New to RSTD some brake questions

[Judes Dude]

I am new to the RSTD and have had my 2005 for about a month and due to the crappy weather in New England have not put on as many miles as I had hoped before asking questions and commenting on the bike.

 

I am grateful for the forums as coming from a V twin silverado I had forgotten how different the 4s are compared to the twins. I had a c550 v4 honda that loved the rpms but had gotten used to babing the vtwin. It was reading the forum that I found the information about keeping rpm's up and the bike is much smoother. thanks

 

I am having trouble getting used to the front brakes being so grabby. I am planning to change them out as it appears the previous owner has two different brands of pads on the front. I hope that putting FA179 HH will at least give me some consistancy to get used to.

 

I had no noise from the brakes for the first 1000 miles but cleaned the bike with S100 and the next day the sqeeling began. I will not understand the whys of this but saw some other post that mentioned the same thing.

 

I cleaned the rotors with Brake Clean and the noise has diminished until the last few feet of the stop.

 

Do others find the brakes very touchy in the final stages of the stop? I have started using the rear the last few feet and barely touching the fronts and it seems to help.

 

The dealer or previous owner had installed a Met on the rear and Dunlop elite in the front. I am coming off Mich commanders and I seem to feel the tires working against each other in turns. Is this possible or just my imagination.

 

 

The information is great and it is the best $12 I have spent on the bike.

 

One final item. Are iridium plugs the way to go??

 

Thanks in advance:backinmyday:

[tsigwing]

I've never had any issues with the fronts. They did squeal once, so I put some of the anti-squeal on them and that was the end of that. The rears on the other hand, you need to keep a close eye on them, mine was metal on metal after less than 10k miles.

[Dave77459]

I can only state what I know. My RSTD's brakes did squeal at first, and doesn't now. I didn't do anything besides ride it a lot. The brakes don't grab at all, at least not unusually so. Maybe I brake differently than you.

 

I just changed my plugs, using the stock NGK ones. I've not heard a lot of talk about Iridium plugs like I did for my other bike. What would you hope to accomplish using them?

 

Dave

[eagleeye]

I have the stock pads in the front of my 05 RSTD and don't notice any of what you are describing.

I can grab a handful of front brake, and no grabbing. They are noisy though. Plan on replacing them this winter.

Must be the pads he put in.

 

Steve

[Judes Dude]

I have had good luck with both my truck and past bikes with the iridium plugs. On my Virago and vstar silverado I was doubling plus my mileage with no loss of performance and gas mileage. Both bikes started easier with the iridium plugs. The silverado would start crapping out under 4000 miles with regular plugs. Ran the last set or iridium 16000 before I traded the bike for the RSTD.

 

I have not checked what is in the bike yet but I am getting 45mpg running the highway to work with the cruise set at 70!

 

As far as the brakes they have just a completely different feel than the 2003 silverado. Maybe having two different kinds of brands of pads my be causing this.

 

New pads will be here tomorrow and hope to have them on by the weekend.

[RandyR]

No squeal or lock up with the stock pads still on the front of my 08 RSTD.

 

I did rotate the inner and outer rear pads at 4,000 miles, they had plenty of pad left.

[StarQ]

I have trouble with my back brake on my RSTD 2007. Turns out the rotor is bent, bike was sold to me a new so it's under warranty. However, I've been waiting over a month for the new rotor to come in, they keep saying it's on backorder.

 

What happens when I am braking is the bike will be smooth while slowing down until I get to about 10 MPH, It will then continuously grab and release until completely stopped.

[Pecker]

Well, I will throw my 2 cents in here.

As far as the front brakes go, I would do exactly the same thing you plan on doing. New pads don't cost a fortune, but they are worth a mint to keep your butt out of trouble.

 

Now for the tire situation, you didn't say what size tires are on the front or rear, so I will assume they are the stock sizes AND they are inflated to the proper PSI. I run two different brand tires(Metzler on the front & Bridgestone Spitfire on the back) on my RSTD and don't feel any adverse effects. But I have felt what you describe with different brands mixed on other bikes I have owned.

 

My personal opinion on the iridium plugs is they are not worth the extra cash, sure they may last longer than the stock version but they won't show any performance gains. Just throw a new set of stockers in every year and forget about it.

 

Always glad to have another RSTD rider here, help keep these geezers on their Venture road sofas in line!

[bamico]

Jude's Dude,

 

Had a 2005 RSTD myself, 13k miles before trading in for a Venture (wife needed more comfort...) Never experienced the braking issue you describe.

 

Congratulations on the bike, you'll love it, toughest part, as you mentioned, is getting used to the higher RPMs on the V4.

 

Yes, its been a pretty wet season here in NE. Been riding inbetween the raindrops since the Sunday pm of Americade. I live in Nashua, NH, where are you in MA?

 

Good luck with the new pads.

Bob

[bamico]

Dave38x,

 

Geezers on road sofas ?! Ouch...

