9k on 2013 M1100 - Front brakes pulsing.

[Skybarney]

Well I guess I did not escape this little well known issue.  Gonna try to super clean everything and lube the buttons, maybe change the pads and see if that works.  If not I may invest in some floating buttons from Motowheels.

Any suggestions for brake pads for the 2013 would be appreciated.  If that does not work off to warranty......

[EEL]

Will they cover brake rotor warpage under warranty?

[Howie]

Do follow EEL's suggestion first.  Very grey area, but free shiny new rotors, worth a try!

[Skybarney]

I have heard that they will cover it under warranty,  At nearly 9k I really do not feel like it is entirely Ducati's fault however I have never had this happen on any bike before.  There have been a bunch of threads online about it but I was being lazy and not searching. 

Some have said it was solved with just replacing the pads or cleaning dirty buttons.  Others have gone the warranty route.  If new pads and clean buttons do not cut it I will ride it by the dealer and see what they think.  Personally I have to think it may have something to do with the ABS in some odd way.  Perhaps causing some odd wear under hard breaking.

Maybe search a bit and see if I can find some decent pads.  I think the full floating button conversion is spendy and it would suck to do that and find out it was rotors lol.

It is not bad enough to ruin a day but I am noticing it.

[Howie]

Usually pulsation from uneven brake deposits is rapid as compared to warped (either from a warped blade or stuck buttons).  And, yes, semi floating buttons can become stuck easier than full floaters.  Your semi floaters can be turned into floaters for free with a big hammer.  I will let someone else post "how to" so I have no responsibility if something goes wrong.  Keep in mind, full floaters are noisy when rolling around at low speed.

[pajazo]

First check if the rotors are warped. If they are, replacing them is the only cure. If the rotors are straight and you have sintered pads, try organic pads for a while. I have had pulsing brakes fixed by organic pads on two different bikes by swapping to ferodo organics, one of them was a s4r.

[Skybarney]

Me likey the hammer method.....     Hopefully it is just 9k worth of worn out goo.  If the rotors are warped?  That DNC's problem.....

[Moronic]

Different pads fixed my brake pulsing, which developed about 6000 miles. I'm not even sure the shop cleaned the rotors, but they may have. Unfortunately I can't remember what's in there. But I don't think it's anything special, just street-biased pads.

I was somewhat amazed. The pulsing had been quite dramatic. No problems in 25,000 miles since.

[SDRider]

I should probably check my pads... 14,000 miles on them so far.

[gitter]

I tried new pads (galfer HH), deep cleaning rotors and buttons. Still pulsed. Called ducati with 5600 miles on the clock and they replaced them under warranty. Took about three weeks, but it was way better than dropping $600 on new rotors.

[brad black]

the first thing i would do is see a dealer about warranty.

[pajazo]

The HH means sintered pads.

I tried everything, even a brake rotor hone on my S4R, but switching to organic pads was what finally solved the pulsing.

[oldndumb]

The HH means sintered pads.

Maybe, maybe not.

HH is a cold and hot friction rating. The rating system does not identify the material.

SAE Brake Pad Friction Rating System
C    >= 0.15
D    >0.15, <=0.25
E    >0.25, <=0.35
F    >0.35, <=0.45
G    >0.45, <=0.55
H    >0.55
Z    Unclassified


The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has a grading system for brake pad friction material (SAE J866).  The test applies the brake pads to a rotating drum until the temperature of the pads reaches 650 degrees F.  In general terms, the test assigns a two-letter code where the first letter designates normal temperature friction and the second letter designates hot friction.  The letters correspond to numbers in the table above.

This means that "HH" pads have a normal and hot friction coefficient of over 0.55 as defined by the SAE test.  

The above is furnished via some cut and paste from webBikeWorld.  

Many brake rotor pulsing/perceived warpings are actually irregular deposits of surface material. Cementite is one of the terms used for it. Causes may be improper break-in, or constant pad pressure while stopped after aggressive applications, or even from some brake cleaning liquids. Not saying warps do not happen, but they are quite simple to measure and verify.