Front brakes squeal...this feels like a saga in the making

[rboe]

Disc brakes seem to be a source of noise from cars to bikes. And the darn things will still work just fine. Typically some disc brake gunk that goes on in a thin film between the piston and the pad will cure it.

Otherwise, dang tough to diagnose without inspecting and hearing - and even then I'm no expert by any means. My brakes tend to squeak/squeal if wet from rain or something so I got nothing to add regarding this bike.

Good luck.

[VLJ_imp]

Rboe, I've been riding the XSR900 in the rain the past couple of days, and in over 10,000 miles, whether with the original stock pads or the current EBC HH pads, there has never been any brake squeals. This CB1100 is my first bike to do this. It's definitely not rain-related, either. Rain or shine, wet or dry, her front brakes squeal. It also doesn't matter whether the brakes are hot or not. At the beginning of a ride, or at the end of a hard run on a sunny day in the canyons, they make the same sound when I come to a slow, gradual stop.

[Nortoon_imp]

The front brakes on my 2017 CB1100 EX do the same thing all the time. I rode my CB500XA over 33,000 kilometers/20,500 miles over three summers, and the brakes never squealed.

The rear brake on the EX also dragged and the rear disk discoloured from heat. The disk and pads were replaced under warranty, but still drag. Worse than that the rear brake is now totally useless probably because the dealer did not bleed the brake fluid properly.

My CB500XA cost less than half of what my 2017 CB1100 EX does and was considered a "budget bike" by the press. So what does that say about the quality of the EX and its lousy brakes.

[johnf514_imp]

FWIW (prob nothing) my rear brake squeaks just a tad every so often under normal braking. Not enough to cause major concern for me. If it were my front brakes which I use much more frequently, it might though.

In the same boat here, the rear squeaks occasionally but not often. The only "issue" I have with the front brakes is that when initially starting out, the pull at the lever is effectively unusable. Giving it a good squeeze, letting go, and reapplying pressure resolves the issue, but it has caught me by surprise more than once. I have gotten in the habit of giving it a squeeze before setting off.

Personality is inherent in motorcycles, but I agree with VLJ that if you paid for a new product that is under warranty, you should absolutely get any issue resolved in that time period. I did so with my high idle issue and replacing the IACV under an extended warranty and was happy with the results (after 3 trips to the dealership).

[the Ferret]

John sounds like you have air in your front system. Have them bled.

[VLJ_imp]

Looks like no rain next Tuesday, so I just booked a return visit to the dealer for that day.

This dealer has sold only two '17 EXs, so I doubt they have any experience in dealing with this issue on this model. I've also never had to deal with this issue before, with any bike. I don't know what the usual service department-level fix is for front brake squeal on a new bike, assuming there even is a standard protocol for this problem.

[Acrobat_imp]

Today I went to my friends at Honda (also Triumph, BMW, KTM ) dealership here. They said it's a known issue and that I'm lucky that it stopped in my bike but maybe it returns (the noise).
They were also aware that most dealers suggest "try to change your breaking style",maybe because there is no official remedy.
They believe that the problem lays on the friction material of the pads, making them to vibrate and produce squealing. This happens in the front brakes because in front we have floating discs and fixed calipers instead of floating caliper and fixed disc at the rear.
From their experience, the application of graphite grease at pads contact points with the calipers is effective in most cases.
The use of aftermarket pads also may solve the problem but they don't recommend it because from their experience again, the results are premature wear and discoloration of discs and less effective breaking. Also the ABS unit is calibrated with the original parts. So aftermarket pads is a no-no.
As for warranty claims, they said that they would be very happy to replace discs and pads for free under warranty, but this will not fixes the problem. Of course labour costs concerning efforts to tackle the problem, is up to the dealer and his good will.
The noises are also under warranty given that they come from a defective part and replacing this part eliminates the noise. Otherwise the noise is a functional characteristic of the specific system.

I said some things and they said some things that i cannot state here due to censorship and we had a good laugh...thank you...

By the way, as they are also Triumph dealers, they said in Triumph case the noise came from vibrating disc, that's why the factory put this buffer. A solution not very elegant from engineering point of view...

[VLJ_imp]

Acrobat, ABS sensors don't measure anything that has to do with the brake pad compound, so switching to aftermarket pads should have no effect on the ABS system. I changed pad compounds on my ABS-equipped XSR900, to no ill effect.

So, from what you're saying, the only remedy they've tried that worked (other than swapping pads) was adding grease to the back of the pads?

[the Ferret]

Nice of you to go talk to them about it Acrobat. Thanks for the info.

[Houtman_imp]

Acrobat, ABS sensors don't measure anything that has to do with the brake pad compound, so switching to aftermarket pads should have no effect on the ABS system. I changed pad compounds on my ABS-equipped XSR900, to no ill effect.

So, from what you're saying, the only remedy they've tried that worked (other than swapping pads) was adding grease to the back of the pads?

Or you put grease on the front of the pads , this will really cure the problem .......