 

Ok, I admit I was concerned a bit about the old guy factor when going from my 2005 RSTD to the 2007 Venture. Having said that, after a couple of hundred miles, riding 2 up, that Venture saddle is much appreciated.

 

That, and the #1 passenger was looking for more comfort.

When the passenger is happy, everyone is happy... makes for much longer rides too.

Plus, some increased weather protection, an audio system and some extra storage are always good things... Surprisingly it even handles better at low speed than my RSTD.

 

Just throwing in my 2 cents for us old road sofa riders

 

Enjoy your RSTD.

Without a doubt, that was the best all-around bike I've ever owned.

 

Ride Safe.

Bob

[Pecker]

Hey Bamico,

 

I have to get a jab in every now and then, just to see if you guys are paying attention!

I do have a question for you though. You say your Venture feels better at low speeds than the RSTD. I have ridden several Ventures, and not once did I feel the Venture handle better in slow situations. I'm not saying this to talk down about Ventures, my point is, they carry significantly more weight up higher, which will make a bike a little more uneasy in slow speed manuevers.

Could it possibly be a difference in tires? I am not disputing your statement, it's just inquiring minds want to know.

[Judes Dude]

I checked the front brakes today and had new pads on hand just in case. The dealer had replaced the pads with Tokico Toyo pads that I am guessing are stock for Yamaha.

 

The shims were installed with one on piston side the other side was away from pistons. I coated the pads with disc brake quiet and bled them.

 

Was able to take a 10 minute ride befor the skies opened up again (19 days in a row) and just got home before getting soaked.

 

The brakes now feel exactly like the silverado did which makes me .

No more noise or grabbing as I think the right caliper was air bound.

 

This forum is a lifesaver and I appreciate all the replies and help.

 

Love the bike and now if I could convert it into an ark maybe I could get in some miles and really find out what the bike is about.

 

Thanks for all the input and if I have any problems will post again.

 

Dan

[Pecker]

:thumbsup2:Glad to hear you got the brakes sorted out, now if you could get the weather sorted out you could get out and put some miles on that thing.

[bamico]

Dave38,

 

No worries. All in good fun my friend.

 

Excellent question on the handling. I know opinion is mixed on this.

It was one of my concerns going to the Venture.

 

A point to start... when stating low speed, I mean 1-2mph, parking lot turns, slow race type speeds. Doing maneuvers from the Ride Like a Pro DVDs (which IMO helps as well), etc...

 

I agree with your statement that without doubt, the Venture is more top heavy than the RSTD, I can feel the difference at low speed on a hill while turning. The Venture has a tendancy to want to fall over (not good). Especially when riding 2 up. Wait a minute... maybe I am getting old... nah, must be the bike

 

I think the difference is in 3 main areas:

 

1) Tighter handlebars on the Venture. With the RSTD, I couldn't lock the bars at low speed because it would pinch my legs. So it was always a jerky motion as I tried to max out the turning/leaning.

 

2) My wife is much more comfortable on the Venture as it has passenger grab bars. As a result she's much less jumpy back there at low speeds. As a result, easier for me to handle the bike.

 

3) I find the top-heavy nature of the bike can be used to ones advantage at very low speed. Go to turn tight and the bike will effortlessly turn and fall into the turn (much like the Harley Ultra). Comes out pretty easy too. I think this could also be a factor of less range that one has to push the handlebars through. I always found with the RSTD I had to really lean on the bars to get the bike back upright. Not as much with the Venture. Having said that, I miss that wide handlebar position on the wide open stretches.

 

I have read that going to smaller tires makes a world of difference, although have not tried it.

 

Hope it makes some sense.

At least that has been my experience.

So much of this is all about what feels right for each person and tweaking the adjustments.

 

Enjoy that RSTD... fantastic bike!

If it wasn't for the wife getting into riding, I'd still be running mine (not complaining though...). If $ and space weren't an issue, I could actually see myself owning both.

 

Have a great day and Ride Safe.

Bob

[Pecker]

Bob,

 

You brought up some differences in the bikes I hadn't even considered. I can see how all of this plus your personal feel can make for a more confidence inspired turn.

I went with the narrrow MT90 front tire and love it, felt like it took 100 lbs off the front end.

Good luck with the Ride Like a Pro video, it takes alot of practice and dedication. But if you stick with it and beleive in it, you will gain a ton of confidence.

[wrongway2]

The dealer or previous owner had installed a Met on the rear and Dunlop elite in the front. I am coming off Mich commanders and I seem to feel the tires working against each other in turns. Is this possible or just my imagination.

 

Thanks in advance:backinmyday:

 

I'm no expert at all but don't think it's your imagination. Take a look at the tread on the E3 compared to the Met.

 

I'm had E3's on 3 different bikes and got really good wear out of them but once the even start to wear they howl big time. On the positive side, because of the tread pattern on the E3, they don't tend to get caught up in the tar snakes or grated bridges which is nice.

 

I suspect the imbalance that you're feeling is because the E3 is going where pointed and the other tire is tending to follow irregularities in the road.

 

Just a thought and good luck. My opinion may be worth

 

Greg:hurts: