Some people's kids...

[Joeywhat]

Ever since I bought my 1300 I've noticed a bit of pad/rotor noise when the brakes aren't applied. Just enough to hear it when the helmet shield is up sometimes, otherwise it's barely there.

I recently removed the rear caliper for a tire change and it was very dry and crusty so I figured the fronts might also need a little lube and that maybe the pads were sticking or even the pistons might be a little corroded. Got the left side taken off and notice this lovely scene:



Clearly the bracket is rubbing on the rotor. I'm a bit surprised the rotor isn't worse off, but I guess it's only cutting into aluminum so maybe not. Anyways, after a quick check to make sure nothing was mounted wrong or bent, I figured it must be the wheel. Sure as hell, after looking nice and close, the front wheel is definitely misaligned just by eyeing it from the fender:



At least somewhat my fault for also not noticing... I'm assuming whoever did the front tire last (wasn't me...) put the spacers on the opposite sides they're supposed to be. I probably couldn't hear it very well because it was very slowly eating away at the bracket.

Oh well, going to swap the spacers around tomorrow and lube everything up real nice and see how it runs. No other damage that I could sense, wheel bearings are great and the calipers/pads are still in good shape. Rotor isn't even too worse for wear, the brakes work great to be honest, so luckily that won't need to be replaced.

 

[Joeywhat]

I'm also curious to see how she rides with the wheel back in the proper position, I haven't noticed any tracking issues or instability when riding it like this. I'd have assumed that there would be some uneven tire wear and tracking issues.

 

[SMSW]

I was going to comment you had the king's new pads...before I noticed the damage to the caliper. I put a dab of red paint on the right side spacer and a dab of yellow on the left (boater's mnemonic - red right returning) before I ever took the wheels off the bike. If you cannot see the paint (just a small dab 1/8 to 1/4" diameter w/ a Q-tip) the spacer went on backwards was my thinking. It worked wonders for me - no worries about orientation or which spacer went on which side.

I've never thought the plastic (fender in this case) was a good indicator of something being misaligned. Just my opinion, but in this case you were right.

 

[TerryS]

This may not be a spacer issue; the left leg is free to float on the axle until the clamp is tightened. If someone has forced the axle in, that can push the left leg across toward the wheel and could give the wear that you have. The owner's manual cautions against this and IIRC there is a feeler gauge in the toolkit to test it.

 

[Joeywhat]

It's definitely a spacer issue, I popped the axle out and sure enough they were swapped. I'm assuming the shop that did it just pencil whipped it and assumed they were the same size.

I'll make note of the fork spacing when I reinstall later today, though. Although I have some extra clearance, now...

 

[Obo]

At least the spacers are not like the new Goldwings. Mix the spacers up on the Wing and you destroy the flimsy ABS pulse ring when you start torquing the wheel. The DCT system then puts the bike into limp mode when the ring's broken. The fix? Buy a new pulse ring ring at over $100. Don't ask me how I know.....