Grooves in rear rotor

[argoldsmith]

Here's the scoop....I just bought an 06' Katana 600 (1500mi) about a month ago. I noticed I was getting quite a bit of brake noise while applying the rear brake, so I ended up using some cleaner on the rotor which seemed to take care of the problem. While checking out the rotor I noticed it has grooves in it, as if the brake pads were worn to the limit so I decided to checkout the brakes. The brakes have plenty of padding left, as what would be expected for a bike that only has 1500mi on it. The pads are the EBC organic pads so I wouldn't think the composite would have an effect?? Maybe you guys can give me some insight on the situation. Thanks.

[md86]

Maybe you got some crud stuck in there that grooved the rotor . It happens .

[The CyberPoet]

(A) I have no clue why on an almost new bike, you would have aftermarket pads (rather than the OEM rear pads).

(B) Grooving comes from sand (anything with a high quartz content) being trapped between the rotor and the pads, and being ground into the rotor. Cleaning your pads/rotors more often will help keep this issue minimized. So will using the proper brake pad compound (more on this in a second)....

(C) The 88+ Kats are all designed with SS rotors, which means they should be paired to semi-sintered or sintered pads to operate correctly, because the rotor drags the pads across the surface of the rotor constantly (by design) to keep the rotors "wiped" and the brakes at proper operating temp. Organics are inappropriate to this kind of brake set-up (they are appropriate to brake calipers that fully withdraw the pads when they retract) and organics are also softer than OEM pads (making them more likely to embed sand grains which cause grooving).

Oh, and (D), you're under warrantee... that means brake squeels should be the dealer's problem

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[argoldsmith]

Thanks for all the info.

[argoldsmith]

I bought some EBC double H's...we'll see how those work out.

[The CyberPoet]

I bought some EBC double H's...we'll see how those work out.

They should work fantasically -- just be really careful for the first couple dozen miles after you install them (when the finish mating properly, you'll have a bike that will endo if you're not careful). It's what I run all around on mine.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[md86]

Careful with them HH's on the rear . They can lock up REAL easily .....