Brake shudder

**mnkyboy** · 17th October 2009, 01:04

Ducati M900

At the end of the braking procedure ie ~5kph I get an annoying amount of brake shudder.

I have taken the calipers off and checked pads - needed a slight clean-up but nothing major. Re bled lines. Checked for warped discs.

Any other avenues to look at?

Cheers

**one fast tl1ooo** · 17th October 2009, 06:25

It know's acc is coming,

**greenman** · 17th October 2009, 17:42

I had a bike that did this too. Only when braking lightly a low speeds. Disks and pads were fine, there were no seized pistons, it was just what it did.
Solution is to brake harder, and don't go looking for it.

**The Pastor** · 17th October 2009, 21:38

check your wheel alignment could be wheel bearings too could be load of things actually.

**F5 Dave** · 18th October 2009, 20:20

Residue on discs (and pads) can cause this. Disc warp is usually felt at higher speed as well & through the lever as well.

**mossy1200** · 18th October 2009, 20:26

Clean and check the rivit pins on the discs.

**nothingflash** · 18th October 2009, 20:28

Originally Posted by greenman

I had a bike that did this too. Only when braking lightly a low speeds. Disks and pads were fine, there were no seized pistons, it was just what it did.
Solution is to brake harder, and don't go looking for it.

If it were me I'd get it looked at (depending on your DIY skill) given this is the difference between stopping and hitting something hard.

**oldrider** · 28th October 2009, 21:58

Originally Posted by mnkyboy

Ducati M900

At the end of the braking procedure ie ~5kph I get an annoying amount of brake shudder.

I have taken the calipers off and checked pads - needed a slight clean-up but nothing major. Re bled lines. Checked for warped discs.

Any other avenues to look at?

Cheers

Yes, buckled wheel! (perhaps)

Get it spun and checked between centres! (in a lathe big enough for the job)

The axis between the axle, the brake disk's and/or the rim could be out of line with each other!

**Sensei** · 28th October 2009, 22:51

Warped disc's show up as pulsing throught the brake lever when held on slightly , Headset bearing been loose is the first place to look then as pointed out the rotor button's may have become tight with dirt & need to be brakeclean washed & free'd up by turning back & forward .

**CeeBee** · 24th November 2009, 14:38

Put a DTI gauge on the disc and check run out, this is the only way you will check a disc for warp, Max runout usually 002".

**Trudes** · 24th November 2009, 16:30

Make sure your elbows are not straight and locked when braking, I found having bent elbows under braking stopped my shudder.

**oldrider** · 22nd January 2010, 12:23

Originally Posted by mnkyboy

Ducati M900

At the end of the braking procedure ie ~5kph I get an annoying amount of brake shudder.

I have taken the calipers off and checked pads - needed a slight clean-up but nothing major. Re bled lines. Checked for warped discs.

Any other avenues to look at?

Cheers

Well, you posted this on the 17 October...........................so now you can post up just what your problem turned out to be and what the final solution was!

Or is this just another open ended inconclusive waste of time KB "please help me" threads, that are far too prevalent on here!

**vifferman** · 22nd January 2010, 12:56

When I bought the VFR 5+ years ago, the brakes had a terrible shudder. I took the bike back and asked them to check the disk's runout. They said they checked it and it was "within limits". I assumed it was the disks, as one was a different grade steel to the other, and had some rusty/corroded patches on it. Some heavyish braking cleaned this off, and the shuddering lessened somewhat. However, it wasn't until I had the pads replaced that the problem disappeared altogether - one of the pads was badly (and unevenly) worn, possibly due to poor installation and/or maintenance.

Interestingly (or perhaps not...) I've always used SBS pads, up until Cycletreads recently replaced them with Ferodos (without asking me what brand I wanted). I dunno if it's because they're a more metal-rick compound or what, but they seem to be harder and more abrasive, and now the disk's surfaces are smoother and shinier than ever. I don't know how this bodes for disk life, but once they'd bedded in properly, the braking improved.