Dealer just installed floating rotors and new agitator wheel on front of my 09 SG. Now the wheel is so tight it will not spin but will turn with some effort. It is a lot tighter than my rear wheel. Is this normal. I cannot notice the tightness while riding. thanks for any input.

Rob

 

I suspect they installed new pads as well. Should break in shortly.

 

The pads should have drag but not heavy resistance, break in and wear in are two different things.

Make sure the the calipers are centered on the rotor.

 

Pads we not new, they are about a year old.

 

I ran into this when I installed a new fender, also have floating rotors. I loosened the axle nut til wheel spins freely and then tighten it up til get some resistance. The torque # they use is overkill and for stock rotors.

 

No, that is not normal. When I installed my new Agitator wheel which of course included the new Agitator rotors, before I bolted the calipers back into position, you could spin the wheel and it would turn many, many revolutions before it finally came to a stop. Hardly any resistance at all. Then once the calipers were installed, the Lyndall Gold pads did touch the rotors a little, but the wheel would still spin with little effort applied.

So what could cause what you are feeling/seeing?

-Incorrectly/improperly installed wheel bearings. Correctly done, the ABS side is to be installed first, then the spacer inserted, then the non-ABS side installed to a depth to where the bore race of the bearing just touches the internal spacer. Seating the bearing any deeper can distort the race and create friction inside the bearing. This can cause the wheel to be difficult to turn and may result in premature bearing failure.

-Over torquing of the front wheel nut when re-installing the wheel can transfer extra pressure via the spacers to the axle bore bearing race and cause exactly what I mention above. The front wheel needs 65 ft lbs of torque, and no more.

What you are describing is much more resistance than what a brake pad would normally exert on a rotor assuming the rotors are centered between the pads.

 

I had the same problem one time with my wheel, spacers were not at the right place. Right and left spacers are not the same, maybe you could try that too.

 

I agree 100% with Joe. A little drag is normal but it shouldn't be hard to turn the wheel.

 

Rob...Pit is right in his post for bikes that are not ABS. But it's really impossible to get the spacers wrong with an ABS bike since the ABS sensor ring acts as the spacer on the left. If you don't have an ABS bike, then the spacers could very well be on the wrong sides causing your rotors not to line up properly with your calipers and pads. Of course all of this would cause great friction on your rotors and prevent free rolling of the front wheel.

 

I do have ABS brakes so what I am hearing it should not be the spacers. I called the dealer who installed the rotors and wheel and they said it could be my caliper pistons not retracting all the way...but they didn't offer to fix it. I am still in the middle of a WO578 install so I can't take it into the dealer yet. How much is too much drag? the wheel will go about a 1/4 turn if I spin it pretty hard. It does not feel right. I will check the torque of the axle nut tonight.