheel of my 12 Ultra off to take in and have a new tire put on. Removed the right caliper to get the wheel off. Everything seemed like it went together good. Torqued correctly. When I put the right caliper back on the mounting tabs didn't want to go underneath the mounting points on the fork tube. I had to push a little to get them in. Not much, but a little bit. Spin the wheel and it sounds like it's dragging. Again, not much. Wheel turns without much effort. Went for a short ride, and when I got home, the right rotor was VERY hot. Left was hot, but not near as hot as the right. Any ideas?

Thanks,

David

 

I would clean your brake calipers. There are threads here and online info about how to do it. Your right caliper may not be releasing as much as your left and dragging a little.

 

Sounds like at least one of the pads slipped off the anti-rattle spring and is binding up. Remove caliper and see if you can push the pistons back into the caliper. Chances are one of the pads is hung up.

 

Yep, pistons are filthy. I'll get some stuff and give them a cleaning. Hopefully, that'll fix my problem.

David

 

Be sure to report back...I've warped one rotor and have constant 'shhh' 'shh' noise of the pads touching...

I'm split both calipers and cleaned em right up...still does it.

 

Funny you should mention a "shhh shhh" noise. Exactly what mine was doing. I got it up on my jack and spun the tire. Rotor was badly warped. This was a brand new rotor that HD had just put on under the ESP to replace another warped rotor. However this new rotor wasn't done in by poor quality, or heat. It was bent by a knuckle-dragging tire guy when he mounted my new tire. I swapped the rotor with one I had on the shelf and all is good. Going in tomorrow to argue with the place that mounted my new tire. If you're having heat issues and have cleaned both calipers, I'd bet on the bent rotor. Good luck.

David

 

any time I take the front off I put it back together and leave the nut and pinch bolts just barely snug. I get on the bike, pull in the front brake while bouncing the handle bars up and down. This gets everything in the correct position to tighten down.

It also could be the rotor as well. I went through a set on my 09.

 

Sounds like the wheel might be on backwards! If you put it on backwards when you spin the wheel the tab on the caliper will rub on the rotor and if you ride it will leave a nice gouge in it. Of course if you have ABS it is pretty hard to do that due to the bearings being different colors. I have seen it done numerous times.

 

Nope, not on backwards. Rotor was bent by a new guy at the tire shop. Just a case of not being careful. Same guy put on 90* valve stem out the left side.

Ride Safe,

David

 

Well, I guess he didn't try to fill the tire once it was on the bike. Learning curve in effect.