05-12-2023, 02:57 AM
I haven't posted in a long time but I was compelled to share my experience with the squealing front brake on my 2017 CB1100EX. I recall several other members had complained about the issue of the EX front brake squealing with light brake pressure applied when coming to a stop or making a slow turn. I went through all of the normal brake related cures, trying to fix the problem but nothing seemed to affect it. I tried several brake pads, coated the back of the pads with "anti-squeal" and burnished the disks with steel wool occasionally. I've had the calipers off several times during tire replacements and cleaned them each time. I also religiously "bled" the brakes every couple of years but it did not effect the noise. The bike has 38000 miles on it and had just started leaving signs of failing fork seals, so I made an appointment to replace the seal, bushings and oil. Of course, the forks have no drain plug (like my '94 BMW GSPD), and the manual does not address fork oil changes, so the oil in the forks remain unchanged until seals are changed.
After the seals were changed, I took the bike on a 100 mile shake down to make sure the seals worked and was shocked to discover the squealing from front brake was now gone. Since I never experienced the problem with my 2013, I attributed the squealing to the new dual bending valve Showa front fork. Was it the changing of the seals, or new oil, or even the bushings that effected the noise? I'm assuming it was the new oil but since I had them all done at the same time it may be open to conjecture. Ride safe...Terry
After the seals were changed, I took the bike on a 100 mile shake down to make sure the seals worked and was shocked to discover the squealing from front brake was now gone. Since I never experienced the problem with my 2013, I attributed the squealing to the new dual bending valve Showa front fork. Was it the changing of the seals, or new oil, or even the bushings that effected the noise? I'm assuming it was the new oil but since I had them all done at the same time it may be open to conjecture. Ride safe...Terry