ecn-pa:lebold (01/25/83)
I had a GT750K Suzuki (two stroke, three cylinder, water cooled), which also squealed the front disks very loud. First the symtoms, squeal was noticed only at slow to moderate speeds with light to moderate pressure on the brakes. There was no squeal pushing the bike around the garage or during high pressure/hard braking. The squeal started after replacing stock pads with new after market ones. I needed new pads and these were cheaper and had higher metallic content. (better in rain!?) After talking to seven (7) different cycle dealers and a few auto dealers I found out they don't know diddly or just wouldn't say. Now the fix: From what I reasoned out, the squeal was from the pucks vibrating in the calipers. Why with the new pads and not the old? Well the old ones were softer (more abestos/less metal?), so it would conform to any irregularities due to dirt, heat warpage, and fork flex. The new ones would not, so they chattered. First I put three equal spaced vertical cuts and a X cut into each puck about an eighth inch deep. This would allow the puck to conform to the disk surface easier, the cuts allowed expansion and a way for any dirt to get out. This got rid of most of the chatter until the pads wore to the bottom of the cuts. (Deeper the cut, longer the silence) I'm not sure what this does to the integerity of the pad but fifty thousand miles of riding did not turn up any problems. Last, I also put a disk brake rubber gasket type compound on the backs of the floating pucks. This was sprayed on and took about a hour to cure. Question or comments?? Timothy Lange Freshman Engineering ENAD Bldg. Purdue University West Lafayette, IN 47907