Shudder at low speed turn with front brake.

[moo cow]

i was pulling into the parking lot the other morning and doing my ritual wide U-turn through the lot so i can back into the parking spot. i was only going a few mph and had the bars turned almost all the way to the right when i grabbed a little front brake to come to a stop. all the sudden the whole bike started shuddering and vibrating until i let off the front brake. so i reinacted the motion again and it did it again. only when i'm going really slow and turning sharp like you do when you are about to back into a parking spot. absolutely no issues when going straight, at speed, or slow or turning left. hmmmm. has me perplexed.

anyone else ever noticed this? pads are in good shape too.

 

[2-stroke]

I was told to never use the front brake in a turn. MSF told me to use the rear brake in the u-turn test so I have never experienced this problem. You could be locking up your front tire and skipping it across the pavement.

 

[wrightme43]

2nding using the rear brake.

 

[moo cow]

maybe i wasn't clear. i'm talking about 1 or 2 mph! i'm totally aware to not use the front brake in a turn in a riding situation. i talking just enough speed to pull into a parking spot, not grabbing the brake while making a turn on the road. i've pulled into the parking lot at work a million times on 3 other bikes every day and never experienced this. it's weird. maybe the pads are contaminated and at that super low speed it's grabbing. it's definitely not the tire skipping b/c i'm not going near fast enough for that. i don't know, maybe i'll try some new pads.

 

[CanadianFZ6]

I was told to never use the front brake in a turn. MSF told me to use the rear brake in the u-turn test so I have never experienced this problem. You could be locking up your front tire and skipping it across the pavement.

That's because new rider's lack the finesse at using the controls in gereral. Sorry, no offence (if you are indeed a new rider). Clamping on the front brake in a slow turn will no doubt put you off balance. The key is finesse... I use front brakes in slow turns all the time. I just don't use a lot of brake. Knowing what your bike is doing under you and to learn not to over control is the trick. I had the benifit of starting really young (dirt bikes) learning to ride. You quickly learn that dirt bikes are a lot more fun when you use body language to make the do and go where you want them to. I feel I ride street bikes better because of using this skill I learned in the dirt... Just my personal opinion.

 

[Fred]

Do you get the same shuddering when the handlebars are straight?

Does it happen on both right and left turns?

I'm thinking it's related to having the bars at turned hard to the side. Loose steering head bearings possibly?

Fred

 

[jrevans]

On the other forum, this is known as "shaking while braking".

I've experienced it many times, with both my FZ6 calipers and my R6 calipers (after the brake/fork swap).

Here's what I do to fix the proble: Clean the floaters on your front discs (I use brake cleaner) and very carefully put a well directed squirt of WD-40 on the floaters. [The floaters are the hollow round things that connect the outer part of your rotors to the inner part of the rotor]. Do not get WD-40 on your brake pads of the shiny part of your rotors!

It's been said that when brake dust builds up in the floaters, the no longer "float" and they bind a bit causing the shaking/vibration sensation. I've had the condition totally repeatable, and after cleaning/lubing, it went away.

JimE
Jim's FZ6 Web Page

 

[moo cow]

thanks biker dude, good tip. i'll check them in the morning.

fred, it doesn't do it when going straight or turning left. i'll check those bearings too, just in case.

thanks for the good ideas!

 

[moo cow]

jrevans, that sound like exactly what it's doing. thanks for the tip! sounds like i've good some cleaning to do.

 

[Fred]

jrevans gives very good advice.

One change I'd make is to use brake caliper lubricant. it's a very thick grease that's good at staying where you put it, so it'll hang around longer than WD-40.
You can get small packets of it at most any auto parts store.

The only reason I can think of for Yamaha not using it from the factory is that people don't want to see exposed greasy bits on a showroom bike.

Fred

 

[wiley1]

I was having the same problem! After reading this post I tried cleaned and greasing mentioned... and it worked. Thanks guys!

 

[reiobard]

I haven't noticed, but i might just clean and grease anyway!!!

 

[DefyInertia]

Just be careful not to leave any residue...I'm sure the centrafugal force generated by even 30MPH would be more than enough to move some left over WD-40 etc. outward onto the rotors.

I was also thinking stearing head bearings but have never had this issue, so. What year is this bike?

I don't want to start a debate or anything, but +1 on "not using the front brake in a turn" as being good general advice for newer riders only.

 

[bmccrary]

That's because new rider's lack the finesse at using the controls in gereral. Sorry, no offence (if you are indeed a new rider). Clamping on the front brake in a slow turn will no doubt put you off balance. The key is finesse... I use front brakes in slow turns all the time. I just don't use a lot of brake. Knowing what your bike is doing under you and to learn not to over control is the trick. I had the benifit of starting really young (dirt bikes) learning to ride. You quickly learn that dirt bikes are a lot more fun when you use body language to make the do and go where you want them to. I feel I ride street bikes better because of using this skill I learned in the dirt... Just my personal opinion.

+1 Been riding dirtbikes since I was five. I don't think about the controls anymore, it just happens.

I am having a similar issue, but mine is when the bars are straight and I think my head bearings are shot. Hopefully this winter I will replace them. Its only under hard braking a I get a shutter or two.

-bryan

 

[mglowe]

The floaters are the hollow round things that connect the outer part of your rotors to the inner part of the rotor

Problem I have... either I'm looking right at them [floaters] or I simply don't understanding simple descriptions.

Is this what you are talking about?

 

[skwid]

Aye, aye captain. There be your floaters...:thumbup:

 

[Mr T]

Thanks, problem solved T

On the other forum, this is known as "shaking while braking".

I've experienced it many times, with both my FZ6 calipers and my R6 calipers (after the brake/fork swap).

Here's what I do to fix the proble: Clean the floaters on your front discs (I use brake cleaner) and very carefully put a well directed squirt of WD-40 on the floaters. [The floaters are the hollow round things that connect the outer part of your rotors to the inner part of the rotor]. Do not get WD-40 on your brake pads of the shiny part of your rotors!

It's been said that when brake dust builds up in the floaters, the no longer "float" and they bind a bit causing the shaking/vibration sensation. I've had the condition totally repeatable, and after cleaning/lubing, it went away.

JimE
Jim's FZ6 Web Page

 

[hunterfz6]

I think the not using the front brake while turning is not correct. There are 3 things the front tire can do well. Go, Turn, stop. If you think of it like this, when doing anything with the front tire, you got a limit. Imagine the front tire being money, and say its 10 bucks. When you do anything going into, while in, or exiting a turn, you spend some of that 10 bucks. How fast are you going into a turn? How far are you leaning? If your scooting into that turn, you may be using 6 bucks, when you lean into that turn, you might be spending another 3 bucks, so if you think your gonna break the bank by using the front brake your gonna probably high side or die. If you are riding conservatively and doing the speed limit, you spend less on the tire going into a turn, you might have enough in the bank to use the brake if you need it. Its obvious that if you are leaning and going fast and use the brake you will be in trouble, but to say that you cant use the front brake is , in my opinion, and by doing the math, not correct. Yes if you are new, mitigate what you can do to not make a mistake.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I was also thinking stearing head bearings but have never had this issue, so. What year is this bike?

A while back I posted that my front end or tire felt very heavy, with a gyroscope type of feel at very low speeds making tight turns. Could this be something to consider? I still have this feeling and it's bugging me, at times, it almost makes me dump the bike.