05-11-2025, 06:00 PM (This post was last modified: 05-11-2025, 06:17 PM by rdprdp01.)
(05-11-2025, 02:39 PM)rdprdp01 Wrote: The fork stabilizer was on the motorcycle when I purchased it. I did remove it to see if I could tell a difference, which was detectable. After I cleaned it, I reinstalled it and do not believe I will ever ride without it. It improves handling at all speeds, but particularly at slower speeds or when stopping.
It seems lots of '17EXs are affected with the squeal, so when there is one that doesn't and there's an obvious difference--in this case a fork brace--it makes me want to slap one on mine to see.
Saturday my four new front caliper flange bolts (90131-MGC-000) came in. All this mounting/dismounting of the calipers while tinkering with my front brakes to stop the squeal squeak (sorry pdedse!) ended up stretching the torque-to-yield caliper bolts enough that they were deforming at the proper torque setting when trying to seat them. With the new flange bolts in hand, it was time to clean up the calipers and try a new brake lubricant.
On another forum, for another bike, there was another person who was on another quest to resolve a squeaky front brake, just like me. This person mentioned he was finally able to solve it using a bit of Honda M60 assembly paste. However, the newer replacement M77 version apparently doesn't have as much moly content as the old M60, apparently much to the chagrin of many shaft-driven Goldwing owners. Following this persons line of reasoning, I thought I would try something similar that Goldwing folks seem to like now that M60 is no longer available. Loc-Tite makes a high moly content anti-seize that has a temp range of -20° F to 750° F and uses a molybdenum disulfide base. I just so happen to have a bottle of said Loc-Tite 51048 Moly Paste I picked up for the shaft drive on my now sold FJR that I figured I could try.
After dipping into the case of Brake cleaner for a new can, I got to work making everything new and shiny again. I removed the calipers, pads, springs and pins and gave everything a good cleanse (again). I swear I must have the cleanest motorcycle brakes in a 500 mile radius. After very carefully applying the moly paste to the back of the pads, the pins, the spring clips and the edges of the pistons, it was time to reassemble and give it a test ride. Well, guess what? The results were dramatic!
Initially, the brakes did make a bit of noise when just rolling the bike forward out of the garage. The noise was kind of a harmonic musical note and not a squeak, very much like rubbing a wet finger around the rim of a crystal wine glass. The faster I rolled the front wheel, the louder the harmonic note became. That was a bit unnerving, but I figured that perhaps it was just a bit of residual brake dust on the rotors that I neglected to clean off. I hung in there though and drove through the surrounding neighborhoods at low speeds, gently stopping and starting. After about 10 or so minutes, I realized that when I applied the front brakes, all I could hear was the whispering drag of pads on rotors. There was zero squeak! It was incredible.
The drawback however, is now the brakes make that harmonic noise anytime the bike is between roughly 8 mph and stop and the front brakes aren't applied. Always. Even when accelerating. At least with the brakes the way they were before, you could moderate the squeak by using the front brakes at higher speeds and then letting off as you approached a stop and switching over to the rear brake only. Well, not any more. I am thinking that the moly paste might just be a bit thick or dried out on the pins and the pads are not moving back away from the rotors after letting off the brake. I might try a mix of moly on the back of the pads and pistons, and then go back to high temp silicone on the pins and see what happens.
In the meantime however, I have been searching for a set of organic front pads that fit our CB1100's. Having no luck finding them from the big-name brake pad manufacturers, I came across a post on the Z900 forums where somebody raved about the folks over at Brakecrafters.com and how helpful they were with solving a brake issue with his Z900. So I gave them a call.
I spoke at length with Doyle about my squeaky brake issue and recounted some of the steps I had taken in trying to solve the problem and asked if they perhaps had a set of organic pads that would fit the 2017 CB1100 EX. Doyle normally recommends EBC pads and after checking his EBC catalog, it said the CB1100 brakes use an EBC "296" model designation pad but are only offered in a fully sintered HH version. Doyle looked high and low in his system and other manufacturer catalogs and couldn't find anyone that offered an organic front pad for the CB1100 EX. He was out of options and finally suggested checking with SBS, Galfer and Lyndall to see if maybe they have something he didn't carry. While he was suggesting these other companies, I was jumping around on those other manufacturers websites, and as luck would have it, the Lyndall website had a pad profile on their front page that looked exactly like the Honda OEM front pad! The Lyndall site also had dimensions for that pad and after reading those dimensions to Doyle, he said those seem to be an exact match!
Doyle told me that Harley riders love the Lyndall Z+ pads for several reasons. One of which is how quiet they are. That piqued my attention! They also love them because the Z+ pads don't shed a lot of dust and are one of the only pads that can be used on polished rotors that won't mar the mirror finish of the rotor. The drawback of course is the pads are consumed more rapidly to spare the life and finish of custom polished rotors. I told him I would rather change pads than rotors any day, especially since the price of the Honda OEM rotors are North of $500 each and there are two of them. I also let him know that if the Z+ pads are known to be super quiet and they do indeed fit and quiet the front brake squeak, he might just sell a few more 2017 owners a new set of brake pads.
Doyle was an incredibly nice guy that seemed to eat, sleep and drink brakes. He really took my issue to heart and was super excited to hear if these pads work out and stop the squeak and asked me to please call him back and update him on my results. I assured him that I would and then placed an order for the Lyndall 8181 Harley Davidson brake pads in the Z+ pad composition. He also gave me a discount code to use at checkout that saved about $20 (15%) off the price of a set when he didn't have to offer that up. What a guy!
