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New Front Rotor Recommendations '82 XJ650 Maxim

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by Daniel Murray, May 6, 2020.

  1. Daniel Murray

    Daniel Murray New Member

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    Hey y'all, I've had really poor front brake performance for a while and noticed my front brake pads have been wearing unevenly. I suspect the tire is out of balance as there is a significant shake in the front end when I "let Jesus take the wheel" and let go of my bars while at speed. I am tearing into the problem area this weekend and have pads and a tire balancer to hopefully rectify my issues. However I'm anticipating the rotor potentially being bad and I'm curious if you all have any recommendations around what rotor I should use or where to find one. I know Chacal has some, but I'm not super keen on spending $200+. I'm hoping to find sub $100 if possible. Looks like ol' FleaBay has some direct replacements for cheap, but I'm curious if there is an aftermarket one that has decent performance but won't break the bank. Let me know!
     
  2. hogfiddles

    hogfiddles XJ-Wizard, Host-Central NY Carb Clinic Moderator Premium Member

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    How do you know they are wearing unevenly? The angle? They’re supposed to be like that.

    shake is usually due to:

    1- bad headtube bearings..... replace upper and lower balls/races with an All-Balls tapered bearing set

    2. Bad tire/unbalanced tire/rim

    3. axle bearings

    4. swing stem bearings/worn or loose pivots

    My bet is on the steering stem bearings in the head tube
     
  3. Daniel Murray

    Daniel Murray New Member

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    One side looks almost brand new, and the other side is almost completely gone. The one pad that appears brand new (the inner one), is kind of loose on the cotter pin that holds the bottom in place, but the worn one is tight. I'm also sure that the head tube bearings are in need of replacement, and that is something I plan on doing. But that doesn't change the fact that my front breaks suck, I can pull the lever in as tight as I can and still move the front wheel with my weight. I bled the brakes a few months ago, and saw some improvement, but I mainly have to rely on the engine to slow the bike down. Like, I couldn't lock the front brake if I wanted to, even at low speeds, that's how bad they are. Unless you think that's normal, but I can't imagine the brake would have that little stopping power.
     
  4. hogfiddles

    hogfiddles XJ-Wizard, Host-Central NY Carb Clinic Moderator Premium Member

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    You should be able to lock that right up. Have you checked:

    1. Fluid level
    2. Lever adjustment screw

    what do you mean by “inner”? The one inside by the piston, or the one ‘inside closer toward the axle’?
     
  5. Big beard82

    Big beard82 New Member

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    if you look at pads for the bike they are sloped ..bigger on one side than the other like a ramp. And the pads or opposite eachother so viewing the caliper from the front they appear to look that way. One brand new and one almost gone. Look up new pads online you'll see what I mean
     
  6. Daniel Murray

    Daniel Murray New Member

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    I got my new pads and I see what you all mean. I swapped them out because the ones that were on there were super old. They did not appear to be in particularly bad shape, though. Just some minor pitting. The bike does brake better but it's definitely not ideal. There's an adjustment screw? I read in my manual and didn't see anything about it in the Maxim section, but I'll double check. I bled the brakes back in September and I would not be surprised if there was air in the line, because I do feel like that's when I noticed the loss in stopping power. I think I'll get one of the vacuum brake bleeders from Harbor Freight and see if I have any luck using that. I feel like that's likely where the issue with stopping power lies.

    As far as the shake is concerned, I balanced the front tire and now it doesn't shake at all when I let go of the bars. The rotor definitely still touches in one spot, so that could be slightly warped, but it's not like it really affects the breaking performance or was wearing the pads unevenly.
     
  7. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

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    Could you use a dial indicator mounted on the fork leg to check disc I mean rotor runout?
     
  8. Daniel Murray

    Daniel Murray New Member

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    So I bled the front brake again. The fluid looked terrible, so I don't know if there is a possibility of an air leak somewhere. The fluid was not low, but because I do not have OEM bars, the master cylinder does not sit level and you can't really fill it all the way, but from what I understand that should not really matter, or am I wrong? Also, after bleeding and adjusting the front brake lever, it now stops much better and I actually feel safe on the bike except I still cannot lock the front when grabbing a handful of brake at any speed. But like I said, it is significantly better than it was.
     
  9. hogfiddles

    hogfiddles XJ-Wizard, Host-Central NY Carb Clinic Moderator Premium Member

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    Turn your bars all the way to the left so the MC is level of even slightly point down hill. So air doesn’t get trapped in the union at the end of the MC.
     

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