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front wheel sound

my problems have not been so bad that they required immediate attention so i i have been (slowly) getting my head round what needs to be done..seemed like the front lever was feeling a little spongier so i decided to proceed with changing the fluid (dot 5 speced for my 2002 fatboy) in front brake as first step in the caliper/piston cleaning process .i noticed first that the old fluid appeared yellow, sliighly orange, which makes me suspect the dealer who serviced the bike before i bought it may have used dot 3 or 4(does purple dot 5 degrade to yellow?) .the bleeding went just like the videos on utube , but the amount of free travel in the lever did not change.performance may be slighly improved in terms of stopping. i notice that the operation of the lever does not cause a liquid bubble to be ejected from the little hole in the floor of the reservoir, so i suspect the plunger needs rebuilt?
 
Never taken one apart without a rebuild kit on hand so I cant say for sure. If your going to take it apart why not rebuild it? Air bubble in the caliper can cause the spongy feel too. You still have the stock rubber brake lines? Big difference in feel with new braided style lines.
 
Get front tire off ground and spin by hand. Play a little "Price is Right". Count the rotations. With fresh grease in bearings and no drag from brake pads it should spin a dozen times before stopping. Someone on another forum had indicated the wheel should turn a minimum 1.5 rotations but imo it should turn at least a half dozen times at a minimum before stopping. Anything less than 6 turns I would remove wheel and grease the (EDIT) out of the bearings and also check your caliper pistons and seals. My front wheel bearings were dry on my 09 FLSTC and it made a high pitch noise like I get from tinnitus. High pitch ringing. It started while riding so I pulled where there was no traffic and killed the bike and coasted a couple hundred feet just to confirm it was my wheel. Once I knew it was wheel I did steps mentioned above and no problems since. My brakes were fine it was bearings. Good luck


Party on
 
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after three months of careful contemplation(as in its not that bad and id rather be riding) and accumulation of lyndall 7195 Z+FR XL 00-03pads, harley front master cylinder rebuild kit(plunger) , harley front caliper seals kit, a clearcoat ss braided brake line, plus some dot 5, a circlip pliers,12 pt 1/4 in socket, cleaner, pad grease,blue loctite and a partrridge in a pear tree,i am proceeding. i removed the caliper from the fork, as suggested with the front wheel raised up and free, spun it and it turns absolutely silent and twelve to sixteen rotations depending on the force applied which wasnt great(with hand on tire where fender tip is, i pushed down ).telling me bearing is a peach. so i next discover that despite everyone doing a video feels he needs a helper, by holding the caliper in my right hand and straddlng the front wheel its real simple to depress the lever and look at the pads . i put a small piece of ten gauge plate in there which is less than half the rotor thickness so i could pump it a few times to observe. actually didnt seem bad in that both pads moved in almost exactly the same time and retracted a little when lever was released.so now i'm going to drain the fluid, take calipers apart clean and put in new seals and pads, and then go on to the cylinder. thanks to all for help.
 
the caliper is finished ( i hope) and the braided hose connected. early tomorrow the cylinder, fill, bleed , and road test.
 
finished and have to say it was successful and well worth doing. i've learned a lot and have a much improved system . just took her out and did a few gentle slowdowns from 25 mph to 10 mph and seemed fine.:D
hardest parts were getting the pistons to pop out..all the videos i watched put a shop rag in and poof..but those videos never showed how to get the other three out now that you cant build pressure. im guessing the special tool harley offers lets them all move out but none popout? i cheated and grabbed the lip with a needlenose, cant see and harm done..
also found it tricky getting the new pads in or rather the pins through the new pads..needed one more thumb to push down against the spring it seems..kept getting the pad cocked..
but very rewarding to get the air out and pump the lever for a while , feel it finally get solid and grab the disc...
manymany thanks to all those who helped me..
 
Congrats on a job well done. Remember to check all the fittings for leaks the first few times out.
 
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