I Bought an '02 FXSTI a week ago and absolutely love the ride! But the second day i had it i noticed that a while into a ride when i came to a stop the rear brake was dragging. It didnt want to roll at all on its own and the rear rotor is now discolored. I beat it back home and parked it in the garage. The rotor was sizzling. Eventually it cooled and was able to roll again.

Since then i have had a busy week at work and only put a few short miles on it. Today I took it for a quick drive to a neighboring town and back to get some ride time. I shouldnt have done this. Now i noticed the pads are completely gone and the rotor has some pretty good scratches in it.

I dont know if my foot is riding on the brake pedal because of my forward controls or if its something else.

The pads are definetly needing replaced and the rotor is most likely warped and gonna be replaced too.

Anyone else have this problem? Any tips for replacing the pads and rotor? Is there anything i should be watching out for while im replacing the pads/rotor?

 

sounds like a rear caliper is hanging up, I would pull your caliper off, if your pads are toast then get new pads, if you were grinding metal on metal on the rotor its toast, if not, get measurements there should be a discard thickness on the the rotor. but when you put everything back clean and use lube on all the slides napa makes something called sil-glyde that works really well.

 

Is it possible there was a problem before you bought it?
Anyway I would buy a HD service manual,new rotor and pads.
Good idea to flush the brake fluid and check the brake pedel.

 

On my web site there is a DIY section. In it there is a paper on how to clean brake calipers. If you have sintered brake material than you need to pull the pads out every 2,500 miles and clean the pistons off with a tooth brush and brake clean. I have posted many times on what your calipers look like and if you wish not to maintain your bike than that is up to you as it is your life and the life of your passenger that is at risk. This does not include organic pads as brake dust does not stick like sintered brake material. I do not have stock in Brake Clean or Discount Auto, the information is for those who want it. This is 7,000 miles +/- & the pistons can not retract properly. The pads could drag on the rotor.