Front brake "hissing"

[Archeon]

Hi Guys,

Another newbie bike rider questions (I hope).

I have had my fz6 about a month now, and im not sure if I just never noticed it before but my front brake makes what can only be described as a hissing noise when applied over about 30 mph.

Is this normal (i.e. the pad wearing against the disk), or something I should be concerned about? Functionally the brake feels and operates fine.

Thanks,

Simon

Ps I spelt brake wrong in the subject

 

[FIZZER6]

To determine if the caliper is sticking go for a normal ride and as soon as you stop, quickly touch each of the front rotors with your finger (careful, they may be hot!). If one rotor is noticeably hotter than the other one it is a sure sign of a sticking caliper.

If that is the case I would start by disassembling the caliper, removing the pads, cleaning it all up well with brake spray cleaning, lube up the slides and pivot points with brake lube and reassemble.

 

[Archeon]

To determine if the caliper is sticking go for a normal ride and as soon as you stop, quickly touch each of the front rotors with your finger (careful, they may be hot!). If one rotor is noticeably hotter than the other one it is a sure sign of a sticking caliper.

If that is the case I would start by disassembling the caliper, removing the pads, cleaning it all up well with brake spray cleaning, lube up the slides and pivot points with brake lube and reassemble.

Presumably that would result in a hissing all the time, not just when I apply the brake? The hissing disappears as soon as I remove the brake.

 

[Motogiro]

As long as the brakes feel good and there is plenty of pad left between the the pad backing and the rotor, the sound is probably air from the holes on the rotors. When the pads tighten against the rotor it can create that sound. I never noticed it on my FZ6 but that noise was always present with my R1 and my SV1000s. I fixed your misspell in the title.

 

[Archeon]

As long as the brakes feel good and there is plenty of pad left between the the pad backing and the rotor, the sound is probably air from the holes on the rotors. When the pads tighten against the rotor it can create that sound. I never noticed it on my FZ6 but that noise was always present with my R1 and my SV1000s. I fixed your misspell in the title.

Thanks I suspected it was normal but nice to have an explanation for it!

Regards,

Simon

 

[FIZZER6]

Presumably that would result in a hissing all the time, not just when I apply the brake? The hissing disappears as soon as I remove the brake.

In theory yes but my brakes are fine and if I am riding down my driveway in neutral with the engine off I can hear the pads lightly rubbing on the rotors, it's pretty loud until I have applied the brakes a few times on each ride so it might be normal.

Try riding in a parking lot up to about 30 mph and in neutral, shut the engine off...you can really hear what's going on then.