Lowside, I put a pair of H-D so called floaters # 44358-00 on my 06 RK about 8000 miles ago. I am now getting pulsing in the front brakes which tells me the are warped. I am now looking to replace them again with either the stock rotors which lasted about the same mileage or getting something from EBC for more money.

I was happy with the H-D rotors and my Lyndall Z pads when I first put them on but not now. I would think the rotors should last more then 8000 miles.

I am going to change the pads first to see if that helps but my guess is it won't.

What is a Floating Rotor?
 

As posted before, a true floating rotor does not represent the Harley offering. Harley explains this unit as “Simi-Floating…stainless steel outer disc is precision riveted in place”

The first indication is either a floating rotor floats or it does not. Like:
1)- “Simi-infected” with AIDS
2)- “precision riveted” which means it is riveted hard together. I have never ever heard of a precision rivet. Good advertising, cheap but high profit margin offering. This HD unit is a cheap 2 piece unit that is easy to make.

This unit is easy to manufacture as just the friction ring must be Blanchard ground.

Nomenclature of a floating rotor:
A real floating rotor does just that, it floats back and forth. This is usually achieved by a button, spring, washer, and a clip.

• The friction ring should be made as light as possible and held on the wheel by a “carrier” which has little stress.
• A carrier can be made from aluminum for weight savings.
• The less your rotor weighs the less rotating mass you have thus making accelerating, braking, and transitioning (turning) easier.
• Your bike is nothing more than a gyroscope, the bigger the gyroscope the more effort it takes to overcome/change direction. The best condition for a motorcycle is the lighter the rotating mass the better.

There are two ways to manufacture rotors:
Drop press
The unit from HD is stamped out using a die and a press.

• Sheets of unmolested material from the foundry have layers of molecules looking much like a sheet of paper in a ream of paper.
• When stamping material the molecules aligned in these “sheets” are “bent” where the die hits the material causing a shear.
• The components are than machined to shape and finished. Machining cuts the unit flat (in this case) and where the layers are deformed due to the stamping, are cut off flat to the unit and not to the layer.
• When the unit is heated and cooled the unit goes back to the shape of the layers and not the machined surface.

Machined

• Sheets of material are cut from sheets in methods like a mill or laser.
  
• Using these methods is costly and time consuming.
  
• The molecule layers remain unmolested.
  
• When heated and cooled, the unit goes back to its same shape as in the sheet it was machined from.

Conclusion:
The reason why some quality rotors cost more is because of a limited production run and cost of improved material, increased costs for better components, and manufacturing techniques. This information is for HDF member education only and it is up to the member to use common sense and research in purchasing the next component.

FastHarley, thank you for the post. Very informative.

Unless I want to spend some big $$ for a real floater it looks like I will be better off just replacing with the original equipment rotors.

Maybe I am missing something. Three of the four HDs I had had the hd floating rotors. The sportster had 40K on the floaters and 3 sets of hd pads. No warp but I could have replaced them due to wear. SE (stock floaters) has 30K 2nd set of hd pads up front and 3rd rear no warp. The ultra has hd floaters with 40K 2nd set of pads up front and 4th rear no warp. I am not endorsing HD parts but they are the only pads I have run. Other than overheating or just a bad one I'm not real sure why some are warping with low miles?
Disclaimer: Original rotors were only replaced because of wear, not warping.

HD (alleged) floating rotors, EBC pads, no warpage, 50,000 miles.

I was talking to a friend who suggested that maybe my rotors were slightly bent when I had my tires replaced. After thinking about it the pulsing may have stared after the tire change. I never put the two together. Form what most here are saying the H-D floaters should be fine. I am thinking mine were damaged in the tire change.

I have them on the front..no probs over 10K mi

Let's get this strait, once and for all. The HD floating rotors are just that, floating rotors. The reason for the spring washer is quiet operation. If the spring washer was not there, they would make a lot of noise whenever you were not using the brakes. If you install the hd floating rotors on your bike with stock (or most aftermarket) pads, you will wear those rotors out. If you install the floaters on a used bike and you do not thoroughly clean the caliper pistons, you will wear out the rotors (most likely) because the calipers tend to hang up because of all the corrosive sintered iron that is given off by the stock pads. If you find this hard to believe, take a look at any softail with a single front brake and tell me which wide glide lower looks better. For that matter, look at the back wheel. The side with the brake will be crappy compared to the side without, especially if the rear wheel is an aluminum disc type wheel. If you properly clean the caliper and install LRB Z+ pads with hd floating rotors, you will have a huge increase in braking ability with virtually no dust, quiet operation and zero rotor wear!

Here is a link to LRB's instructions on installing their Z+ pads:
http://www.lyndallracingbrakes.com/service_tech.htm

Where did you come up with this BS? You don't know what a precision rivet is? I'm not surprised. What do you do for a living? I am an aircraft structures tech. I build airplanes (currently the new E/A-18G). I know quite a bit about making things out of metal and I deal with fasteners that you have probably never heard of. The precision rivet they speak of is what holds the outer rotor onto the hub. It is not pressed down so far as to lock the rotor in line with the hub. The rivet is pressed only enough to leave a small gap, who's slack is taken up by a spring washer. Of course it is cheaper to do it this way, but it is also fully functional.


Rear Vivid Black Floating Brake Rotor
Part #44357-00
Premium stainless steel rotor outer disc surface is precision riveted to a steel inner. Floating rotor design offers the latest in brake technology. 84-94 models require installation kit. (Sold separately).
http://www.hmhd.com/webstore/viewite...pname=viewprod

Front Vivid Black Floating Brake Rotor
Part #44358-00
Premium stainless steel rotor outer disc surface is precision riveted to a steel inner. Floating rotor design offers the latest in brake technology. 84-94 models require installation kit. (Sold separately).
http://www.hmhd.com/webstore/viewite...pname=viewprod

I don't know how to explain this any clearer. Are the more expensive ones nicer? Yes. Are they lighter? Yes, if they use an aluminum hub or composite disc or both. As brakes, on the average hd, do they function any better? Probably not, unless you are using something like LRB's composite disc and matching pads.

P.S. The Thunderstar rotor from HD is functionally the same rotor as the vivid black, even though the hub is not flat. It has high and low points in the design. this design drives the price up a little higher but functionality remains the same.

Front ThunderStar™ Custom Floating Brake Rotors
Part #44940-08
Complete the custom look with these front and rear ThunderStar™ Floating Rotors, styled to complement the ThunderStar™ Wheels. The chrome-plated inner spiders feature textured inlays with a brightly ground spoke mounted to a premium quality stainless steel outer rotor. Both front and rear rotors come complete with new mounting hardware. This product is available in multiple variations. Be sure to look for the one that fits the specific model and year of your motorcycle.
http://www.hmhd.com/webstore/viewite...pname=viewprod

This is what I had written in a similair thread, maybe it will help:
The rotors I am running are floaters. They have a tube style rivet that is swaged onto the hub and the rotor with a spring washer. When you grab the rotor you can move it a little on the swaged rivets. That is exactly what a floating rotor is. The big dif between the HD's and the higher end after market is the hub and rotor material and the threaded fastener/spring washer or fastener sleeve w/spring washer and clip...as opposed to the tube rivet/spring washer set-up on the hd floaters. I have a total of about 35,000 miles on 2 bikes running these rotors w/LRB Z+ pads. They last longer than the company claims and they do not wear the rotor and, best of all, they will outstop all of your friends.


And "semi" is "semi", not "simi".

I have the HD Floaters, about 50K on them, no problems.