BMW Luxury Touring Community banner

Front brakes pulsing...why?????

11K views 31 replies 15 participants last post by  RonKMiller 
#1 ·
My 2000K1200LT has ABS, but the front brakes pulse a lot when used. The rotors were checked and deemed OK by a mechanic using a dial gauge. The tires up front were badly cupped so I changed out both tires. The same mechanic took off the pads and examined them. They appeared good for wear and even thickness. The rear brakes work good and have no pulsing. The front is so bad that the brake lever moves about 1/2 inch back and forth during braking. Any answers or ideas?????
 
#27 ·
Ye gods I almost got a headache reading all the posts! As an ASE master tech for over 25 years I have seen many odd things involving anything with a motor that moves. I have pictures of vented brake rotors which have worn down to the point of only one thin slice of metal is left, razor sharp. We use the term 'warped rotors' because MOST of the public is not really up on studying brake issues, they simply want the dang thing fixed. Much like the term "tune-up" it is misunderstood and misused. When I hear 'tune-up" along with "check engine light" I know I have some explaining to do. My favorite customers? Bike riders!! Go figure.... :D
 
#28 ·
RonKMiller said:
There is no knowledge war. This is about getting your issue fixed. If you believe the mechanic where you've taken your bike, fine.

In my experience about 1 out of 100 are not knowledgeable about ANY issue, the other 99 will either completely bs you, make wild guesses or parrot what they've heard from other "expurts" that went before them. Most of these guys didn't even graduate high school...

Ask him if he believes if rotors can warp. If he does you need to find another mechanic.

Simple. :check:
ron
although i refuse to get involved in your rotor theory i do take offense to your comment about mechanics.... most if not all of us ARE knowledgeable on many issues. in the areas we are not knowledgeable in we can usually figure it out. please do not confuse mechanics with the latest generation of "technicians". as vehicles become more and more electronic and the desire to r&r instead of repair the need for a real "mechanic" becomes less and less.
ya i did graduate from high school.
oh you misspelled experts
thanks, john
 
#29 ·
Hi there!!!!
I am new in this forum, and I am writing from Venezuela, excuse my bad english.
I got the same problem of pulsing front brakes, so I was seeking the cause, and put my bike (K1200LT 2007) on her center stand and was checking the pads and calypers for any leaks.
I tried to lift up the front wheel by pushing a little the headligth up, and for my surprise all the front wheel came down. Thats when I realized too see that the Ball Joint in the LOWER FORK BRIDGE is complete broken and loose free, thats why when I used the front brakes, all the front wheel shaked like if it were pulsing brakes.
Take a look on your ball joint if it is loose or broken, maybe it is the worm that are you making nuts.


Best regards,

Anton Danzer
Maracay, Venezuela.
 
#30 · (Edited)
drjohn55 said:
ron
although i refuse to get involved in your rotor theory i do take offense to your comment about mechanics.... most if not all of us ARE knowledgeable on many issues. in the areas we are not knowledgeable in we can usually figure it out. please do not confuse mechanics with the latest generation of "technicians". as vehicles become more and more electronic and the desire to r&r instead of repair the need for a real "mechanic" becomes less and less.
ya i did graduate from high school.
oh you misspelled experts
thanks, john
It's not a "theory" like some dark matter blathering from Steven Hawking.

It is a well documented fact backed up by MANY, many technical articles published by SAE . - you know who they are, right? I'm a member, are you?

Well, I certainly agree with you about the new breed of "Technicians" and apologize profusely for lumping true mechanics in with them. I should have used the term technician in the first place. My bad.

I salute anyone that calls themselves a mechanic :thumb: - since mechanics actually figure out why it's broken and know how to fix it! ..and if they don't know right off the bat they can usually figure it out. They also know how to fix it without first throwing a bunch of expensive parts at the problem. :yeah:

It's kind of like the great Julia Childs. Everyone referred to her as a chef - and she despised the title. She preferred to be called a cook, since that's what she really did. And man, could she cook: MORE BUTTER! ;)

My big issue is that the "art" of knowing how to actually fix things is being phased out of every aspect of our industrial society. "Just buy a new one or replace it" is how most problems are handled. Major corporations find it is easier and more expedient to buy failure prone products from China then to actually figure out how to improve the quality of their products. ...and boy howdy, is it EVER showing: Just this morning BMW cars announced a recall of 241,000 vehicles for a tail light issue. How hard is it for the Ultimate Driving Experience to engineer a tail light that works as expected?

BMW recalls 241,000 3-Series models over taillight failure

The GREAT news about all this is that there is a tremendous demand for well trained and experienced mechanics. You sir, obviously, are the exception to the vast majority and will have job security forever!

By the way, I misspelled expurts on purpose and put quotation marks around it. It's a play on words, kind of an extended metaphor. Never mind. :rolleyes:

When I graduated from high school they taught me to start sentences with capital letters. Touche. :D
 
#31 ·
My new to me 2000 K1200LT came with pulsing front brakes - seems both previous owners used the brakes very lightly, last owner said he used front brake lightly not a fast driver, I've used the brakes my normal way and pulsing is slowly fading after 200 kilometers and some 130 kph HWY use, I also get a hissing sound from one of them I can only hear when wearing a 3/4 helmet - seems there was something deposited irregularly on one or both disks which is being removed by more vigourous braking - might take some sandpaper to them this weekend
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top