Now I think I will go try the silicone on the pins while I wait for the Lyndall pads to arrive. Stay tuned!
I've always wondered if a fix might go beyond the pads / caliper. rdprdp01 has a fork brace on his EX and no squawk. Anybody else have an EX with fork brake...and no issues?
I've always wondered if a fix might go beyond the pads / caliper. rdprdp01 has a fork brace on his EX and no squawk. Anybody else have an EX with fork brake...and no issues?
I hope it’s easier to stop than the Triumph's squeak. I modified the noise simply by using different lubricants, which gives me hope. Cleaning off the molybdenum and going back to Permatex brake lube has at least reduced the squeak back to OEM levels. A takeaway from all of this experimentation is that I now know which parts need lubrication and which don't. I am hoping proper lubrication and a compliant pad formulation will suffice.
If a fork brace does makes a difference, that suggests the forks could possibly be transmitting enough vibration to amplify it to audible levels, and if a simple clamp could mute it, that might be on the table next even though I prefer the stock look. I put a fork brace on my Honda 919 back in the day and ended up removing it because it didn’t improve handling so far as I could tell. I’ve since equated them to snake oil. That opinion might have to change though if it stops the squeak.
I've always wondered if a fix might go beyond the pads / caliper. rdprdp01 has a fork brace on his EX and no squawk. Anybody else have an EX with fork brake...and no issues?
I hope it’s easier to stop than the Triumph's squeak. I modified the noise simply by using different lubricants, which gives me hope. Cleaning off the molybdenum and going back to Permatex brake lube has at least reduced the squeak back to OEM levels. A takeaway from all of this experimentation is that I now know which parts need lubrication and which don't. I am hoping proper lubrication and a compliant pad formulation will suffice.
If a fork brace does makes a difference, that suggests the forks could possibly be transmitting enough vibration to amplify it to audible levels, and if a simple clamp could mute it, that might be on the table next even though I prefer the stock look. I put a fork brace on my Honda 919 back in the day and ended up removing it because it didn’t improve handling so far as I could tell. I’ve since equated them to snake oil. That opinion might have to change though if it stops the squeak.
Given Honda’s attention to engineering and metallurgy, I can understand how you might feel the snake oil is being served up. This is the first motorcycle I have had with one. I still believe it helps with vibrations and weight, particularly in hard and soft settings. For what is worth, here is the one on my motorcycle:
I received my Lyndall Z+ pads. They are indeed exactly the same dimensions as the OEM pads. Though it seems to me they have just a touch more pad material than on a new set of Honda pads. They installed just as easily as Honda/EBC pads. Leaving nothing to chance, I still made sure to thoroughly clean the calipers, pistons, rotors, pins, clips, etc. I also applied some Permatex brake grease (the most effective brake lubricant I have found to date) and reassembled everything, torqued to spec and gave it a test ride.
I did city driving that consisted of speeds of 45 mph or less with plenty of traffic lights so I had frequent opportunities to stop in the process of bedding in the new pads. Initially the pads felt like they lacked the same stopping power as the old pads. Not unexpected since they had yet to conform to the surface of the rotors. So far, I have driven about 50-60 miles in city traffic with lots of stop and go. The pads were dead silent, initially. Of course after a full clean and lube, the sintered pads were quiet also, initially. After a while the Lyndall Z+ pads began to lightly squeak at stops when the front wheel speed hits about 15 mph just like the Honda/EBC pads. However, the squeak is definitely quieter and in my opinion, a slightly lower pitch. I found myself using the same familiar anti-squeak braking technique once it started, front and rear brakes to about 15 mph, then let off the front and finish on the rear. The good news is that I have found with these pads I can stop very gently and prevent the front brakes from squeaking at all. I could never manage to do that with the Honda or EBC pads. They both squeaked under 15 regardless of the technique I used, other than a full panic stop.
In summary, I like these pads. I mean I like them A LOT. I would say they improved the squeak about 30-40% over sintered pads and the braking feel is more precise over all. They undoubtedly will need to be replaced sooner than a set of Honda or EBC pads based on what I have read about the Z+ pad composition, but Lyndall claims less dust and less rotor wear. Of course I haven't put enough miles on them yet to verify either of those claims, but with spoked wheels less brake dust is definitely a perk I am looking forward to when washing the bike. These pads also have a different feel than the stock pads. Honda/EBC sintered pads give a rather abrupt bite when you first apply the brakes in comparison to the Lyndall's. The initial braking feel with these feels more delicate and is easier to modulate the precise amount of braking force you are trying to apply. I am playing it safe and going to drive gently for about the first 150-200 miles in an attempt to bed the pads in as delicately as possible, I have not yet had to stop quickly, so I am not sure if the braking power is the same at higher braking pressures than with sintered pads. After I feel they are properly bedded, I will try a few panic stops to see how they compare. In my experience so far, I will be installing these pads next time over the Honda or EBC pads.
I'm enjoying your quest for anti-squeek nirvanah. I have the EBC pads on mine, having installed them about 1000 miles back. The squeek is still there...but lessened by some 25%
![[Image: jon-stewart-eat.gif]](https://media.tenor.com/KvK_lo4OIiIAAAAM/jon-stewart-eat.gif)
